Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 43

Thread: The pantry of my lakeside house needs some help

  1. #1
    Senior Member Deimos's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2022
    Location
    Brazil (countryside).
    Posts
    167

    Default The pantry of my lakeside house needs some help

    I have a house near a lake. I go there when I want to go fishing, but it's far from the city. I have to drive almost 2 hours to get there and more 2 hours to go back. What kind of food can I buy that won't spoil easily, so I can just leave it there, WITHOUT REFRIGERATION, so I will always have something to eat even when I don't catch anything?
    I already have a pretty basic pantry there, with some shelf-stable pasta and some other things like canned meatballs, some tomato sauce, some spices and salt, and of course, sardines and SPAM. I'm also thinking about buying vienna sausages, they are another fisherman's classic.
    What kind of food do you guys keep at your boats, mountain houses and so on?
    I own some stuff, and I know some things. But that's all.


  2. #2
    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    North Florida
    Posts
    44,846

    Default

    Freeze dried foods with a long shelf life (25 years). I'm actually eating some right now. Make sure it meets your dietary needs and before you buy a lot of it, taste it to make sure you like it. Many companies that sell this sort of thing offer sampler packs.
    Can't Means Won't

    My Youtube Channel

  3. #3
    Super Moderater RangerXanatos's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Northeast, Georgia
    Posts
    1,970

    Default

    Any canned goods should last for a while. It’s always hard to go wrong with peanut butter and honey.
    What's so crazy about standing toe-to-toe saying I am?
    ~Rocky Balboa

  4. #4
    Senior Member kyratshooter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    KY bluegrass region-the center of the universe
    Posts
    10,360

    Default

    Deimos, I have been doing this prepping thing for near 60 years. I have run through two different buy ups of the 25 year shelf life foods. 25 year life does not mean unlimited and oddly, I have lived longer than I ever expected. I was hoping to have been killed by an atomic bomb or a jealous husband by now!

    At this point I have settled on keeping only 25 year shelf life ground beef and powered eggs supported with normal canned goods and rotating them every couple of years. You do have to take some things into consideration.

    1. Tomato based canned foods will spoil within a year or two. The acid in the tomatoes will eat through the plastic liner, then through the can itself. Tomato sauce/paste/juice is not a long term storage item.

    2. Most soups are good for 5-7 years before the plastic lining of the can breaks down. When you open the can bits of plastic film will be floating in the broth.

    3. Canned vegetables seem to never go bad. Green beans, baked beans, green peas, mixed veg last forever if you keep the cans dry and rust free.

    4. Canned meats last equally as long. It might seem strange to you but most of the canned meats we get here in the U.S. are from your neighbors in Argentina! Except for Spam, but that is not a solid canned meat, just pressed together, bits canned in the US.

    5. Put beans and rice at the top of your food list. Put them inside plastic bags, then inside plastic sealable containers. They will last practically forever. You might want to drop a kilo of salt and a few bottles of hot sauce in those containers too. All it takes is a half kilo of beans, a half kilo of rice and a couple of small fish to feed a family for a day.

    There is also the danger of a cache of food in a remote area being stolen or your area being occupied by squatters when you arrive. I would not leave a lot of food for them to take or use. If you only go occasionally then take what you need with you for whatever time you intend to stay. That is the only way that you can insure the food will be accessible.

    There is the possibility of making a cache and storing the food in secret. You can bury a food grade barrel up to the neck, fill it with canned goods, then cover it and replace the top soil or disguise it with a pile of lumber or old scrap.

    I would just build a "grub box" and transport it in my vehicle. That way if you are diverted, or never actually make it to your lake spot in an emergency you will still have the food.

    By the way, I was truly amazed that it takes two hours travel BOTH WAYS to go to your lake spot and then home! Seems to me you could shorten the trip either out or in. I would work on that if I were you.

    I have a small town near me that I can access on the main highway. When I go to the town there is a sign at the on ramp that says 4 miles. When I come home the sign on the access ramp says 5 miles to get home. I have lived here for 15 years and I still have not figured that one out.
    Last edited by kyratshooter; 09-14-2022 at 12:45 PM.
    If you didn't bring jerky what did I just eat?

  5. #5
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2017
    Location
    Victoria, Texas
    Posts
    1,996

    Default

    We used to try and leave food at the ranch for hunting season... Never worked very well... It either spoiled or something got into it. Mostly we just never ate it because we always brought more. So, we just started taking what we needed and starving the vermin... I had a grub box with the essentials, coffee, coffee pot, and some other stuff....and a utensil box, pots, pans, dutch oven, etc... everybody had a mess kit that was their responsibility, and the cook didn't clean up...

