RECOIL OFFGRID DIY Pantry Staples
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The concept of “pantry staples” differs from household to household based on factors like climate, availability, and heritage, but there’s a huge variety of things we can not only make from scratch but also store for long-term use in our pantry. By making items at home and learning how to properly store them, we can reduce our reliance on store-bought products — a valuable benefit in everyday situations as well as providing food security in at emergency.
Preserving our own food offers several key benefits. First, we know exactly what’s in our food, without added chemicals or preservatives. Second, we can save a huge amount of money — a bottle of Heinz Organic Ketchup is about $10 right now at Walmart for a 32-ounce bottle, which lasts my kids about two weeks (if we’re lucky). Finally, if we source the materials ourselves and make things from scratch, we are in control of our supply chain and don’t need to worry about outside factors that might interfere with access to essential food items.
Depending on what we’re working with, there are several methods we can use to preserve the same food items you would find at the grocery store. Common preservation methods include canning, dehydrating, freezing, or even fermenting. Once you’ve learned a few basic skills, you can start building a pantry that’s stocked with homemade essentials. Begin by making a list of items you use regularly. Start small, with one or two projects at a time, until you feel comfortable with each technique. Over time, you’ll build up a supply of homemade staples that will save you money, reduce your reliance on grocery stores, and provide a safety net in uncertain times.
For me, pantry staples are the foods and ingredients we really can’t live without — or at least wouldn’t want to. Think about what people rush to grab before a big snowstorm: milk, bread, and eggs. Yes, these are staples, but what about other essentials like condiments, spices, and sauces? Many of these can be made inexpensively at home and stored for long periods. This is what’s so appealing about this approach to me. Part of the reason I try to always be prepared is that when the world around me becomes uncertain, I can provide my family with the comforts that allow a life as close to normal as possible.
When things go downhill, do you want to be eating meals from a 72-hour bucket you bought off Amazon or would you prefer the comforts of eating the nutritious foods you eat every day? I’d rather eat food I grew in my own backyard, where I know exactly what’s in it and how fresh it is. By building these skills before they’re needed, I’ll be able to continue after any challenges arise — and, as a bonus, it’s better for the environment.
There are a few essential skills an aspiring prepper needs for DIY food preservation that you’ll want to familiarize yourself with if you’re going to start making and preserving food, starting with basic preservation techniques.
Canning involves heating food to a certain temperature to kill any existing bacteria, then sealing jars to keep new bacteria from entering. There are two methods: water bath and pressure canning. Water bath canning is used almost exclusively for high-acid foods like jams, pickles, or tomatoes. After filling the jars, they are submerged in water and heated for a set time, which evacuates the oxygen from the jar, forming a vacuum and sealing the lids. For low-acid foods, a similar process is used, but with a pressure canner, which reaches higher temperatures than boiling to safely process foods like broths, meats, and vegetables.
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Fermentation uses beneficial bacteria and yeasts to preserve food and enhance natural flavors. This process creates lactic acid, which naturally preserves food. Common ferments include sauerkraut, kimchi, yogurt, and pickled foods.
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Dehydration is one of the easiest methods of preserving food and is great because it preserves flavor and nutrients. It works by removing all moisture, preventing bacteria, mold, and yeast from growing. This can be done with a dehydrator, oven, or even open air in certain environments.
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Vacuum sealing is another method that removes oxygen to slow down spoilage. This works well with most dried foods and usually requires a special machine and Mylar bags or mason jars.
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Freezing is common in almost every household. Freezing slows down the growth of bacteria, yeasts, and molds. While it doesn’t kill all microbes, it keeps food safe by holding them in a dormant state. Blanching vegetables before freezing can help maintain texture, color, and nutrients.
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There are other methods for preserving food, but these are my favorites for reasons of safety and efficiency.
What do you keep in your pantry now? Condiments, sauces, and broths; dried goods like pasta and grains; spices and herbs; maybe even canned proteins. Here are a few examples of how to prepare and preserve core items.
Ketchup Recipe:
– 2 teaspoons celery seeds
– 4 whole cloves
– 5 whole allspice
– 3 cups vinegar (half white and half cider, 5% acidity)
– 24 pounds tomatoes
– 3 cups chopped onions
– 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
– 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
– 2 cups granulated sugar
– 1/4 cup canning or pickling salt
– 1 teaspoon dried garlic
Start by tying the celery seeds, cloves, and allspice in a spice bag or cheesecloth. In a large pot, combine the spice bag with vinegar, diced tomatoes, and onions. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the tomatoes and onions are soft. Remove the spice bag and puree the mixture in a food mill or blender until smooth. Return the puree to the pot. Add black pepper, cayenne, sugar, salt, and garlic. Simmer and stir until thickened. Pour into sterilized jars, leaving a 1/2-inch headspace, and process per canning instructions.
