Preparedness

[Laurentiu]

@Data

In Barcelona you said that you are also using the all american pressure canner and that you are preserving jowl (Göderl).
Well, i tried that too because it has lots of fat, taste good and is extremely cheap.

I've left them for 90min with the highest pressure (15g on the round weight). I haven't roasted it before (hot pack method), i've just put it raw into the jars (cold pack method) added some water and salt. The problem i have now is that the meat is not really enjoyable now. The fat has a weird consistency (more like a jelly/aspik) and when i put i into a pan to make it warm, the fat breaks apart from the meat and i have something like a stew, so to say. I just can't eat this. It looks like this meat is not suitable for this kind of preparing.

I would like to ask you what results you got. If you have managed to cann this meat the way, it remains enjoyable, them pleas tell me how you've done that. Have you used less pressure, less cooking time, have you roasted it before??

In the meantime, i will try some other meat parts and i will also make some chili for preserving.

 

[Mikey]

The problem i have now is that the meat is not really enjoyable now. The fat has a weird consistency (more like a jelly/aspik) and when i put i into a pan to make it warm, the fat breaks apart from the meat and i have something like a stew, so to say. I just can't eat this. It looks like this meat is not suitable for this kind of preparing.

That sounds normal. Long heat exposure makes everything very soft. It's just important that it's sterile. And if you're really hungry, I bet you will enjoy it. As to making it more enjoyable, I guess it is a trial and error process.

I would like to ask you what results you got. If you have managed to cann this meat the way, it remains enjoyable, them pleas tell me how you've done that. Have you used less pressure, less cooking time, have you roasted it before??

I've put the meat in cold, just added a lot of salt (a little bit of Vitamin C to add acidity) and a little bit of fat. I haven't tasted it yet.

In the meantime, i will try some other meat parts and i will also make some chili for preserving.

I'd rather not put any carbohydrates into the cans since they are a nourishing medium for some bacteria. Plus, having carbohydrates is not on The List anyway.

 

[Ollie]

The problem i have now is that the meat is not really enjoyable now. The fat has a weird consistency (more like a jelly/aspik) and when i put i into a pan to make it warm, the fat breaks apart from the meat and i have something like a stew, so to say. I just can't eat this. It looks like this meat is not suitable for this kind of preparing.

That sounds normal. Long heat exposure makes everything very soft. It's just important that it's sterile. And if you're really hungry, I bet you will enjoy it. As to making it more enjoyable, I guess it is a trial and error process.

I agree with Data. The best way, in my opinion, is to slow cook it once you open the jars after canning. I have been canning lamb shoulder and more recently pork belly using the 'boiling method' rather than a pressure canner. All look OK as they finish 'canning' and cool. Cheek (jowl) is also something that I'm looking into canning in the future. Like Data I've yet to taste any of mine yet. :) I did have a go at confitting pork belly, but it took a lot of lard to do so, and well overcooked the meat - it needs more experimenting with the time involved - overall it's easier to 'can' rather than confit.

 

[Laurentiu]

The problem i have now is that the meat is not really enjoyable now. The fat has a weird consistency (more like a jelly/aspik) and when i put i into a pan to make it warm, the fat breaks apart from the meat and i have something like a stew, so to say. I just can't eat this. It looks like this meat is not suitable for this kind of preparing.

That sounds normal. Long heat exposure makes everything very soft. It's just important that it's sterile. And if you're really hungry, I bet you will enjoy it. As to making it more enjoyable, I guess it is a trial and error process.

I would like to ask you what results you got. If you have managed to cann this meat the way, it remains enjoyable, them pleas tell me how you've done that. Have you used less pressure, less cooking time, have you roasted it before??

I've put the meat in cold, just added a lot of salt (a little bit of Vitamin C to add acidity) and a little bit of fat. I haven't tasted it yet.

In the meantime, i will try some other meat parts and i will also make some chili for preserving.

I'd rather not put any carbohydrates into the cans since they are a nourishing medium for some bacteria. Plus, having carbohydrates is not on The List anyway.

You are right, if i'm hungry, i will eat it!!! I thought i will make a rotation of the food i have preserved. Which means, that i will eat some of the preserved food after about 1 year and make something fresh so i doesn't get bad.

So far it sounds ok what I've done. Thank you for your tip about carbohydrates in the preserved food. Although i would be very little in respect of the carbohydrate intake, i think i won't do it if it can mess up the preserved meat.

I will try your trick with vitamin C as well.

Thank you DATA!

 

[Laura]

You don't need to add water to can meat. Just cold pack raw, a bit of salt and pepper, seal and process. What you will want to do with canned meat is mainly stews. We don't can it to eat it now, but when needed. And then, whatever consistency it is, I imagine it will taste good enough!