    Alan

  6. #6
    Senior Member VnVet's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2022
    Location
    NE Georgia mountains
    Posts
    241

    Default

    We have 25 year shelf life and a variety of canned vegetables.

    There's a trout stream at the back of our property with a small lake and river about .3 or .4 mile away.

  7. #7
    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    North Florida
    Posts
    44,846

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Alan R McDaniel Jr View Post
    We used to try and leave food at the ranch for hunting season... Never worked very well... It either spoiled or something got into it. Mostly we just never ate it because we always brought more. So, we just started taking what we needed and starving the vermin... I had a grub box with the essentials, coffee, coffee pot, and some other stuff....and a utensil box, pots, pans, dutch oven, etc... everybody had a mess kit that was their responsibility, and the cook didn't clean up...

    Alan
    Well, if you have coffee, you have everything covered.
    Can't Means Won't

    My Youtube Channel

  8. #8
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2017
    Location
    Victoria, Texas
    Posts
    1,996

    Default

    I can eat tree bark if I have coffee... If I don't have coffee.... well, I don't know what that's like...

    Alan

  9. #9
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Central Indiana
    Posts
    58,832

    Default

    Chew that tree bark really fine. The next day...just chew it really fine.
    Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.

  10. #10
    Senior Member VnVet's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2022
    Location
    NE Georgia mountains
    Posts
    241

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by crashdive123 View Post
    Well, if you have coffee, you have everything covered.


    We prefer to grind coffee beans for coffee. I bought a hand grinder for emergencies and discovered they grind enough only if you have a French press to brew coffee.

  11. #11
    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    North Florida
    Posts
    44,846

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by VnVet View Post


    We prefer to grind coffee beans for coffee. I bought a hand grinder for emergencies and discovered they grind enough only if you have a French press to brew coffee.
    I have two grinders, seven percolators, four French presses, two drip machines and one Keurig. If all of those fail I will have Cowboy Coffee. I will not be denied!
    Can't Means Won't

    My Youtube Channel

  12. #12
    Senior Member Deimos's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2022
    Location
    Brazil (countryside).
    Posts
    167

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by kyratshooter View Post
    Deimos, I have been doing this prepping thing for near 60 years. I have run through two different buy ups of the 25 year shelf life foods. 25 year life does not mean unlimited and oddly, I have lived longer than I ever expected. I was hoping to have been killed by an atomic bomb or a jealous husband by now!

    At this point I have settled on keeping only 25 year shelf life ground beef and powered eggs supported with normal canned goods and rotating them every couple of years. You do have to take some things into consideration.

    1. Tomato based canned foods will spoil within a year or two. The acid in the tomatoes will eat through the plastic liner, then through the can itself. Tomato sauce/paste/juice is not a long term storage item.

    2. Most soups are good for 5-7 years before the plastic lining of the can breaks down. When you open the can bits of plastic film will be floating in the broth.

    3. Canned vegetables seem to never go bad. Green beans, baked beans, green peas, mixed veg last forever if you keep the cans dry and rust free.

    4. Canned meats last equally as long. It might seem strange to you but most of the canned meats we get here in the U.S. are from your neighbors in Argentina! Except for Spam, but that is not a solid canned meat, just pressed together, bits canned in the US.

    5. Put beans and rice at the top of your food list. Put them inside plastic bags, then inside plastic sealable containers. They will last practically forever. You might want to drop a kilo of salt and a few bottles of hot sauce in those containers too. All it takes is a half kilo of beans, a half kilo of rice and a couple of small fish to feed a family for a day.

    There is also the danger of a cache of food in a remote area being stolen or your area being occupied by squatters when you arrive. I would not leave a lot of food for them to take or use. If you only go occasionally then take what you need with you for whatever time you intend to stay. That is the only way that you can insure the food will be accessible.

    There is the possibility of making a cache and storing the food in secret. You can bury a food grade barrel up to the neck, fill it with canned goods, then cover it and replace the top soil or disguise it with a pile of lumber or old scrap.

    I would just build a "grub box" and transport it in my vehicle. That way if you are diverted, or never actually make it to your lake spot in an emergency you will still have the food.

    By the way, I was truly amazed that it takes two hours travel BOTH WAYS to go to your lake spot and then home! Seems to me you could shorten the trip either out or in. I would work on that if I were you.

