A list of processes that survivalists need to know when they don't have access to a grocery or hardware store.

Preserving Corn
Flint corn is preferred. Pluck the corn when soft and ripe for roasting ears. Remove outer husks only. Boil ears thoroughly. Pull back inner husks over corn so that it can be tied up in a bunch. Hang them on a scaffolding and raise up on poles over a slow fire until perfectly dry and rather smoked (takes several days). When thoroughly dry, remove and hang in dry place so as not to mold. When needed for use, grain must be shelled and boiled over again. Cooking will bring it out fresh and soft.

Preserving Potatoes
Leave potatoes out overnight to freeze. (Winter would probably be the only time you'd really need to preserve them since they'd be growing all summer). Next day when they thaw out, trample them underfoot (I prefer my potatoes without toe jam so I just use a masher) to squeeze out the water. Repeat this for 5 days until potatoes are quite dehydrated. In this state, they will keep for years.

Curing Meat
For each 100# of meat use 9# salt, 2oz. baking soda, 4oz. salt petre (in this concentration it has no effect on libido), 2qts. molasses. Add enough water to make a brine to cover the meat. Scald brine and let it cool before pouring it over the meat. Let stand in this mixture until salty enough to suit taste (recommend about 2-3 days), then hang and smoke it.

Smoking Meat
To prepare a smoke-house, construct a small building about 4-6sf. Leave an opening in the center at the top (about 6" in diameter). The building should be 6-8' high. Smoke is piped in at the base from nearby. Use alder or birch wood for smoking. Racks should be placed above the smoke entrance approximately 3' and good ventilation must be maintained around each piece of meat or fish. Smoking time depends on taste but 36 hours is usually best. Smoke must be warm but not hot.

Smoking Hams
Stir brine (salt and water) well to dissolve before using. Pack hams loosely into a big crock. Cover with brine solution and add a large rock to keep submerged. Set crock in cool spot. Cover crock to keep out rats and bugs. Smoke 1 day per pound (maximum 1 month and minimum 2 weeks). Move hams daily. Don't let water turn milky or smelly and if it does, take shams out at once, rinse well, boil pot and start again. After smoking period is over; rinse, dry and hang in smoke house. Smoldering fire should be already started for temperature of 90-100F (no more or meat will cook and spoil). Don't use birch, beech or soft resinous woods for fire. Smoke meat continually for 2-4 weeks. Remove meat and cover it with cheese cloth stocking and hang in cool place away from dampness flies, rats or bury it in salt or in a grain bin to exclude air. Will keep 3-5 months in cool, dry spot.

I don't eat pork but apparently it has to be smoked twice: once with brine and once without. The exclusion of birch for smoking on hams probably has to do with the temperature but I wouldn't swear to it.

I planned on just dehydrating in open air (covered of course). The above sounds kind of labor intensive and not really practical for someone on the move. Pemmican and honey nut cakes keep for months.
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Salting:
If you are salt curing vegetables to preserve them you cut the veggies in pieces, place in heavily salted water for 10-14 days and cover tightly with a lid.

If you are curing meat, there's dry curing and wet curing.
Dry curing, you rub meat with salt and let set (covered to keep out flies) for 4-8 weeks.

Wet curing, you soak meat in a brine solution 3-4 weeks. This method doesn't last as long as dry curing. Need to also smoke the meat to make it last longer.

Vacuum Sealing:
Vacuum sealing reduces the amount of air that can get to foods to spoil them and cuts down on the freezer burn of long stored items. It can be expensive. It requires electricity, specialized bags and equipment. You need to buy in bulk, have a freezer, and be willing to divie up all your food into serving portions when you start your sealing project. Really good for before SHTF. Totally useless after.

Cans or Kilner jars:
Canning jars (mason jars) are just clear glass with metal lids. If you luck out and find the cobalt blue, brown or green ones, snap them up because they reduce the amount of light hitting your canned product and will preserve the food longer with less light coming in. Those kind of antique ones are usually expensive and hard to find though. Plain glass is fine.
The Kilner jars used to have rubber seals but I think they've gone the way of Mason jars and just have the screw on metal lids. No difference that I can tell. If all else is equal-go with cheaper.

Golden ratios:
Vinegar which is just soured wine is used as a food preservative for more long term use than lemon juice. It must be at least 4% acidity to use for canning or pickling purposes. If you can with vinegar, do not use chlorinated water. The ratio varies depending on what you're canning but it's usually about 1 qt. vinegar to 2 pounds of veggies. Meat is simply marinated (covered). Malt vinegar just imparts a different taste. It can be used same as other vinegars. A 5% vinegar has been shown to kill 80% of germs and viruses on contact. It's almost Pinesol! Stuff lasts forever too.
Lemon Juice is more for short term food preserving like splashing a little on your salad to keep it from turning brown before the guests show up. I don't know if it can be used for long term "pickling" or not. I wouldn't think so because even though it can chemically "cook" fish without having to use fire, none of the bacteria is removed. I would assume that's true when used with vegetables too. Besides, vinegar is cheaper and you can make your own.

Preserving Eggs:
The shells of eggs are porous and will absorb light and odors. Keep them well covered at all times. They will not freeze well but can be kept in "cold storage";ie, well covered in a dark, cold part of a basement or cellar. OR: You can coat the eggs or immerse them in a solution of waterglass, which is potassium silicate or sodium silicate.

