Water, an Essential Food Storage Item

You can live a lot longer without food than you can without water. So water is perhaps the most essential item in your food storage.

Store at Least 14 Gallons Per Person (a 2-Week Supply)

The recommended amount of water storage is a two- week supply, which is a minimum of 14 gallons per person. Seven gallons is for drinking (the average person needs at least 2 quarts of water per day), and seven gallons is for sanitary purposes. If you have dehydrated items in your food storage, you may wish to store additional water.

Water Containers

DO use

• Containers that are thoroughly cleaned and rinsed, non-toxic, non-corrodible, and tightly-sealed.
• Ideally, use a size container that you can carry when it's full of water.
• Good containers are 2-liter pop bottles, food-grade plastic buckets or drums (available at many emergency-supply stores).

DO NOT use

• Containers that are not intended for food -- they'll leach chemicals into your water.
• Plastic milk jugs (they will eventually leak).

LABEL containers clearly: WATER + the date

Sterilizing Water

You can store hard water straight from the tap (the Utah State Extension Service says Provo water contains adequate chlorine for storage and can be used as is without adding additional Chlorox or Purex). Water stored this way should be rotated every 6 months.

For long-term storage, you can sterilize water as follows.

• Use clean, well-rinsed canning jars.
• Fill jars with room-temperature hard water, leaving 1" headspace at the top of the jar.
• Place new, hot, clean sterilized lids on the jar and screw on tightly.
• Place jars into canner in hot water (do not place in boiling water or jars will break). Hot water should cover the jars an inch or two.
• Cover canner and bring water to a rolling boil.
• Allow water to boil gently but steadily for 20 minutes.

Where to Store Water

• Store water out of direct sunlight.
• Store in a cool, dark, dry area
• Do not store directly on concrete floors

• Do not store near gasoline, kerosene, pesticides, etc. These substances emit vapors that can permeate plastic and affect water.

Maintaining & Rotating Stored Water

• Check containers every few months for leakage or other problems.

• Rotate unsterilized water every 6 months.

Emergency Sources of Water

• Hot water tank, pipes, ice cubes, waterbeds
• Rainwater, streams, rivers, ponds, lakes
• Do not drink flood water or water that is dark or has an odor
• As a last resort, you can use water in the reservoir tank of the toilet (not the bowl)
• To minimize the amount of water your body needs, reduce activity and stay cool

Purifying Water

The safest way to purify water is to boil it for 3-5 minutes. You can also disinfect it with regular household bleach, but use only clear water. Use 16 drops of bleach (1/4 tsp) per gallon. Stir and let stand for 30 minutes. Water should have a slight bleach odor. If not, repeat dosage and let stand another 15 minutes. Because bleach does lose strength over time, bleach used to purify water should be less than two years old.

"The Prophet Said to Plant a Garden"

"We encourage you to grow all the food that you feasibly can on your own property. . . Grow vegetables and eat them from your own yard. Even those residing in apartments or condominiums can generally grow a little food in pots or planters. Study the best methods of producing your own foods." - President Spencer W. Kimball

Springtime is time to think about gardening! Whether you love to garden, feel guilty about not gardening, or have just never thought about it, being able to grow some of your own food is an important part of emergency preparedness and provident living.
You don't have to have a large garden and spend your life canning to enjoy the benefits of growing some of your own food. Everyone has different needs and lifestyles, and gardening can fit them all.

Container Gardening

Perhaps your time is limited, your health is failing, or you plan to travel extensively over the summer. In this case, a container garden might be a good option. Why not plant your food in pots? For example, you could have one zucchini, one tomato, and one cucumber plant. Set up on a drip watering system with an automatic timer, this arrangement would require minimal care, but could still provide a lot of fresh food.

Small Gardens

Even a garden as small as 2' by 3' can provide a family with lots of fresh food. Sample plans for relatively small gardens are given on page 3 of the Essentials of Home Production and Storage booklet.

Sneaking Gardens In

If you don't want to have a garden per se, how about "sneaking" a couple of vegetable plants into the landscaping? There's always the zucchini, of course. And there are other bush-type plants that yield a lot of vegetables, like yellow squash, tomatoes and cucumbers in wire cages. A row of radishes or lettuce could be planted early on; they'll be gone by the time the regular plantings begin to bush out.

Free Resources

Many books on gardening are available at the library. They cover everything you could ever want to know, from container gardening to organic gardening to gardening for complete self-sufficiency. All sorts free of information is also available on the Internet. You might want to start with some of the major seed companies' sites, such as PARKSEED.COM or BURPEE.COM. Free information brochures are also available at many garden centers.

Powdered Milk

http://www.hashworks.com 


Powdered milk is a basic food storage item. 
But what do you do with all that powdered milk in your food storage, especially if your family won't drink mixed milk? 

Lots of things -- read on! (Note: recipes in this newsletter use non-instant powdered milk.)

Reconstituting Powdered Milk

To reconstitute powdered milk, follow the instructions for the milk you have. Usually, the proportions are 1/4 to 1/3 C powdered milk to 1 C of water. My family can't tell the difference between regular milk and milk mixed ½ and ½ with reconstituted powdered milk. Sometimes you can minimize the powdered milk taste by making the powdered milk mix a little weaker - for example, mix 3/4 C powdered milk with 1 quart water.

Baking with Powdered Milk

Use powdered milk whenever you bake. You can't tell the difference, and it's usually cheaper than regular milk: A cup of milk made from powdered milk costs about 7½ cents (dry milk at $1.20 /lb); a cup of regular milk costs about 12½ cents (at a cost of $2/gallon).