 

[Laurentiu]

You don't need to add water to can meat. Just cold pack raw, a bit of salt and pepper, seal and process. What you will want to do with canned meat is mainly stews. We don't can it to eat it now, but when needed.

If added water because I've read in the internet to do so. The water also fills up the air holes in the jar so there is not too much pressure in there at the beginning (that's what I've read).

And then, whatever consistency it is, I imagine it will taste good enough!

point taken!!!

 

[Mikey]

If added water because I've read in the internet to do so. The water also fills up the air holes in the jar so there is not too much pressure in there at the beginning (that's what I've read).

Water will come out of the meat when canned. You will have air in there in any event. Just remember that salt content, acidity and temperature have the most effect on sterility. I found that drying lean beef (cut into very thin leaves and salted) also is an excellent method to preserve. It should last almost indefinitely, especially when vacuum packed.

 

[Laura]

Believe me, you don't want/need to add water. Just make sure your beef chunks have plenty of fat on them. That fat will cook out and form a complete seal over the meat.

 

[Laurentiu]

If added water because I've read in the internet to do so. The water also fills up the air holes in the jar so there is not too much pressure in there at the beginning (that's what I've read).

Water will come out of the meat when canned. You will have air in there in any event. Just remember that salt content, acidity and temperature have the most effect on sterility. I found that drying lean beef (cut into very thin leaves and salted) also is an excellent method to preserve. It should last almost indefinitely, especially when vacuum packed.

Believe me, you don't want/need to add water. Just make sure your beef chunks have plenty of fat on them. That fat will cook out and form a complete seal over the meat.

Ok, i will leave out the water at my next canning process. You are right with the building of fat Laura, that is the case with my first canned meat. A relatively large fat layer has built up in the glas.

 

[Carl]

Since we seem to be getting closer to whatever may be coming, I would like to bump this thread and ask how everyone is doing in their preparation.

Most of all, I would like to know what kind of plans you all have in mind? I know it's almost impossible to properly plan for these events, but do you have a rough guideline? Are you planning on just riding it out in your house with canned foods and purified water and trying to form a community with neighbours, or would you pack up and head into the wilderness?

I have recently started to gather a little more money, and my bank account is almost in positive figures , so I am starting to have the means to get prepared. However, buying a pressure canner, RO filter, or a truckload of food is still way out of my budget. I have started small by buying a first aid kit, emergency blankets, water purification tablets etc. Does anyone have any suggestions about other relatively cheap supplies that may be necessary?

I am thinking that due to my young age and physical health, my best option would be to have just a big rucksack full of supplies and get out of the city. I have 2 friends that have recently got into diet changes/EE, and have just started reading articles on cassiopaea, so maybe I will end up having some companions to form a RL network with. But then, what about my mother/step father, who have sacrificed so much for me? I would want to make their survival as easy as possible as well, but just don't have the means right now.

I am weary of over-thinking this, yet at the same time I don't want to be unprepared and slapped in the face with a big "I told you so" from the universe when things all go down hill.

It is obvious that things are getting really serious now, but I have not seen a whole lot of discussion about this on the forum. I would like to hear your views on the matter if possible.

 

[paralleloscope]

Are you planning on just riding it out in your house with canned foods and purified water and trying to form a community with neighbours, or would you pack up and head into the wilderness?

It depends on so many factors that will or will not come into play. I have no community and I have no clue where in the world I'm going to be as I might be going abroad with studies after new year. I'm in Scandinavia atm so thinking of an ice age getaway.

For food, the canning project I deemed too expensive. So I'm mainly thinking; buying a bulk load of salamis (organic ones without additives, but not grass fed), making some kilos of pemmican from ground meat. I'm slowly stocking up on canned sardines/ mackarel in olive oil + Some date paste. All in all I'm planning for having a sparse ½ years supply, which will be transportable.

I'm thinking about getting this water filter, for when the grid goes out: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007JCAHEG/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&smid=A1ZGLYDQ4UG9RB

 

[Foxx]

I've personally been spending a good amount of time considering preparedness since Laura posted her suggestions for having 1-2 years worth of food stored on Facebook somewhere around a month ago. There are so many factors to that consider that it's pretty daunting to think about.

Obviously a lot of the work we do here is not a focus on the physical--that is, the physical is real of course, but not the sole reality. And staying in this physical reality is not my Aim, personally. However, objectively, it really does appear that very, very tough times are practically around the corner and if we're going to do anything to change this reality we live in, then some level of physical preparations are very likely to be necessary to avoid having to subsist off whatever poison food is available (if any is even available, for that matter).