    I have a small town near me that I can access on the main highway. When I go to the town there is a sign at the on ramp that says 4 miles. When I come home the sign on the access ramp says 5 miles to get home. I have lived here for 15 years and I still have not figured that one out.
    I think that I didn't expresed myself in the way that I intented. The so-called lake is actually a really big POND into the middle of nowhere, bordering a forest. It takes some time but I can swim across it, I did it one time, but I will not do it again because the water is murky and sometimes it's also deep. To get there I need to drive a lot, not only to get into my plot of land, but also to get to the "lake". That's why it takes so much time to get there.
    I own some stuff, and I know some things. But that's all.

  13. #13
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Central Indiana
    Posts
    58,832

    Default

    Yeah, I'm in there with you. A grinder, four percs, a siphon maker, two espesso machines, two Mr. Coffees and several pots for cowboy coffee. If all that fails, I will take hostages.
    Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.

  14. #14
    Senior Member VnVet's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2022
    Location
    NE Georgia mountains
    Posts
    241

    Default

    We have two electric coffee pots, two that can make coffee on a Camp Chef propane stove and one that does quite well on a kerosene heater. A good life depends on good coffee.

    There used to be a TV show "Life without People." After people were gone, it showed insects inside boxes of food. I thought give me a break.

    https://extension.umn.edu/product-an...nd-stored-food
    https://www.mashed.com/169571/heres-...-in-your-food/
    http://foodsafetytrainingcertificati...llowed-by-law/
    https://www.offthegridnews.com/how-t...lly-kill-bugs/

  15. #15
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2017
    Location
    Victoria, Texas
    Posts
    1,996

    Default

    I'm not sure whatall there is still in the kitchen cabinets, the attic, storage containers, etc.. for brewing that perfect cup.... I am really only interested in #1. Is there coffee in some form... #2. is there a vessel in which to mix the ground coffee with water. Then and only then will I concern myself with the perfect 32 oz yeti tumbler on the first fill... Currently I am drinking Tejas Cafe from HEB at $3.98/11 oz bag. It tastes tolerable and is cheap.

    I don't do Keurig. The puny little cups are hardly worth the effort and a $20 "Coffee Maker" from the cheap store does what I need it to do...

    There is coffee that I like better than Tejas Cafe but I refuse to pay extortion prices for a life necessity.



    And, a Cabin 2 hrs back in the middle of nowhere next to a fishing hole sounds pretty good right now...

    Alan

  16. #16
    Senior Member Deimos's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2022
    Location
    Brazil (countryside).
    Posts
    167

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Alan R McDaniel Jr View Post
    I'm not sure whatall there is still in the kitchen cabinets, the attic, storage containers, etc.. for brewing that perfect cup.... I am really only interested in #1. Is there coffee in some form... #2. is there a vessel in which to mix the ground coffee with water. Then and only then will I concern myself with the perfect 32 oz yeti tumbler on the first fill... Currently I am drinking Tejas Cafe from HEB at $3.98/11 oz bag. It tastes tolerable and is cheap.

    I don't do Keurig. The puny little cups are hardly worth the effort and a $20 "Coffee Maker" from the cheap store does what I need it to do...

    There is coffee that I like better than Tejas Cafe but I refuse to pay extortion prices for a life necessity.



    And, a Cabin 2 hrs back in the middle of nowhere next to a fishing hole sounds pretty good right now...

    Alan
    It's not a cozy log cabin, it's more of an old wooden house, worn down and then repaired again and again as time went by. When I bougth it, I repaired the holes at the ceiling and changed the broken windows. I also changed some of the wood from the repairs at the wall. Then I trowed all the rotten wood into the lake and that's all.
    I love going there but it's a desolate place, and my wife is always a little scared when we spent the nigth there.
    I own some stuff, and I know some things. But that's all.

  17. #17
    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    North Florida
    Posts
    44,846

    Default

    An old, broken down cabin is always a welcome place. Old is old, but broken down can be fixed to your liking.
    Can't Means Won't

    My Youtube Channel

  18. #18
    Senior Member VnVet's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2022
    Location
    NE Georgia mountains
    Posts
    241

    Default

    One of our only vices are coffee beans from all over the world.

    We live in a modern cabin and love it. Here we found the beauty of nature and its peace and tranquility.

  19. #19
    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    North Florida
    Posts
    44,846

    Default

    Sounds like you have found your little slice of heaven. Happy for you and your wife.
    Can't Means Won't

    My Youtube Channel

  20. #20
    Senior Member VnVet's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2022
    Location
    NE Georgia mountains
    Posts
    241

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by crashdive123 View Post
    Sounds like you have found your little slice of heaven. Happy for you and your wife.
    Thank you and we wish you the same.

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •