Helpful information, educational tools, and practical applications
for
saving money,
making money,
and getting out of debt.
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2 days ago
Highly informative website
scottmarsh.com
Helpful information, educational tools, and practical applications
for
saving money,
making money,
and getting out of debt.
Helpful information, educational tools, and practical applications
for
saving money,
making money,
and getting out of debt.
3 Month Supply
Choose to do this in whatever way seems the simplest and most frugal for your family.
You will want to buy, store, and use food that you eat on a regular basis that you could live on for 3 months.
You will want to buy, store, and use food that you eat on a regular basis that you could live on for 3 months.
To participate in a group Buy
Please email SanTan2Can at gmail.com .....
For companies to order from:
http://sites.google.com/site/swiftpearlstorage/home/sources-list-2
For companies to order from:
http://sites.google.com/site/swiftpearlstorage/home/sources-list-2
Long Term Basic Staples
- Grains (Red wheat, White wheat, flour, oats, rice, Kamut, other)
- Legumes (beans - black, pinto, white, tepary,....- lentils, other pulses)
- Oils (Canned Butter, Fermented Cod Liver Oil, Coconut oil, Palm shortening, Olive Oil, other)
- Sweets (Sugar, Honey, Fruits, Jams, other)
- Pwdr Milk (Also, do Canned Coconut milk, Canned Butter, find cow/goat share, can my own traditionally made broth (also, a baby formula recipe)
- Salt (regular, Sea Salt(s), dried seaweed(!))
- Water (Treated water storage, Water treatment, Water Filter)
Long Term Storage is Easy -- How about 5 steps?!
Start your Long Term Food Storage the simplest way:
What does your current budget have available?
Decide how many months worth you can afford to buy NOW. (current prices)
Here is how you decide how much of the basic dry:
Link: http://www.providentliving.org/content/display/0,11666,7498-1-4070-1,00.html
(a second link for a more detailed by category breakdown calculator)
Make sure you either can it from the bags or buy it in the cans or pouches so that it is sealed.
Bring in your home and stash it somewhere out of the direct sun.
Determine and set a goal for your next purchase(s).
(Soaking the wheat and then letting it sprout gives you a raw food with high vitamin C content and other vital nutrients. A wheat grinder is something that you can set a goal for, not instantly necessary for actual survival. Wheat in chili is easy to get used to. :)
However, you still need animal fats such as butter or Cod liver oil for the fat soluble -and very vital- A and D vitamins)
Don't hesitate, just START!
- FIRST: Store Water = 14 gallons per person in house. (start with 3 gallons per person, then build up)
- NEXT:
What does your current budget have available?
Decide how many months worth you can afford to buy NOW. (current prices)
Here is how you decide how much of the basic dry:
Link: http://www.providentliving.org/content/display/0,11666,7498-1-4070-1,00.html
(a second link for a more detailed by category breakdown calculator)
- NEXT: Take a check to Mesa and buy it.
Make sure you either can it from the bags or buy it in the cans or pouches so that it is sealed.
Bring in your home and stash it somewhere out of the direct sun.
Determine and set a goal for your next purchase(s).
- NEXT, add in foods to make sure that you can use the grain & legumes.
(Soaking the wheat and then letting it sprout gives you a raw food with high vitamin C content and other vital nutrients. A wheat grinder is something that you can set a goal for, not instantly necessary for actual survival. Wheat in chili is easy to get used to. :)
However, you still need animal fats such as butter or Cod liver oil for the fat soluble -and very vital- A and D vitamins)
- NEXT start reading the other posts :) as you continue to build up month by month of the above.
- ALWAYS record what you have. Put a paper in cupboard on a door or file on the computer, that is always updated and dated with a current count.
Why (nutritionally) can I live off of the basic List from my Long Term storage?
The Basic Food Storage List is simple, but as always, great things are found from simple things.
Whole Grains & Legumes, when soaked/sprouted, are full of nutrients and no longer harbor their protective dormant substances (more on this later.) They become nutritious powerhouses of vitamins, minerals, phyto-chemicals, and act as grains, vegetables and proteins. When used and eaten, as people have done since the beginning of time, they will sustain and bless us. As we enter cooler months, consider trying "new" methods such as a "5 min per day" 'artisan' recipe approach or a sourdough starter as our Grandparents did.
