simple food storage strategies

By Jim Kilpatrick

Copyright © 2012 Jim Kilpatrick

http://www.amazon.com/Simple-Food-Storage-Strategies-Preparedness-ebook/dp/B00F4VOK4M

Simple Food Storage Strategies

The Delicious Beginners Guide to Canning, Pickling, Smoking and Preserving Your Way to Savings and Preparedness! [Illustrated Ed]

[Kindle Edition]





Published by Traditionally Modern PublishersAtlanta, Georgia USA

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED:No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted for resale or use by any party other than the individual purchaser who is the sole authorized user of this information. Purchaser is authorized to use any of the information in this publication for his or her own use only. All other reproduction or transmission, or any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any informational storage or retrieval system, is prohibited without express written permission from the author.DISCLAIMER:While all attempts have been made to provide effective, verifiable information in this Book, neither the Author nor Publisher assumes any responsibility for errors, inaccuracies, or omissions. Any slights of people or organizations are unintentional.This Book is not a source of medical information, and it should not be regarded as such. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering a medical service. As with any medical advice, the reader is strongly encouraged to seek professional medical advice before taking action.


Books by This Author

• Beginner's Backyard Chickens• Simple Food Storage Strategies• Survive and Thrive


http://www.amazon.com/Beginners-Backyard-Chickens-Chicken-Illustrated-ebook/dp/B00D4IVSBU


http://www.amazon.com/Survive-Thrive-Beginners-Complete-Preparedness-ebook/dp/B00H442YI6

Table Of ContentsSUCCESS STORIES................1 BEFORE YOU START................3 1. INTRODUCTION.....................7 2. WHY PRESERVE AND STORE YOUR OWN FOOD?............9 3. THE BASICS................13 4. SMOKING.15

5. SALTING...25 6. CANNING.31 7. DEHYDRATING.....................41 8. FREEZING..................47 9. PICKLING.53 10. VACUUM SEALING..........59 11. BONUS CHAPTER: CHEESE WAXING......65 ONE LAST THING...............69


IntroductionIf you’ve read any of my other books, you’ll know that I’m really into self-sufficient living. I raise chickens, grow a lot of food in my garden, and keep my lifestyle as natural as possible. Unfortunately, one of the things that natural living doesn’t always allow for is keeping food fresh for a long time. Food that you buy from the grocery store lasts a long time because quite a few chemicals have been added to it. Obviously, these things don’t just come out of the garden, after all! When I first started trying to live sustainably, I had a lot of trouble with keeping my food from spoiling really quickly, so I decided to do something about it. I started learning about food preservation.

The complete book is available on Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/Simple-Food-Storage-Strategies-Preparedness-ebook/dp/B00F4VOK4M


Why preserve and store your own food?

If you’re like most people, you’ve probably never given too much thought to preserving your own food. It’s just not something that very many people do anymore—we buy pre-packaged foods, we keep them in the refrigerator, and we eat them when we want to. That’s generally the extent of the food preservation cycle in modern times. You have to admit that we have it pretty good. Two hundred years ago, none of these things existed; if people wanted their food to last for more than a few days, they had to preserve it themselves.



The basicsWhen it comes to preserving food, the main objective is to prevent bacteria and other micro-organisms from growing in it. Without the preservation process, these micro-organisms cause spoilage —and if you eat food that’s spoiled, you could get very sick. Obviously, this is something to be avoided! There are several different ways to prevent bacteria from growing in your food stores. One popular taxonomy of food preservation provides the following list of "parameters" that stand in the way of bacteria growth:

• High temperature ·Low temperature• Reduced water activity ·Increased acidity• Reduced redox potential · Biopreservatives• Other preservatives



SmokingSmoking is definitely one of the best ways to start preserving your own food—it’s relatively simple, doesn’t require a lot of dedicated equipment, and the food tastes fantastic. Smoked food has a very distinctive flavor that many people associate with campfires or cabin trips from their childhood. If you’ve never had properly smoked meats before, you’re missing out on a wonderful experience. Salmon, pork, and chicken are pretty commonly used for smoking, and they all have their own rich and complex flavor, which makes smoking one of my personal favorite preservation methods. A few other things that are commonly smoked are cheeses and nuts, both of which can gain some great flavor in the smoking process.



SaltingSalting is one of the oldest methods of preserving food, and is still used today in many places (especially in warm places, as salting is less effective in very cold temperatures). A lot of people really like the saltiness that’s imparted to the meat, and by adding herbs and spices to your salt mixture, you can develop a truly distinctive taste that’s customized to your liking. Another big advantage of salt curing is that it doesn’t require much equipment or supplies—all you need is a lot of salt and some room to store your meat!



CanningCanning is one of the most popular methods of food preservation— in fact, many people do it and don’t even think of it as a method of preservation so much as a means of storing excess. A good deal of home gardeners can their produce as a way to keep the food that they get from their gardens after they’ve given away and baked all they can. No matter how you think about it, canning is one of the best ways to keep your food fresh and easily portable. For this reason, it’s often the method that people use first. Canning is also a very versatile process, and can be used for just about anything, which is another reason why people like it so much.



DehydratingDehydration is one of the most basic methods of preserving food, and is really at the root of slightly more complicated methods like salt curing and smoking (removing water from food prevents bacteria from growing on or in it). Both of these methods are simply dehydrating food using something else (like smoke or salt). You can get away with an even simpler process, however, by just dehydrating the food using heat and some airflow. If you do it right, it’s just as safe and effective, and once you get the hang of it, you can dry just about anything! Many outdoors enthusiasts enjoy drying their own food so that they can bring it with them on hikes, backpacking or camping trips, or any other long adventure.



FreezingFreezing food is something you’ve probably done already—in fact, it’s probably something you already to on a regular basis. However, if you’re going to use it as a long-term, go-to food preservation solution, there are a few things that you should be aware of first.



PicklingIf you’ve ever had pickles, you’ve had some experience with pickled food. Most people probably haven’t had too many pickled foods other than this, but you can actually pickle just about anything. Pickled foods have a pretty distinct taste, and if you find that you like it, you might be tempted to try pickling a lot of other things! I know some people who really like pickled eggs, and you can certainly pickle meat and vegetables as well. Pickling is actually a very simple process, so it might be one that you try early on in your food preserving "career." Even if you don’t like pickles that much, you should give pickling a try, because it’s so easy and you never know when you’ll find something that you like.



Vacuum sealingThough it’s been around for a long time, vacuum packing has seen a recent increase in popularity due to the easy availability of the equipment for preserving food with this method. It’s really easy to get a vacuum sealer at your corner grocery or big-box store, and because they’re so easy to use, you can pack just about anything you want.



Exclusive Bonus Download: Organic Growing And Gardening



simple food storage strategies

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