Best foodstuff to stockpile?

[sumi]

As the title says, what do you consider the best foodstuff to stockpile? Considering things like essentials, stores well and long, etc.

 

[Denim Deb]

Chocolate.

 

[creativetwinszoo]

Dried foods, so long as their sealed and dried properly will laste years and usually not be dusty. Home canned goodies are nice too, but unlike the dried goods take up considerably more space for less amount (when rehydrated)

 

[Britesea]

lol @Denim Deb ! But you are right- cocoa powder is a good thing to stockpile- it adds all kinds of comfort foods to your repertoire, and would probably be a good barter item as well.

Water and a way to purify more water -- The rule of three! You can live 3 weeks without food, but only 3 days without water (3 hours without shelter, and 3 minutes without air, lol)

Rolled Oats -- high protein, quick cooking, stores well, very cheap, and in a pinch it doesn't even need to be cooked.

Honey -- stores forever, gives good energy, tasty, and has some medicinal properties as well

Wheat Berries or other whole grain such as quinoa, barley, corn, etc.-- these can be ground to make flour for some sort of bread, they can be sprouted for greens, with beans they provide a complete protein, complex carbs for energy, and they store well as whole grains

Rice -- with beans they provide a complete protein, not very allergenic-well tolerated by most people, unfortunately only white rice has a long storage life though

Beans -- one of the best vegetable proteins around, very filling, they can be sprouted for greens, but they take a long time to cook (lots of fuel!) and the longer they are stored, the harder they get.

Lard or Olive Oil -- as long as it is kept in an airtight container it has a very long shelf life, fat is one of the hardest things to find in a subsistence situation. Coconut oil also has a long shelf life, but I wonder just how helpful it would be as it appears to help in LOSING weight, and in this situation, calories will be KING.

Enough seeds to plant a garden at least 3 years in a row-- vacuum sealed and kept away from light seeds will keep for years, store 3 years' worth in case of crop failure.

I think these cover the bare basics of life support. Everything else would be icing on the cake.

 

[creativetwinszoo]

Dried foods, so long as their sealed and dried properly will laste years and usually not be dusty. Home canned goodies are nice too, but unlike the dried goods take up considerably more space for less amount (when rehydrated)

 

[creativetwinszoo]

Awesome list britesea!
I agree with that stuff!

 

[creativetwinszoo]

Also don't forget about pets!
Big bags of sealed up dry foods placed in watertight bins!

 

[Britesea]

In a pinch, you could feed your pets from your own stores. I make my own dog food out of brown rice (I've used rolled oats before too), whatever vegetables (dried, frozen, no salt canned, fresh) I have on hand, and whatever cheap meat I can scrounge up (and I usually add one crushed up calcium supplement to the meal). We could eat it as well, but it would be very bland with no salt or seasonings and no onions or garlic.

 

[Denim Deb]

At first I thought you wanted us to seal our pets in watertight bins!

 

[goatgurl]

baaahaaa, @Denim Deb at least then you wouldn't have to worry about food for them. and chocolate is a total must have. coco nibs store best. and i totally agree with @Britesea about the things to store. i also store salt in half gallon canning jars to keep the moisture out and i store lots of dried herbs too for medicinal and culinary purposes. i keep dried foods in mylar bags with o2 tabs and then put them in 5 gallon buckets with lids. it is important to store thing away from the sun, heat and moisture so i store oils etc in dark colored bottles whenever possible.