The oils and Butter are necessary both for taste and nutrition, the type taken into account.
At all costs, eliminate Hydrogenated fats. Replace with good fats. (My first two steps are replace margarine with butter and replace shortening with coconut oil and butter or Palm oil.
The fads of low fat and rancid fat have injured us for enough generations now. This needs to be part of our recognition of Whole Foods. Among other bodily needs, the amount of minerals you are in taking means nothing if you do not also take in fat-soluble vitamins A and D....
These vitamins are found only in the animal fats - - - such as Butter (grass-fed/pastured for Vit K2) and Cod Liver Oil (preferably flavored, fermented).
Without these vitamins your body DOES NOT absorb the minerals, and your cells starve, don't form, etc. Just ONE common (and uncommonly known) symptom of our populations dramatically increasing deficiency is underdeveloped, and deformed bones throughout the body (this includes tooth cavities, crooked, narrow, fragile.) The list of ailments from the deficiency of these Vitamins (A, D, K2) is staggering and includes every system in the body,... even fertility and learning disabilities.
The US recently updated their estimates with the majority of the population at being moderately to severely deficient in the vitamin D alone (Recent study showed that 70% of children are deficient.)
Common oils such as Soy, Canola, peanut, "vegetable" oil are to all over processed and are oxidized and rancid. These cause numerous health problems from the skin to the heart. Soy, in particular, contains multiple harmful substances and should be completely avoided. (I can provide sources of information for the "fat" topic, whenever, as this subject is potentially one of the primary reason for sooo many of our common ailments. - some is quite fascinating ;) such as K2 softening arteries that have been damaged and healing the dentin - halting and 'healing' cavities.)
So, Replace your sugar cravings with healthy lipids (your body has been lied to) and after the withdrawal from the 'sugar drug', your body will thank you. --mmmm yummy animal fats.
The Salts are also for more than taste. "Regular" salt is bitter because of chemical processing and leads to high blood pressure because of its imbalance of minerals - It's only minerals are NaCl. Our bodies are very much like the ocean, and needs nutrients that are found in real sea salt; they are a great balance and taste good to us too. Additional danger regarding "regular salt" is that the iodine found in iodized salt is lab-created and masks the thyroid's deficiencies by taking away the symptom of goiters. However, the US still estimates, at a minimum, 40% of Americans are deficient in Iodine leading to many other thyroid dysfunctions that are often accepted as normal life until they climax to a 'problem' (magnified by products such as soy.)
However; I don't store or use ALL sea salt; for frugality, I still store some "non-iodized table salt"; I also store a variety of sea salts (priced for different uses), dried kelp powder (rich in iodine as well as other minerals), and dried nearly flavorless seaweed (the last two used, unnoticeable, in stews, beans, crock-potted meals...).
(This mineral issue also comes into play in the garden; growing our own food gives the benefit of being able to supplement our soil for fully nutritious and healthy vegetables unlike the mostly depleted grocery store supply. As we find ourselves at the 'end' of compiling food storage, perhaps we can enter a community of learning regarding this LINK.
Fully "living a life of 'emergency preparedness'" is hardly complete without also remembering that the Prophets have commanded us to also plant a garden.)
The Sugar group is, of course important for taste, but in regard to nutrition, mostly a negative; it actually pulls minerals, esp Calcium, OUT of your body (There is more "bad", but to know more is just painful.) In my storage I do store some white granulated as well as honey (raw and cheaper 'regular'), brown sugar, ethnic sugar (many names, more minerals), and fruit. No matter what sweetener used, try to use at least Half as much as the recipe calls for. In many recipes, with time to become accustomed, you'll find you don't even need any sugar. This is especially true when you can use sweet vegetables or fruits in a meal; even fruit jams with no sugar.
The Powdered milk and Dairy group have multiple approaches that work, most of which I have information on that would need a direct email approach. Returning to the basic whole foods as much as possible, also, there are canned butter and cheese that are great.
Powdered Milk is as simple to use as flour. It's shelf life is determined by which type you purchase; Either way, You need to use what you are storing and rotate it in a timely fashion. Once you write down your ratio of dry milk to water, then you can use it in any recipe (although most can just be substituted with water entirely.)
Most families who choose to store it, are accustomed to using it on cereal. So if you would like to continue in that, store the cereal as well and use/rotate both. If that is not your purpose, then in most cases you can entirely skip the powdered milk.
