When I was
first building my food storage and trying to cook with it. I ran across an article over at The Prudent
Homemaker, that really impacted my ideas about food storage.
After the
family’s income was drastically reduced when the housing market tanked, the
author, Brandy Simper had been living exclusively on her food storage. She was frugal and careful and figured out
how to feed her family with no grocery budget.
One of the things she said really hit me, when she did have a little
money what did she buy?
“ I buy oil, because I
don't know when I'll get to go to the store again, and I don't want to run out
before that time. We currently use about 1 gallon of oil a month, because of
all the baking and other cooking that I do. I usually make French Bread, which
doesn't call for any oil, but if your bread uses oil, you might need more oil
in your storage.” Brandy Simper, The
Prudent Homemaker
Since
reading about Brandy's experience I have been motivated to make sure I am
storing enough fat and oil in my food storage. It is not something I want to run out of.
Oil and fat
are an essential part of our diet, and required to make many recipes. Many of us store a lot of grains and dry
beans, but I must say that in the event that I am eating exclusively out of my
food storage I want to have enough oil and fat.
You should have at least 13 pounds of fat and oil to last 1 year for an adult. Here is the recommended breakdown:
4 pounds of
shortening
2 gallons of
vegetable oil
2 quarts of
Mayonnaise
1 quart of
salad dressing
4 pounds of peanut
butter.
Children need 7 pounds of fat and oil per year. Here is the breakdown for a child:
2 pounds of
shortening
1 gallons of
vegetable oil
1 quarts of
Mayonnaise
1 quart of
salad dressing
2 pounds of peanut
butter.
The Big
Problem with storing fats and oil
Fat goes
rancid. Particularly unsaturated oils like canola,
olive, peanut or vegetable oil.
And there is really no coming back from rancid
fat/oil.
What causes
oil to go rancid? The regular suspects;
heat, light and oxygen.
How do you
know your oil is rancid? It tastes and
smells bad. Really bad. It does not normally make your sick, but over
time it can cause serious problem.
Source: Live
Strong
Because fat and oil have such a short shelf life they MUST be regularly rotated.
Food Storage Fat and Oil Comparison
Cost: August 2012
|
||
Vegetable
Oil, opened
|
1-3 months
|
$8.98 for 5 quarts at Sam’s club
|
Vegetable
Oil, unopened
|
6 months
|
|
Olive Oil,
unopened early harvest, high polyphenol, filtered. Packaged in a dark bottle and stored in a cooled
dark place.
|
3-4 years
|
$12.98
for 3 quarts at Sam’s Club
|
Shortening
(Crisco) unopened, in the can, stored in a cool dark place away from strong
odors, direct sunlight and heat sources.
|
2 years
from manufacture date
|
$7.89 for 6
pounds at Sam’s Club
|
Shortening
(Crisco) opened**
|
About 1
year
|
|
Sealed 5
years
Opened 9
months
Cannot be
used for frying
|
$23.79 for
a #10 can
From Shelf
Reliance
|
|
Sealed 10
years
Opened 1
year
Cannot be
used for frying
|
$12.30 for
a #10 can
From Shelf
Reliance
|
|
Peanut
butter unopened, stored in a cool dark place
|
18-24
months
Peter
Pan recommends 18 months
Skippy Peanut
butter is 24 months
Jif
Peanut butter is 24 months
|
$10.98
for 5 pounds (2 jars)
|
Peanut
Butter Powder (like PB2)
|
Unopened 10
to 12 months
Opened 4-6
months
|
$13.95 for
13 oz from Amazon
|
Salad
dressing unopened
|
5-6 months
unopened,
4 months
opened, stored in the refrigerator
|
$9.88 for
5 pounds Hidden Valley Ranch at Sam’s Club
|
Nuts—In
the shell
|
24 months
|
|
Nuts out
of the shell
|
3 months
1 year if
stored in fridge
2 years if
stored in freezer
|
$11.74 for 2 lbs (Walnuts) from Sam’s club
|
Ultra High
Temperature Whipping Cream
|
6-9 months
unopened
|
Gossners
|
This Month's Give Away
2 Cans of Shelf Reliance Shortening Powder. Shortening powder can be used to make your own brownie mixes, make pies, cookies, and frosting. Shortening powder does not work for frying. Shortening powder has a shelf life of 10 years. If you are not sure how to use shortening powder, try this tutorial.
2 Cans of Shelf Reliance Shortening Powder. Shortening powder can be used to make your own brownie mixes, make pies, cookies, and frosting. Shortening powder does not work for frying. Shortening powder has a shelf life of 10 years. If you are not sure how to use shortening powder, try this tutorial.
How do you enter? Just leave a comment on this post letting me know what you did to build up your food storage this month. I want to know specifically what you did in regards to your fat and oil storage, but I'd love to hear about any progress you have made. For an additional entry you may share this give away (facebook, pinterest, twitter, blog). Please leave an additional comment for sharing the post.