To use: mix 1 part silicate with 9 parts water. Pour over the eggs in a large stoneware crock. Eggs must be actually covered (can keep immersed by weighing them down with a plate). In a cool place, they will keep well 6-12 months.

Preserved eggs tend to crack when boiling them. To prevent this, puncture the blunt end of the egg with a pin before cooking.

Preserving Game Birds: (potted fowl)
Cut up birds small and roll each piece in flour heavily seasoned with salt, pepper and herbs as desired. Pack the pieces tightly in a large pot and cover with boiling water. Place uncovered in oven at 350 degrees F until water returns to a boil. Then cover and bake for about 4 minutes. Keeps well.

I was really hoping someone could add to the knowledge about preserving foods. What you see above is all I know. I'm always eager to learn more. Anyone willing to tutor?

Originally posted by whitewave
I was really hoping someone could add to the knowledge about preserving foods. What you see above is all I know. I'm always eager to learn more. Anyone willing to tutor?

HERBS and Leafy Greens
drying herbs, some can simply be hanged,
some need to be boiled for a short time and then dunked in cold water to stop cooking process,
then if sunny dry outdoors for a few days in a solar dryer preferably,
or dry indoors at low temperatures, where you can still have your hand in for a short while,
about 120-150 Fahrenheit or 50 to 60 Celsius.
usually after a day or two should be dry.

Fruits and Berries
fruits typically have enough sugar that they do not need blanching, however some berries that form drupes like raspberries and blackberries are recommended to pre-boil, also anything with waxy skin.

if temperature too hot, hard shell may form, and inside not evaporate,
so make sure temperature be relatively mild.

some sites recommend sulfuring fruits for preserving color and vitamin A and C,
but can make pine needle tea for vitamin A and C instead during the winter.

[edit on 10-9-2009 by lowki]

Do you have an easy way to Dehydrate without a 'dehydrater'.

I tried to use sweet potatoes (great doggie treat) using the oven and made a real mess! Overcooked and almost burned. (Doggie loved them anyway LOL).

Anyone know how to make a device that can be used (alone or with the sun)?

Seems a really good way to preserve food - if I could figure it out The possibilities are endless - from fruit to veggies etc.

Originally posted by mappam
Do you have an easy way to Dehydrate without a 'dehydrater'.

I tried to use sweet potatoes (great doggie treat) using the oven and made a real mess! Overcooked and almost burned. (Doggie loved them anyway LOL).

Anyone know how to make a device that can be used (alone or with the sun)?

Seems a really good way to preserve food - if I could figure it out The possibilities are endless - from fruit to veggies etc.

I have been dehydrating (Walmart dehy. $30.00) for over a year now..BUT I did see, I believe it was on youtube, a story about a Father who helped his daughter with a school project.. It was to make an oven without electric, using the sun..He now gives these to other countries in need.. You take:
2 boxes/one slightly bigger than the other.
cover the inside of both with aluminum foil.
Paint the outside of boxes with black paint.
Put food in smalled box, sit bigger box over the smaller box.
Leave outside in the sun.
They said you can cook a cake in it in a couple hours.
Im sure you could dehydrate any veggie in a day, and the box would be gigger than your oven

Pickled corn is a treat, especially those little baby corns, although I'm partial to pickled okra myself. Pickled whole beets are another good one.

Come to think of it...almost anything homemade is tastier than anything store bought.

I used to hate tomatoes. They looked like they were still in their larval state and tasted like soggy cardboard. Then I had some from a neighbors garden and realized that it was a whole other food.

raw "hung" beef(cow) can be eaten after 6months if kept in a dry and dark place, just remove the outer layer and make a fire and start cookin´ ,

it will be so tender , yum yum

I recommend a pressure canner should be part of everyone's survival equipment, assuming you're planning on toughing things out at home.

You can can just about anything, from veggies and fruits to soup, chili, raw meat, fish -- and if stored properly will last for months at least, years at best.

All you need is the pressure canner, mason jars & lids, and a way to heat it. Normally you wouldn't re-use the lids but they could be reused in a pinch. They would eventually stop sealing but I've reused lids before, they usually work well (maybe 5% won't seal).

We had a great garden this year and I've got enough home-canned green beans to last through a nuclear winter.

I'm building up our stockpile of home-canned "emergency food" as we speak. It's much easier than most people realize:

1. Put raw beef (or chicken, or fish, or leftover soup you've just made) in jar
2. Screw on lid
3. Process jar in canner for xx minutes (time depends on contents)
4. Allow to cool, remove jars and put in dark pantry until you need them

Anytime I make soup, chili, or just about any other "liquid" dish (meaning, something I can pour in a jar) for supper, I just make a double batch and can the rest. Put it someplace dark, at a stable temperature, and it'll pretty much last forever. Reheat it and eat when you're too lazy to make supper, or just keep it for when SHTF.

Getting an inventory of jars will cost some $$ but they're not too expensive -- shop around and you can get a dozen for $10 or so. They can be reused indefinitely. Lids are your only consumable but as I said they can be reused in a pinch, and are dirt cheap to buy.