I do not store it because it's nutrients have been removed and the remainder denatured in the processing.
(The fat is the portion that has the vitamins (and dry milk is non-fat). The vitamins that the gov't has mandated to be added back in are in the form of synthetic vitamins that are toxic to our bodies. The protein and cholesterol portion has been oxidized (= the bad kind of Cholesterol) and broken by the heat and pressure used to process and dry the milk, thus making it a burden on our systems, not a benefit. Even minerals present are largely un-absorbable. And as a side-note, besides the skim containing skim milk (that is oxidized) as an additive for consistency, it is the skim milk that is fattening, not the whole milk; Hog farmers fatten their pigs on skim milk....) There are some sites that mentioned a milk that can be stored without refrigeration - I do NOT recommend this one either for similar and additional nutritional reasons.
For nutritional substitution for milk and dairy in our long term storage, especially if desired for babies as a formula substitute or transitional food, there are other much more desirable and beneficial foods and formula recipes that can be made almost entirely from long shelf life foods. Posts on this later.
Whole Grains & Legumes, when soaked/sprouted, are full of nutrients and no longer harbor their protective dormant substances (more on this later.) They become nutritious powerhouses of vitamins, minerals, phyto-chemicals, and act as grains, vegetables and proteins. When used and eaten, as people have done since the beginning of time, they will sustain and bless us. As we enter cooler months, consider trying "new" methods such as a "5 min per day" 'artisan' recipe approach or a sourdough starter as our Grandparents did.
The oils and Butter are necessary both for taste and nutrition, the type taken into account.
At all costs, eliminate Hydrogenated fats. Replace with good fats. (My first two steps are replace margarine with butter and replace shortening with coconut oil and butter or Palm oil.
The fads of low fat and rancid fat have injured us for enough generations now. This needs to be part of our recognition of Whole Foods. Among other bodily needs, the amount of minerals you are in taking means nothing if you do not also take in fat-soluble vitamins A and D....
These vitamins are found only in the animal fats - - - such as Butter (grass-fed/pastured for Vit K2) and Cod Liver Oil (preferably flavored, fermented).
Without these vitamins your body DOES NOT absorb the minerals, and your cells starve, don't form, etc. Just ONE common (and uncommonly known) symptom of our populations dramatically increasing deficiency is underdeveloped, and deformed bones throughout the body (this includes tooth cavities, crooked, narrow, fragile.) The list of ailments from the deficiency of these Vitamins (A, D, K2) is staggering and includes every system in the body,... even fertility and learning disabilities.
The US recently updated their estimates with the majority of the population at being moderately to severely deficient in the vitamin D alone (Recent study showed that 70% of children are deficient.)
Common oils such as Soy, Canola, peanut, "vegetable" oil are to all over processed and are oxidized and rancid. These cause numerous health problems from the skin to the heart. Soy, in particular, contains multiple harmful substances and should be completely avoided. (I can provide sources of information for the "fat" topic, whenever, as this subject is potentially one of the primary reason for sooo many of our common ailments. - some is quite fascinating ;) such as K2 softening arteries that have been damaged and healing the dentin - halting and 'healing' cavities.)
So, Replace your sugar cravings with healthy lipids (your body has been lied to) and after the withdrawal from the 'sugar drug', your body will thank you. --mmmm yummy animal fats.
The Salts are also for more than taste. "Regular" salt is bitter because of chemical processing and leads to high blood pressure because of its imbalance of minerals - It's only minerals are NaCl. Our bodies are very much like the ocean, and needs nutrients that are found in real sea salt; they are a great balance and taste good to us too. Additional danger regarding "regular salt" is that the iodine found in iodized salt is lab-created and masks the thyroid's deficiencies by taking away the symptom of goiters. However, the US still estimates, at a minimum, 40% of Americans are deficient in Iodine leading to many other thyroid dysfunctions that are often accepted as normal life until they climax to a 'problem' (magnified by products such as soy.)
However; I don't store or use ALL sea salt; for frugality, I still store some "non-iodized table salt"; I also store a variety of sea salts (priced for different uses), dried kelp powder (rich in iodine as well as other minerals), and dried nearly flavorless seaweed (the last two used, unnoticeable, in stews, beans, crock-potted meals...).