Tomato Sauce Recipe:
– 45 pounds tomatoes
– 6 cups chopped onions
– 12 garlic cloves, minced
– 1/4 cup olive oil
– 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
– 2 tablespoons brown sugar
– 1/4 cup coarse sea salt
– Bottled lemon juice (2 tablespoons per quart jar)
Quarter and deseed tomatoes, then puree in a blender or food processor. Sauté onions and garlic in olive oil in a large pot. Add tomatoes, pepper, sugar, and salt. Simmer until reduced by half, 3 to 5 hours for juicy tomatoes. Add lemon juice to jars (1 tablespoon per pint, 2 tablespoons per quart). Ladle sauce in, leaving 1/2-inch headspace, and process in a hot water bath (pints 35 minutes, quarts 40 minutes).
Vegetable Broth Recipe:
– 2 medium onions, halved
– 4 medium carrots, chopped
– 1 to 2 medium celery stalks, chopped
– Leek or fennel tops, chopped
– 1 garlic bulb, halved
– Handful of fresh parsley
– 1 small bunch of fresh thyme
– 3 bay leaves
– 2 teaspoons sea salt
– 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
– 10 to 12 cups filtered water
Combine onions, carrots, celery, leek tops, garlic, parsley, thyme, bay leaves, salt, pepper, and water in a large pot. Bring to a boil over high heat (using 10 cups of water if 12 won’t fit). Reduce heat and simmer gently, covered, for 1 hour. Strain out and discard the vegetables, season the broth to taste, and use it in your favorite soups.
Nut Milk (Almond, Cashew, etc.) Recipe:
– 1 cup raw almonds
– 5 cups filtered water
– 1 pinch sea salt
Soak the almonds overnight in water, then drain and rinse. Add soaked almonds, fresh water, salt, and any optional flavorings to a high-speed blender. Blend for 1 to 2 minutes until smooth. Strain through a nut milk bag or clean dish towel over a bowl. Squeeze to extract all the liquid. Discard the almond pulp or save it for baking. Pour the almond milk into a jar or covered bottle and refrigerate for up to four to five days, shaking well before drinking as it may separate.
The lists can go on and on, and the possibilities are essentially endless. In just a few generations, we’ve gone from being almost completely self-sufficient to a world that is largely dependent on having our resources provided for us. It’s time we all started getting back to our roots. To do this right, a system must be in place. Seasonal processing seems to make the most sense. For example, make your tomato products at the end of tomato season. Ketchups, sauces, and salsas work great with frozen tomatoes, so spend a whole season accumulating them.
At the end of the season, assess your crop, decide by type, and batch out your desired products. Preserve them in whichever type of storage is appropriate for the product, and stack them on the shelf for later use. With a decent garden, you can easily make enough sauces and ketchups to last you until the following season or even more. On the other hand, grains for flour might be harvested and processed at a different point during the year. Wild berries will have their own seasons, and so it goes. By processing things as the seasons roll around, you’ll always have a rolling inventory of your favorite staples.
I’ll finish this up with a few final tips: Pay attention to local wild provisions. A ton of edible flora grows around your home and, in some areas, can be legally harvested. You can forage for berries, nuts, mushrooms, and other wild plants that can be preserved and enjoyed year-round. Hunting, fishing, and gathering can fill your pantry and freezer at minimal cost.
If you can’t grow a garden or don’t have access to huntable land in your area, you can still buy organic produce from your local farm or grocery store and batch process things for long-term storage. Corn on the cob, for example, is very seasonal in my area. I vacuum-seal two shucked ears and a pat of salted butter into a pouch, then store it in the freezer. When I’m ready to use it, I can reheat it straight in the bag for perfect corn on the cob all year round.
Our resilience and ability to be self-reliant are entirely within our control. The more we prepare for a rainy day, the less we’ll even notice it when the storm arrives. Creating a self-reliant pantry isn’t about jumping into the deep end and making everything from scratch overnight. Start with what interests you the most or what you already use regularly. Take time to learn each skill, enjoy the process, and build confidence. Knowing that you have homemade essentials in your pantry is incredibly rewarding. Whether you’re interested in preparedness, cutting costs, or just having control over your ingredients, homemade pantry staples are an excellent step toward a more self-sufficient lifestyle.
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Editor’s Note: This article has been modified from its original version for the web.
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