When you bake with powdered milk, use the same amounts you'd use if you were reconstituting it for drinking (1/4 to 1/3 cup of powdered milk to a cup of water -- for example, if a recipe calls for a cup of milk, you would use a cup of water and 1/4 to 1/3 cup of dry milk powder).
One advantage of baking with powdered milk is that you can include milk in dry mixes. For example, say you want to make bread in your bread machine using the timer, and the recipe calls for milk. If you use powdered milk instead of fresh, the bread mix can sit without spoiling.

Evaporated Milk

To make evaporated milk, mix 1 C water with 2/3 C powdered milk.

Sweetened Condensed Milk

To make sweetened condensed milk, mix

½ C very hot water

1 C powdered milk

1 C sugar

1 T butter

Bring to a boil and stir to dissolve sugar & powdered milk.

Truffles

For a decadent treat, make sweetened condensed milk (above) and stir in a 12 oz. bag of chocolate chips. Chill, then shape into balls (a melon baller works nicely).

Cream Soup Mix

(from Heloise column)

Mix together

1 C powdered milk

1 T dried onion flakes

2 T cornstarch

2 T chicken bouillon powder

½ t dried basil

½ t dried thyme

½ t black pepper

To make soup, mix the above with 2 C water in a large saucepan; stir constantly until thick.

To make different flavors, add another ingredient - such as mushrooms, celery, potatoes, bacon, etc.

Kid Pleasers

My kids won't drink mixed milk plain, but they love chocolate milk, a "purple cow," and peanut butter balls.

Chocolate Milk (1/2 gallon):

Mix together

8 C water

2½ C powdered milk

1/8 C cocoa

1/4 to ½ C sugar

pinch of salt (optional)

a few drops of vanilla (optional)

I like to mix this in a half-gallon jug, which is small enough for kids to handle. If you want, you can mix together just the dry ingredients and use as hot chocolate mix (about 1/3 C mix to 1 C water).

Purple Cow

Mix reconstituted powdered milk and grape juice half and half. A good way to give kids grape juice, since when it's mixed with the milk, it doesn't stain like regular grape juice does.

Peanut Butter Balls (from the TightWad Gazette)

Mix together

½ C honey

½ C peanut butter

1 C powdered milk

Form into balls (a melon baller works well).

Home-made Yogurt

One of the very best ways to use powdered milk is to make yogurt. This is fast, easy, and inexpensive. (It takes 5-10 minutes to start a batch of yogurt. A pint of plain yogurt runs about $1.39; a pint of homemade yogurt costs about 30 cents). There are lots of ways to make yogurt. Here is one basic method (makes one quart). You'll need some plain yogurt with active cultures for the "starter;" a thermometer; and a way to incubate the yogurt.

• Mix together 4 C water and 2 C powdered milk.
• Heat in the microwave about 2 minutes. Take out and let sit until the temperature reaches about 120 degrees. Mix in 1 heaping T of plain yogurt (mix thoroughly). Pour into a container and cover.
• Now let the yogurt incubate until it sets up. You can use a commercial yogurt maker; a heating pad set to low, with a large pot inverted over top your yogurt; or even the pilot light on an oven. The important thing is to keep the yogurt at a constant temperature of 100-120 degrees for from 4-8 hrs.
• When you use the yogurt, reserve a little to start the next batch.

Note: You can freeze yogurt starter. Just spoon into ice-cube trays, then store the yogurt ice-cubes in the freezer. Thaw 1 cube (don't microwave) for a batch of yogurt, and use as usual.

What to Do With Yogurt

Substitute yogurt for sour cream (1 C yogurt = 1 C sour cream) in dips, dressings, and sauces.
Fruit Smoothies. In the blender, liquify 1 pint yogurt, 2-3 frozen bananas, cut in chunks, 2 C frozen fruit (peaches, strawberries, pineapple etc.) You can vary the proportions as you wish; more yogurt makes it more like a drink, more fruit makes it more like soft-serve ice cream.

• Holiday Fruit Salad. Mix together 1 quart yogurt, 1/4 - 1/3 C frozen orange juice concentrate and your choice of fruits: mandarin oranges, pineapple, grapes, bananas, apples, etc. (vary proportions to suit your taste)Top with a thick layer of coconut. Then garnish the top according to the holiday:
• Valentines - dried cranberries, maraschino cherries, bright red apple slices
• St Patrick's - kiwi, sliced green grapes
• Easter - robin's egg candies, jelly beans
• 4^th of July - blueberries & sliced strawberries
• Halloween - mandarin oranges, choc. sprinkles
• Christmas - kiwi, dried cranberries

Creamy Salad Dressing

1 C yogurt + 2 T dry milk powder

1 t onion or garlic powder (or to taste)

1 t salt (or to taste)

1/4 t pepper (or to taste)

Additional seasonings as desired (parsley, dill, blue cheese, etc.)

Combine & let sit to blend flavors.

Cream Cheese Substitute. Put a coffee filter in a strainer placed over a bowl. Put 1 pint yogurt in the coffee filter and let sit overnight. You'll end up with about 1 C of thick, non-fat yogurt "cream cheese." Use as you would cream cheese, in dips, spreads, cheesecakes, etc.
Buttermilk Substitute. Mix plain yogurt with an equal amount of water (for example, to make 2 C buttermilk, blend 1 C plain yogurt with 1 C water).