(This mineral issue also comes into play in the garden; growing our own food gives the benefit of being able to supplement our soil for fully nutritious and healthy vegetables unlike the mostly depleted grocery store supply. As we find ourselves at the 'end' of compiling food storage, perhaps we can enter a community of learning regarding this LINK.
Fully "living a life of 'emergency preparedness'" is hardly complete without also remembering that the Prophets have commanded us to also plant a garden.)
The Sugar group is, of course important for taste, but in regard to nutrition, mostly a negative; it actually pulls minerals, esp Calcium, OUT of your body (There is more "bad", but to know more is just painful.) In my storage I do store some white granulated as well as honey (raw and cheaper 'regular'), brown sugar, ethnic sugar (many names, more minerals), and fruit. No matter what sweetener used, try to use at least Half as much as the recipe calls for. In many recipes, with time to become accustomed, you'll find you don't even need any sugar. This is especially true when you can use sweet vegetables or fruits in a meal; even fruit jams with no sugar.
The Powdered milk and Dairy group have multiple approaches that work, most of which I have information on that would need a direct email approach. Returning to the basic whole foods as much as possible, also, there are canned butter and cheese that are great.
Powdered Milk is as simple to use as flour. It's shelf life is determined by which type you purchase; Either way, You need to use what you are storing and rotate it in a timely fashion. Once you write down your ratio of dry milk to water, then you can use it in any recipe (although most can just be substituted with water entirely.)
Most families who choose to store it, are accustomed to using it on cereal. So if you would like to continue in that, store the cereal as well and use/rotate both. If that is not your purpose, then in most cases you can entirely skip the powdered milk.
I do not store it because it's nutrients have been removed and the remainder denatured in the processing.
(The fat is the portion that has the vitamins (and dry milk is non-fat). The vitamins that the gov't has mandated to be added back in are in the form of synthetic vitamins that are toxic to our bodies. The protein and cholesterol portion has been oxidized (= the bad kind of Cholesterol) and broken by the heat and pressure used to process and dry the milk, thus making it a burden on our systems, not a benefit. Even minerals present are largely un-absorbable. And as a side-note, besides the skim containing skim milk (that is oxidized) as an additive for consistency, it is the skim milk that is fattening, not the whole milk; Hog farmers fatten their pigs on skim milk....) There are some sites that mentioned a milk that can be stored without refrigeration - I do NOT recommend this one either for similar and additional nutritional reasons.
For nutritional substitution for milk and dairy in our long term storage, especially if desired for babies as a formula substitute or transitional food, there are other much more desirable and beneficial foods and formula recipes that can be made almost entirely from long shelf life foods. Posts on this later.
Short Term Storage is Easy
Short term food storage can be changed to whatever works best, for you, right now.
Some simple ideas
Consciously, make more choices instead of reacting to the easiest.
By becoming more aware, we often are unknowingly improving our diet and budgeting. As soon as we are aware of a new area to improve, then things just got easier - again!
With practice, the previously daunting ideas become routine.
Food storage and frugality (and all these related concepts) are Gospel Principles and so Gospel blessing apply. For your efforts, You Will be Blessed!
Some simple ideas
- "Build a small supply of food that is part of your normal, daily diet. One way to do this is to purchase a few extra items each week to build a one-week supply of food. Then you can gradually increase your supply until it is sufficient for three months. These items should be rotated regularly to avoid spoilage." link
- a monitored, stocked pantry and freezer from planning ahead when typical meal items were on sale.
- the portion of your long-term storage that you are using in order to rotate it.
- a combination of the above
- Start with (one month, then) three months, then 6 months.
- Don't forget the water storage.
- Store, don't Hoard.
- keep track of what you actually do eat.
- If you don't know, then make a list of "acceptable", "cheaper", and "cheap! stock up prices" for everything.
- Teach your family to be prudent and smart; Tell them the steps you are taking before they are usually a part of it.
- Don't eat it just because it is there. create and live in a budget/plan.
- Save containers as you empty them. I use empty baking soda cans for spices; ice cream buckets for flour, sugar, pancake mixes etc. This makes using your long term storage more accessible for rotation without constantly exposing it.
- Start a garden, eat fresh and process your own food.
- Learn to cook more from scratch - make your own mixes, soups.
- Teach your kids, in 'olden' days, they were helping, including neatly, as soon as they could reach.
