Freeze Drying at Home

Liisa Sullivan writes for several national and regional magazines; daily and weekly newspapers; and business-to-business newsletters. Before starting Write Away, Inc., she worked as an editor for a national medical publishing company where she managed a team of writers and did market research for new launches.

By Liisa Sullivan, eHow Contributor

1. • Freeze drying food is a popular preservation technique. It is a great way to preserve homegrown fruits and vegetables as it will save you money and time in the long run. Freeze dried products also retain their nutritional value and taste for a long period of time (up to several years).

   Defining Freeze Dried

   • Freeze drying combines two factors: very cold temperatures and low pressure. When combined, these work together to prevent food from spoiling. The fundamental principle is called sublimation, a shift from a solid into a gas.

   Benefits of Freeze Dried Foods

   • Freeze dried foods have a long shelf life. They also require minimal preparation and revitalize quickly. In addition, the total weight of the product is reduced because 98 percent of the water is removed from the food. This makes it easy to store and to carry, if necessary.

   Advantage to Freeze Drying Foods at Home

   • Freeze drying can be done in two ways: high-tech or low-tech. If you are trying this at home, low-tech is the clear choice as you will not possess expensive freeze drying equipment needed for more high-tech procedures. Your refrigerator will act as your primary tool. While the process for freeze drying foods at home may take longer, it is much more economical than buying prepared freeze dried foods or purchasing the equipment.

   Determine the Product (s) to Freeze Dry

   • If you are just starting out, potatoes and apples are good products to start with. Pick the fruit or vegetable at the height of its ripeness and then wash the product.

   Freeze Dry the Food

   • Find a mesh metal tray. The tray should have some holes or the freeze-drying process will take longer. These can be found at any restaurant supply store. Next, cut the apple or potato into very thin slices. The thinner the slice, the less time the process will take. Arrange the slices on the tray and place in freezer. Within 30 minutes, they should be frozen. Keep in freezer for about one week to completely dry. To test, remove one slice and thaw. If it is not completely dry, it will turn black. If this happens, keep slices in freezer for another day or two and test again.

   Store the food

   • Once you have determined the food is completely dry, place it in an air-tight container or zip lock bags. If you have a home version of a vacuum-pack sealer, use that. If you do not, you can simply suck the air out of the bag with your mouth and press down firmly on the bag to remove any air bubbles. Then place in freezer and store until you need it. You can reconstitute them by placing them in hot water. Apples can also be eaten in their freeze-dried state.

Read more: Freeze Drying at Home | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4794057_freeze-drying-home.html#ixzz1NnhRCt3X

http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4794057_freeze-drying-home.html

Tortillas in 72-hour Kit

A friend recently shared with me how she is including tortillas in her 72-hour kit. I was excited to hear her idea as I had just been wishing that we could store some kind of bread in our kits. Bread is a type of comfort food and is so filling!

Food seal in a plastic bag a mixture of flour, baking powder and salt.
Include a small bottle of oil and a bottle of water in kit.

Tortilla recipe:
4 cups flour
2 t baking powder
1 1/2 t salt
2 T oil
enough water to make dough

You can half the recipe if you need to.

Include several days worth of tortilla dough (flour mixture) in separate bags. Add water and oil to flour mixture just before rolling out. (Dough rolls out better if you let it sit 30 minutes before rolling.)

Also in your kit include a miniature rolling pin, a plastic roll-up cutting board for rolling the tortillas out on and some extra flour to keep the dough from sticking.

My friend suggested using the Mini Ninja butane cooking stove to cook the tortillas on. I liked the stove so well that I went and bought one this weekend. It's small, self igniting, and produces a hot enough flame to boil water. I got mine for $25 at a local Asian Market.

Don't forget to include a light weight skillet to cook the tortillas on.

Tortillas are a very versatile item to include in your kits. You can eat them plain or roll them up with refried bean or peanut butter and jelly.

It's going to be a great addition to our 72-hour kits! Email me if you have any questions.

Family Home Storage Starter Kit

http://www.ldscatalog.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10151&storeId=10151&productId=10151&langId=-1&sortId=3&sortOr=1&sTerm=06604000&sNVPs=%26beginIndex%3D0%26pageSize%3D200%26searchTerm%3D06604000%26searchType%3DALL%26sType%3DSimple%26pageId%3D1%26pageCt%3D15&retURLtext=Back%20to%20'06604000'%20search&retURL=http%3A%2F%2Fbeta.ldscatalog.com%2Fwebapp%2Fwcs%2Fstores%2Fservlet%2FCatalogSearchResultView%3FcatalogId%3D10151%26amp%3BstoreId%3D10151%26amp%3BlangId%3D-1%26beginIndex%3D0%26pageSize%3D200%26searchTerm%3D06604000%26searchType%3DALL%26sType%3DSimple%26pageId%3D1%26pageCt%3D15%26sortId%3D3%26sortOr%3D1

Honey

The Natural Sweetness of Honey

When considering what types of sweeteners to add to your food storage there are several reasons why honey should be at the top of your list. Not only is honey healthy, but it also has great flavor and will store almost indefinitely.

