@crownsandashes replied to your post “@justgot1 replied to your post “@prosthetical replied to your post ...”
i would love your information!!
*rubs hands together*
1) When you buy flour, cornmeal, sugar, brown sugar, whatever, put it in the freezer for a day or two. Many of those bags have little bugs in them that, if left to their own devices, create those little webs of grain in jars etc. when they’re left on the shelf too long. Freezing them kills them.
2) Hit up your local bakery for big buckets. They’re like five gallon pails, except smaller (three gal maybe?) and were full of things like frosting, shortening, etc. They’re already food safe, the bakery just throws them out anyway, and they’re sorta squarish made for easier stacking and storage.
3) If you buy the giant bags of flour etc., and don’t have a giant freezer to pop them in before putting into buckets, buy some food grade diatomaceous earth. A scoop of that will ensure that whatever wigglies hatch in the flour won’t survive.
4) Build your own potato and onion boxes. They’re sooooo much cheaper than the crap you can buy online. DON’T use pallets, which are all the rage right now. Pallets are treated with all sorts of chemicals to prevent mold and such, and you don’t want that leaching into your food.
5) If you buy herbs from farmer’s markets it’s way cheaper and more flavorful than buying them off shelf. The only problem with drying mass quantities by hanging them in a dark place is that some of them tend to collect dust because they take so long to dry. Our solution was to buy those cheapo paper lunch bags, punch holes in them for air circulation, and hang them up with the herbs inside. Caught any leaves that fell, and no dust!
6) Buy huge amounts of whatever is in season. Look for “seconds” - the stuff that isn’t pretty enough to grace farmer market tables but is sold by the bushel at a discount. Can, freeze, and dry that shit.
7) Waterbath canning is the easiest thing on the planet. There are some foods that *have* to use a pressure canner (has to do with food acidity and potential toxicity, if I remember, but it’s been years) but waterbath can what you are able to. Get a double stacker and use pints instead of quarts - it takes a long time for one person to go through a quart of peaches or green beans, lol.
8) Canning meat is easy if you’re a meat eater and not afraid to use a pressure canner. If you have concerns about the power being on and don’t want to freeze lots of food, can that shit. It lasts longer than frozen meat and is more flavorful. Buy widemouth jars. They’re easier to clean.
9) Freezer jam and refrigerator pickles are awesome, low work, inexpensive alternatives to buying the highly processed, has-preservatives-and-chemicals stuff you get in the store. And if you don’t like how a batch turned out? Share it with friends and watch the produce and free alcohol roll in as thanks, lol.
10) Freeze things like zucchini in pre-measured batches. Takes 2 cups of shredded zucchini to make bread? Freeze it in two-cup increments.
11) Invest in a high-quality dehydrator. You won’t be sorry.
12) Buy dried goods over canned whenever possible. Beans, for instance. They’re so much less expensive, you can season them however you want, and they don’t have as much packaging waste. Also takes up less physical space in your pantry.
That’s all I can think of before I’ve finished my coffee, lol. Hope that helps!