- Find local sources (in emergencies of any type the stuff from furthest away often is gone first)
- Read the ingredients in every product you buy. (educate yourself even if you don't use it yet.)
- Add in your household needs, simplifying them when you can, such as soaps.
Consciously, make more choices instead of reacting to the easiest.
By becoming more aware, we often are unknowingly improving our diet and budgeting. As soon as we are aware of a new area to improve, then things just got easier - again!
With practice, the previously daunting ideas become routine.
Food storage and frugality (and all these related concepts) are Gospel Principles and so Gospel blessing apply. For your efforts, You Will be Blessed!
My perpetual Inventory sheet
To save a copy: Go to the following link and then select File > Download as > and select format choice.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Ai3zK3S0SNBWcGxzTUl2bWlsU2s0dkpVNnI3bzB4RGc&hl=en
There are different methods to determine how much you should store per person.
The best answer is Your own personal experience based on how much you eat!!
but here is one calculator the Church used less than a decade ago.
http://lds.about.com/library/bl/faq/blcalculator.htm
Coconut Oil and Palm Oil
Staple for Long Term Storage and Regular Use
Alternative purchasing:
(1) Watch for sales which bring smaller quantities to the same $/amount, but membership would need to be timed right also.
(2) Buy with friends in a group buy so the Shipping and Membership fee is split up.
(3) Small containers During Thanksgiving Holidays are on sale at Fry's and Sprout's bringing the price to nearly the same per amount. In addition, it is handy to buy a few of these so that you have small containers to refill and keep handy in kitchen/ bath.
Coconut oil is a healthy oil that is to replace (unhealthy) Canola, soy, peanut, and other 'dead' oils typically labeled as "vegetable oils". It Can be Used in Any Recipe.
Use it for any recipe that calls for oil (or butter, fat, etc). It can be used in high heat and baking, but switch to palm when frying, such as meats.
The version that I recommend above for purchase has no smell or taste (no Coconut proteins).
It is solid at room temperature but melts just above (such as when you use it as lotion (wonderful!)) and so is very liquid in my house in the summer time.
Palm oil is a healthy oil that is to replace hydrogenated Shortening (crisco type) which is (simply stated) a poison. It can be used in baking such as pastries and pie crusts AND for Hot frying, such as in cast iron pan, or when deep fat frying.
This is NOT Hydrogenated. It is solid like shortening for most of the year. At over 80 degrees or more, outer portions melt a little bit. It has NO taste or smell and is pure white.
(There is more than one type on the site, I recommend the shortening. The other product listed here is virgin palm oil which is red, flavored, and not commonly used in American cooking.)
There are a few higher quality coconut oils (processed less, taste and smell like coconut, higher nutritional value, contains coconut proteins, etc), but they cost more and (in my opinion/research) don't provide enough additional benefit to outweigh the cost. This one is still processed in a healthy, traditional way so the oil retains it's natural properties and is good for us. For those interested in the higher nutritional content - the primary difference is the antioxidant content which specifically would benefit cancer concerns and skin/aging concerns.
Different Oils provide different balances of vital nutrients to our diet, So, in ratio to Other Oils, lipids, Fats:
Butter and animal fats (ghee, lard, cod liver oil, etc), should take up the largest portion in your diet, Coconut and Palm can be second in amount, and Cold-Pressed Extra Virgin Olive oil, Sesame, Nut, Avocado etc be third.
The ones you want to eliminate are Hydrogenated (such as Crisco type shortening, Margarine) and Denatured such as Soybean, Canola, Cottonseed, Peanut oil, Corn and blends of these that are commonly labeled "vegetable oils." However, those do make great bio-diesel fuel, if you would like How to directions. ;)
To read more about what makes some fats healthy and "vegetable oils" unhealthy, Here are a few sites to start on. (1) post list 'overview' (2) simple: Coconut (3) lengthy: Lipids & Fats (4) Coconut oil article site (5) List of benefits (6) books (diet): Eat Fat, Lose Fat
BOTH have indefinite shelf life
(although the expiration date often reads 2 years and others, 10 yrs)
Order most frugally from Tropical Traditions using the Buyers Club Membership:(although the expiration date often reads 2 years and others, 10 yrs)
- Coconut Oil LINK
- Scroll ALL THE WAY to the bottom of page-The text is in Blue.
- The cheapest price per weight is $105 for 5 Gallon Bucket (~ 7*5=35lbs).
