Thursday, January 19, 2012

Is Simply Buying Long Term Food Storage Enough Preparation?

By Troy Butcher


Long term food storage is one of the more important items in a emergency plan. Freeze dried foods extends the shelf life and this plays a important role in the plan. If an emergency were to occur there are additional points to keep in mind besides survival food. These points are important considerations for being prepared in times of crisis.

* Preparation Time - Preparing the survival food before hand helps determine the length of time for preparation. 10-12 minutes is a general rule for freeze dried food but this can vary from producer to producer. Individual preference can also play a role in preparation time as different food consistency can vary by preference.

* Water - One cup of water per serving is the general rule to reconstitute freeze dried food. The amount of water can really start to add up when you think that each survival meal has 4 servings. So, in order to prepare one meal it would require four cups or one quart of water each time.

* Fire - Boiling the water to reconstitute survival food is not necessary. It is however, a good rule to use boiled water as the food will taste better because it is warm. Boiling the water also kills harmful germs. A heat source for boiling water is an important consideration, even though cold water can be used. In addition to boiling water, a heat source can provide a number of other benefits. There are affordable, reusable heat sources in the market that can meet this need.

* Additional Flavor Packets - Packaged survival meals are generally made by a gourmet chef and come full of good flavor. However, even with the flavor packed meals, each individual tends to add their own personal seasonings. So, salts, spices and seasonings are an important emergency food component. To determine what types of spices or flavorings, it's important to thing about what you or your family uses at meal time.

Ultimately, take the time to prepare a freeze dried meal before disaster strikes. All of the surprises that might be encountered in the time of crisis can be improved or eliminated by going through the steps of preparation now. At the end of the day, if the need were to arise that you would require the use of survival food, putting the preparation in now would minimize any potential issues.




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