There's also the reality of possibly needing to move (might not be able to take all that stored food wherever one might have to go), the very possible reality of thieving (might have all that food stolen for various reasons), and also the reality that others won't be prepared and feeling a need to share one's stored food with others. Am I really going to not give the food that I have to someone who asks who is starving? At this point, while I could say that they chose that route and so are living with the "fruits that they bore", I don't think it would be within an objective conscience to turn down someone who genuinely asks. But is this "be nice" programming on my part? I really don't know and would value any input others have.

Then, as well, I think there's the issue of conscious faith and having faith that the universe will provide us with what we need to do the work set out before us. Gurdjieff talked about many instances of times when I got so lucky while so many others had it so bad that they appeared to him as "miracles" and "divine intervention" when WW1 was in full swing, so I do think there's an element of that that can come into play "right in the nick of time". But then there's also the saying "to be forewarned is to be forearmed, if one takes action".

For me, at the moment, I'm planning on making some food preparations soon. For me, I think the most practical route is to buy canned fish from a good source and to buy lard (which I think can go unrefrigerated for a while without going rancid, but I'd be happy to hear others input on that if I'm wrong), which should be cheap and supply at least most of my nutritional needs. I'm planning on getting probably about 6 months worth (for me, rationing), which I think should be relatively inexpensive, over the next 2-3 months. I also have a water filter that I've used while camping and a replacement filter for it and a backpack with other camping stuff (tent, warm sleeping bag, small cooking pot, etc). At the moment, I think that's the best I can do and will leave the rest up to conscious faith.

That's pretty much my current thinking on the topic, which could change in the near future with further thought or others' feedback. So it's just my two cents, FWIW.

 

[SethianSeth]

My thought at the moment, living in NYC, is that I should be preparing on two tracks, staying and leaving - the latter is based on the feeling that "I should be here" at this particular time. This is a subjective impression that will only be validated by unpredictable upcoming experience or proven faulty with new information that presents itself. I hope that I have eyes for such new information if it arises. If I find myself in a situation where I am able to hunker down in my current environment, I want to have some sort of long term canning supply. Currently, I have a 2 week dry packed kit of grain based meals that can be used for barter, and I am slowly buying canned fish, etc. I have a few ball jars of lard, as well, which would suit me in desperate times. I hope to use the pork belly I buy from a local source to can for at least 6-12 months holed in the city (for two people). I will be unable to begin this operation until after my wedding on the 24th, so we'll see about that. I also have a water filter.

The bottom line for me, like so many others here, is that I don't have the option currently to move to a "more optimal place," which in this case would be any non-urban area. Also, I am broke living from paycheck to paycheck.

Realistically, remaining in a city (in America, no less) at this time will likely be far too dangerous. This is the "leave" preparation track. My fiance and I have also prepared backpacks to go out on foot if need be. In this case, we will take what we can of our prepared food and give away the rest to those in need. As I have the money, I add to the "roughin it" backpacks with things that could reasonably serve in varied and unpredictable environments (first aid, warm and cool clothing, tent, hunting supplies, etc). If grace allows, we will be trying to purchase/learn to construct at least 3 alternative energy sources. In general, I am finding the "rule of three" as useful when preparing in any category (3 routes out of the city, 3 sources of natural water within walking distance, etc).

I think for those of us short on cash, it would be a good idea to meditate a lot on the idea of bartering. Take an inventory of all you have currently that may be useful for trade/services you may be able to offer others, identify easy additions to that list that can be purchased when able (bulk tobacco and honey will likely always be coveted items), and consider how you might take such a bartering initiative into your own hands. If we survive the initial insanity of upheaval, there will likely be a settling period in which cooperation will be totally necessary. To me, one of the main points of paying in advance is so that we will be there to serve when it is needed most, and in appropriate and skilled ways. The complete desperation of those who have failed to pay attention during such a "time" will make discernment an imperative to true conscious service. As I spend money I don't really have to spare, little by little, on preparation, it does give me joy to think that even though my own survival is in no way assured, if I do persist I will be able to help others. This is reason enough. :)

Edit: added detail.

 

[Oxajil]

and to buy lard (which I think can go unrefrigerated for a while without going rancid, but I'd be happy to hear others input on that if I'm wrong),

Do you mean just lard, or lard that you've rendered (or that is already rendered)? Because fresh lard doesn't stay well for too long (based on my own experience), however, if you render it, it can stay well for a good amount of time, but you're gonna have to check for how long exactly.

 

[Foxx]

and to buy lard (which I think can go unrefrigerated for a while without going rancid, but I'd be happy to hear others input on that if I'm wrong),

Do you mean just lard, or lard that you've rendered (or that is already rendered)? Because fresh lard doesn't stay well for too long (based on my own experience), however, if you render it, it can stay well for a good amount of time, but you're gonna have to check for how long exactly.

I was referring to rendered lard, not unrendered pig fat (that definitely goes bad, though I haven't had that happen to me yet in my eating of it).