- Palm oil Shortening LINK
- Scroll ALL THE WAY to the bottom of page-The text is in Blue.
- The cheapest price per weight is $78 for 33 pound box.
- The box comes with a sealed bag (zip-lock style) inside another bag (twisted closed).
(1) Watch for sales which bring smaller quantities to the same $/amount, but membership would need to be timed right also.
(2) Buy with friends in a group buy so the Shipping and Membership fee is split up.
(3) Small containers During Thanksgiving Holidays are on sale at Fry's and Sprout's bringing the price to nearly the same per amount. In addition, it is handy to buy a few of these so that you have small containers to refill and keep handy in kitchen/ bath.
Coconut oil is a healthy oil that is to replace (unhealthy) Canola, soy, peanut, and other 'dead' oils typically labeled as "vegetable oils". It Can be Used in Any Recipe.
Use it for any recipe that calls for oil (or butter, fat, etc). It can be used in high heat and baking, but switch to palm when frying, such as meats.
The version that I recommend above for purchase has no smell or taste (no Coconut proteins).
It is solid at room temperature but melts just above (such as when you use it as lotion (wonderful!)) and so is very liquid in my house in the summer time.
Palm oil is a healthy oil that is to replace hydrogenated Shortening (crisco type) which is (simply stated) a poison. It can be used in baking such as pastries and pie crusts AND for Hot frying, such as in cast iron pan, or when deep fat frying.
This is NOT Hydrogenated. It is solid like shortening for most of the year. At over 80 degrees or more, outer portions melt a little bit. It has NO taste or smell and is pure white.
(There is more than one type on the site, I recommend the shortening. The other product listed here is virgin palm oil which is red, flavored, and not commonly used in American cooking.)
For those of you who want more information:
Palm Oil is the most commonly used oil in the world when the US is taken out of the list. Coconut oil comes soon after in that list. They have been extracted and eaten for millennia by peoples where coconut and palm are grown, which includes very hot places. They are completely safe and very beneficial to health and wellness. They are one of the few places outside of Mammal milk that provides Lauric Acid; which is a large portion of the fatty acid chain in coconut/palm oil. (this is the 'miracle' immune boost in Mother's Milk). Coconut oil is the perfect staple for making Baby formula and food when weaning and wonderful for food storage for families even if for this reason alone. (powdered milk is very insufficient and potentially damaging for infants (and adults); more on that under milk)There are a few higher quality coconut oils (processed less, taste and smell like coconut, higher nutritional value, contains coconut proteins, etc), but they cost more and (in my opinion/research) don't provide enough additional benefit to outweigh the cost. This one is still processed in a healthy, traditional way so the oil retains it's natural properties and is good for us. For those interested in the higher nutritional content - the primary difference is the antioxidant content which specifically would benefit cancer concerns and skin/aging concerns.
Different Oils provide different balances of vital nutrients to our diet, So, in ratio to Other Oils, lipids, Fats:
Butter and animal fats (ghee, lard, cod liver oil, etc), should take up the largest portion in your diet, Coconut and Palm can be second in amount, and Cold-Pressed Extra Virgin Olive oil, Sesame, Nut, Avocado etc be third.
The ones you want to eliminate are Hydrogenated (such as Crisco type shortening, Margarine) and Denatured such as Soybean, Canola, Cottonseed, Peanut oil, Corn and blends of these that are commonly labeled "vegetable oils." However, those do make great bio-diesel fuel, if you would like How to directions. ;)
To read more about what makes some fats healthy and "vegetable oils" unhealthy, Here are a few sites to start on. (1) post list 'overview' (2) simple: Coconut (3) lengthy: Lipids & Fats (4) Coconut oil article site (5) List of benefits (6) books (diet): Eat Fat, Lose Fat
Dehydrating in AZ is easy
You can build a dehydrator for about 10$.
This will build a three piece dehydrator - two for food, the third for a lid to keep wildlife off.
The fun part: watch for fruit (and veggies) on sale that you would like to try.
The Superstition Ranch Market is a great place for this, request a sales person to get a full box from the back of the store (they are straight from the cooler and less bruised etc than the fruit up front). The over ripe banana pile is a great place too. Home-made dried banana slices are THE BEST candy substitute :)
Anytime we have above 80*F and less than 60% humidity and no monsoon dust/rain storm then you can be drying. In AZ that is much of the year.
