How to prep cooking tools properly?
Posted by Consequence_Green@reddit | preppers | View on Reddit | 17 comments
Gas stove etc, maybe wood stove too
Posted by Consequence_Green@reddit | preppers | View on Reddit | 17 comments
Gas stove etc, maybe wood stove too
Spiley_spile@reddit
Im a big fan of keeping disposable dishes on hand for disasters. No need to use up my emergency water unnecessarily on dishwashing. At least until the disposables run out.
I second the recommendation another person made for a pressurized gas stove. Ive the MSR Dragonfly. Works with 5 different fuels. Can buy a field repair kit. Good even in below freezing temperatures and a wide range of elevations.
As for the woodgassing stoves, depends on fire danger in your area. Im not especially knowledgeable about this type of stove,just that, at least some of them can be a big fire hazard in fire-prone areas. Same with alcohol stoves. They are even illegal for most of the year in a few different US states.
The 30 day food supply I keep on hand, however, requires, at most, boiled water. Plenty of my food supplies can be eaten right out of the package. Saves time, energy, and resources. It also makes it much easier to share out.
incruente@reddit
Prepping your cooking setup is an important part of prepping your food setup.
"Oh, I'll cook bread with this wheat!"
"Cool. Do you have a way to grind it without grid power? A way to bake it without grid electricity?"
"...."
Step 1 is to figure out what you are planning for. Planning for all-out nuclear war is far different from planning for two weeks without grid power.
Step 2 is to figure out what sort of cooking methods you need. Baking is kind of a pain, really; boiling, frying, anything that can be done on a burner instead of in an oven will be easier.
Step 3 is to figure out your fuel source(s) and cooking method. There are many; solar, propane, kerosene, wood, charcoal, etc. My personal preference for the short to medium term is butane canisters in a small single-burner portable stove. Longer term is wood. I also have a solar cooker that works year-round.
JRHLowdown3@reddit
This. And multiple grain grinders.
I remember losing a "key" in our Country living mill. Went to hardware stores, auto parts places, they had similar sized ones but not the same size. Thing was useless without. A friend that sold prep gear for a while ordered me 3 sets of replacement parts. During the interim we used our K-Tec electric (have AE) and our back to basics mill.
Making tortillas in place of bread is a lot easier, less time consuming and less fuel consumption.
No_Character_5315@reddit
Unless you plan on growing grain or live near a area that does grow alot what would be the point ? Wouldn't it be better to store already processed grain ?
JRHLowdown3@reddit
Flour doesn't store anywhere near as long as full kernel hard red winter wheat. Wheat is also a helluva lot more versatile- plant it, sprout it for Vit C, make bulgar (a meat substitute) as well as a million other things.
Throw hard red winter wheat on the ground, you'll likely get wheat growing. Throw white flour on the ground you just get a mess.
No_Character_5315@reddit
Ok thanks for explaining
JRHLowdown3@reddit
Also, over 40 years of storing food, I've had to toss out easily 500 lbs. of white flour. Zero wheat has been lost in that time, even wheat purchased in 1993 just poured in buckets (pre O2 absorbers and mylars commonly being available).
BaldyCarrotTop@reddit
Well, like u/Revolutionary-Half-3, my cooking preps are also called camping gear.
But, in and emergency, you can use your regular kitchen utensils if you are sheltering in place. You just need a camp stove and fuel. And a good list of One Pot meals.
Now, if you need to evacuate, that's another thing. You will need a lightweight cooking setup that you can take with you.
NjStacker22@reddit
I have a few different stoves. Three soda can style alcohol stoves as well as a small backpacking style wood burning stove. They’re all small enough that they can fit easily inside a pot/lid. Inside my pot I store the stove, windscreen, salt/pepper shaker, spork, small hand towel, pot scraper, lighter, and an empty pen (no insides, cap, etc) that has tape wrapped around it to mark water levels (ie 1 cup, 2 cups, 3 cups, etc). All packs down into a super small package.
Cute-Consequence-184@reddit
Actually knowing how to use them is just as important as owning them
So you have a Dutch oven. Do you know how you season it, clean it and what all it is used for?
Can you bake bread? What will you use? Recipes vs technique vs tools question really.
And.. without the Internet, do you know all the ingredients and steps?
IlliniWarrior1@reddit
need to prep for the possible "forever" running SHTF - fuel for cooking comes down to wood >>> better have the cast iron to break out for some firepit cooking .......
AlphaDisconnect@reddit
Another recommendation. Iwatani epr-a. But butane can freeze. So plan for that. But it is a portable all in one cook system for one burner. Back up cans. Keep them warm by keeping them close.
I trioxane full stove. With folding metal stove. Won't heat much. But will probably last a hundred years and do something. Can also light a camp fire in bad conditions easy.
Many-Health-1673@reddit
Practice cooking on all of your methods before you need them.
Cold-Call-8374@reddit
Whatever you prep with, practice with it. Use your prepped ingredients and make dinner every so often.
I've got a sizable gas generator, a hot plate, a rice cooker, and an electric kettle myself. It'll keep the soup, ramen, and rice-and-beans flowing.
JRHLowdown3@reddit
Multiple options to cook is a good way to go.
Ideally this will start with a gas stove inside your home and a large 500 gallon or so LP tank. We go over a year on a tank full of gas using it for our stove, water heater and dryer. Long term disruption it would cut back to just cooking and hot water in cooler weather. Cooking INSIDE where scent is controlled is your best option.
Our next option is on the wood stoves, either the Vermont Bunbaker which also has a small oven section or on the Waterford Erin or Leprechaun stoves.
Last option is cooking outside, which creates security issues. Some ways to somewhat circumvent some of this including cooking underground which we have done more than a few times. Still you have issues of smoke and some scent (underground). But with 5+ years of firewood in sheds and surrounded by forests, this gives us a good long term option.
Revolutionary-Half-3@reddit
About half of my preps are also camping equipment.
Multifuel stoves like the MSR Whisperlite Universal, Optimus Polaris, and Primus Omnifuel/Omnilite can use propane, butane, isobutane, white gas, gasoline, kerosene, and diesel.
I have a couple of small camping solo stoves with pots, and a ton of older camping cookware I can use on them. They'll burn just about any solid fuel, but I'd only use them to boil water.
Thrift shops and garage sales are a good source for stainless pots and pans, I've got a stainless pan with a copper plate in the bottom that's over 1/4 inch thick to spread the heat out. $5 at a neighborhood garage sale.
GooseGosselin@reddit
These stoves are great, jugs of methyl hydrate from the hardware / automotive store for fuel and lightweight camping style pots and pans.