Honey doesn’t undergo the processing that sugar does, therefore it contains more nutrients. Mineral content is higher in darker honey. Digestion of honey is also easier than digestion of refined sugars. Honey provides a boost to your immune system that refined sugars won’t. The boost comes from the antioxidants that are found naturally in honey. Other health benefits of using honey include fatigue prevention and increased energy, and enhanced physical performance.

Note: Do not feed honey to babies under 1 year of age--it may cause infant botulism.

Honey can be used whenever you have a recipe that calls for sugar. Since honey is more concentrated than sugar use approximately 3/4 cup honey for every cup of sugar called for in any recipe. You may substitute up to half of the sugar called for without needing to make any other adjustments to the recipe. If substituting more than half of the sugar with honey, reduce the amount of liquid called for by one-quarter. Using honey also gives a sweeter taste to the foods you are eating.

Storing honey is simple. It can be stored in almost any container from glass and plastic jars to larger 5 gallon food grade buckets. Around 75° F is the ideal storage temperature, but any crystallization that occurs at cooler temperatures can be reversed. Simply place your container of honey in a pan of warm water (approx. 130° F) or in a sunny spot in your home. This will liquefy your honey. Be sure not to boil the honey as this can ruin the taste. Rotating honey is simple when substituting it for sugar but it can still be stored for a lengthy amount of time.

Making honey a part of your food storage can provide all these benefits and more.

(Courtesy of beprepared.com)

Easy Honey Uses

Antibacterial: Apply honey to cuts, scrapes or burns and cover with a clean bandage. Change dressings one to three times daily, as needed. Note: excessive heat or prolonged exposure to light can rob honey of its antibacterial properties. Always store in a dark, cool place.

Disinfectant: Take several tablespoons of honey daily for internal disinfection.

Nursing salve: Nursing mothers, try covering cracked, sore nipples with honey-soaked gauze to prevent infection.

Sore throats: Many opera singers add honey to a glass of warm milk and sip slowly. This helps soothe the throat.

Insomnia: Mix a half glass of warm water with 2 tablespoons of honey and the juice of a lemon and an orange. The darker the honey, the better this works.

Honey pick-me-up: Combine 2 tablespoons honey, 2 teaspoons pollen, a teaspoon of ginseng, and dried orange peel. Take with a spoon. Asian healers believe that this creates a feeling of total rejuvenation.

Diarrhea: In 8 ounces of water, mix 4 large tablespoons of honey. This works well for bacterial diarrhea. Those with diabetes should be cautious about taking so much honey at one time.

Dieting: Honey's double action (providing instant energy boost, while maintaining sugar levels for along time) satisfies the hunger for sweets and may keep you feeling fuller longer. For some dieters, this may be good news.

(Courtesy of motherearthnews.com)

Food Ideas for Three Month Supply

While your one year supply likely consists of cans of wheat and beans, your 3 month supply should contain items you use on a regular basis---things that don't require much effort to make.

Some ideas include:

Canned soup
Canned meat
Canned tomatoes
Instant potatoes
Instant rice and other grains
Applesauce
Canned fruits and vegetables
Instant hot cereal
Olive oil
Canned beans
Instant baking mix
Peanut butter
Jelly
Syrup
Nuts
Crackers
Pasta
Spaghetti sauce

Don't forget water storage.....

30 Day Menu

Having a hard time deciding what food to put in your food storage? Making a menu of meals is the perfect way to get started. List 30 food storage friendly recipes that your family enjoys eating. Combine and list on paper all the ingredients in the recipes. Then determine how much of each item you will need to get a 3-month supply of meals --- followed by a year supply.

If you are in need of more food storage friendly recipes, check out the ones posted here on the blog. Many wards/neighborhoods have Food Storage Recipe Clubs where they meet to sample food storage friendly dishes and swap recipes. Don't have one in your area? Start one!

Dehydrated Vegetables

Dehydrated vegetables are a great thing to add to your food storage. Dehydrate your own or visit www.harmonyhousefoods.com for a large selection of dehydrated food. Many of the recipes included on this site call for vegetables. The dehydrated vegetables are perfect to use if you don't have a garden.

Sprouting

Have you tried sprouting yet? It is a fun, simple, and delicious way to use your food storage. Check out www.sproutman.com. They have the products and tips you'll need to get started. (Sprouting is a great way to use your wheat if you don't yet have a wheat grinder.)