Easiest for me? I soak myself with the hose, and stand slicing directly onto the screen, preferably sometime in the morning.
Sometimes the fruit is dry by nightfall sometimes the following day.
I never pre treat or rotate the fruit and it always stays bright and colorful.
If they change color or condensate after being in a closed mason jar, then they were not dried long enough - put them out for a few hours or day+.
If you are drying as described above, dry them until they are either very leathery or crisp, then they are approx 10% moisture and will store about a year (until next summer when you get to do it again!). However, with a tight seal and very dry fruit the shelf life can be much longer. Especially if you put them out of sight. yummy. :)
Bad picture, sorry. Click on image to enlarge, Back button on browser to return.
Things that dry well:
Peaches (wow!)
Nectarines (!)
Apricots (!)
Apple rings
Strawberry slices
Banana slices (they do brown slightly & stay leathery)
Pineapple slices = VERY thin, long dry time
Soaked grain such as wheat - then grind in flour mill for cookies etc.
Yet to try, but have heard good things:
Tomatoes
crackers
Zucchini slices
other veggies
Jerky
melon slices
sliced pepper
strung Cranberries
lots of experimenting!
Don't need a screen (just use string):
Hang peppers on string in shade
Green beans (string them like a garland)
Apple rings
home-grown grape bunches
Did NOT do well:
Berries such as blackberries and raspberries - yuck
Citrus slices (great decoration!, but the fruit was poor quality to begin with, will try again)
Grapes worked, but were not worthwhile with store bought grapes. (if you have your own grape vines, then hang the bunches in the shade and be patient.)
This will build a three piece dehydrator - two for food, the third for a lid to keep wildlife off.
- Window screen roll $5 (no metal, or solar screen (too dense) - I chose basic grid with fiberglass core, black vinyl (that does NOT smell , cheapest roll @ H.D.)
- Wood pieces ~$5 (long thin, narrow boards cut to size (H.D. associate can cut if measurements ready))
- Skinny nails to connect the pieces into a frame.
- Staples or tacks
- scissors to cut screen (try to follow btwn the rows so there is a clean cut w/ no fibers hanging)
- Keep the extra screen for mason jar screens for soaking beans, grains, sprouts.
- Use the extra stubs of wood for 'legs' to raise the screens up off the table (or other raised surface to keep the ants off) so that it has more air flow.
The fun part: watch for fruit (and veggies) on sale that you would like to try.
The Superstition Ranch Market is a great place for this, request a sales person to get a full box from the back of the store (they are straight from the cooler and less bruised etc than the fruit up front). The over ripe banana pile is a great place too. Home-made dried banana slices are THE BEST candy substitute :)
Anytime we have above 80*F and less than 60% humidity and no monsoon dust/rain storm then you can be drying. In AZ that is much of the year.
Easiest for me? I soak myself with the hose, and stand slicing directly onto the screen, preferably sometime in the morning.
Sometimes the fruit is dry by nightfall sometimes the following day.
I never pre treat or rotate the fruit and it always stays bright and colorful.
If they change color or condensate after being in a closed mason jar, then they were not dried long enough - put them out for a few hours or day+.
If you are drying as described above, dry them until they are either very leathery or crisp, then they are approx 10% moisture and will store about a year (until next summer when you get to do it again!). However, with a tight seal and very dry fruit the shelf life can be much longer. Especially if you put them out of sight. yummy. :)
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Things that dry well:
Peaches (wow!)
Nectarines (!)
Apricots (!)
Apple rings
Strawberry slices
Banana slices (they do brown slightly & stay leathery)
Pineapple slices = VERY thin, long dry time
Soaked grain such as wheat - then grind in flour mill for cookies etc.
Yet to try, but have heard good things:
Tomatoes
crackers
Zucchini slices
other veggies
Jerky
melon slices
sliced pepper
strung Cranberries
lots of experimenting!
Don't need a screen (just use string):
Hang peppers on string in shade
Green beans (string them like a garland)
Apple rings
home-grown grape bunches
Did NOT do well:
Berries such as blackberries and raspberries - yuck
Citrus slices (great decoration!, but the fruit was poor quality to begin with, will try again)
Grapes worked, but were not worthwhile with store bought grapes. (if you have your own grape vines, then hang the bunches in the shade and be patient.)
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