Long Term Food Storage
View PDF | Print View
by: Tom Cruise
Total views: 5
Word Count: 520
Date: Tue, 20 Dec 2011 Time: 11:04 PM
There are many options to store food for long periods of time. There are many different methods that can be used to keep foods fresh for weeks, months even years such as freezing, dehydrating and freeze drying.
Freezing meats, vegetables and other assorted foods actually started thousands of years ago. In the beginning the only way to freeze food was outside during the winter months.
Before electricity came along many cities had ice boxes and those who lived in the country had dairies. Dairies always had underground room that were cooler where they stored milk and other dairy products.
Ice boxes had many different designs and used blocks of ice to keep them cold to store dairy products, milk, and other foods. Refrigerators were designed from ice boxes with a few minor changes.
Deep freezers become the popular choice for freezing foods during the 1950’s. Deep freezers gained even more popularity with the economy and people wanted to stock up on food “just in case.”
Most any type of food can be frozen, however, the taste of some foods is slightly altered when frozen. In general foods can be kept frozen for months and still be safe to eat. Hunters make it a common practice to freeze wild game during the season and keep it frozen all year.
You can also can food for long periods of time. All you need is a pressure cooker to break the foods down to be canned. You can also use the “hot bath” method, however, sealing the cans may be a bit more difficult to do. Most foods today are sealed in glass jars instead of cans and sealed using a metal ring. As the food cools the metal ring causes a vacuum seal.
When freezing foods in the freezer section of your refrigerator do overstock the freezer. Be sure to leave enough air space on both sides and at the top of the freezer for air to circulate so the foods will freeze. Not leaving enough air space will cause the foods to stay soft and possibly spoil.
If you are considering getting a deep freezer be sure to get one that is energy efficient and has automatic self defrost. Having a deep freezer is great for stocking up and taking advantage of sales at the grocery store. There are several styles of deep freezers on the market such as chest type, upright and side by side. Chest freezers are great, however, it can be frustrating reaching down in to get foods. Upright freezers have more storage space plus you can put smaller foods on the door of the deep freezer. Side by side deep freezers have two separate sections. This is perfect for organizing foods according to size such as meats in once section and frozen vegetables in another. You can also buy freezer bins to store smaller items such as frozen cans of juice and other assorted smaller items.
No matter which way you decide to freeze foods be sure it is wrapped in freezer safe wrapping paper or plastic and mark the item and the date on the outside.
About the Author
If you are looking for Emergency Food Storage then you have come to the right place and to know more about survival food storage supplies you need to click on the link for more information.
Rating: Not yet rated
