Dried fruits?
Posted by Flat_Ranger8906@reddit | preppers | View on Reddit | 92 comments
So I have a decent stock of canned fish, chicken, beef and smoked hams, I have at least 120 lbs of pinto beans, and 100bs of rice. I need something for vitamin C. What’s the best deal on bulk dried fruits? I am going to work on canning this summer from the garden. But I would like something purchased in the meantime with everything going on in the world. Anybody know the best bulk deal on fruits?
thomas533@reddit
Not to dissuade you from stocking up on dried fruit, but keep in mind that things like dandelion, dock, chick weed, plantain, and probably a dozen other "weeds" growing in your yard are all amazing sources of vitamin C and other things.
Flat_Ranger8906@reddit (OP)
I’ve been meaning to get some dandelion seeds
thomas533@reddit
Unless you live in the tropics, they pretty much grow everywhere. I don't think you would need to collect the seeds for any reason.
KateMacDonaldArts@reddit
You do if you’re worried about pesticides.
thomas533@reddit
If the dandelions have been sprayed with herbicides, you can tell very easily because they're generally dead.
KateMacDonaldArts@reddit
You do you. I’ll enjoy my organic dandelion greens and jelly.
thomas533@reddit
I've been foraging wild foods for about 25 years and I'm actually started the foraging subreddit where this topic gets discussed constantly.
2BrainLesions@reddit
Cool! It's a skill I wish I had
Financial-Parsley482@reddit
It’s a skill that gets developed. It’s a choice and then you can learn and learn and learn and learn and learn and share and share and share.
bottlebabycatfeeder@reddit
Oooo! What is it called?
thomas533@reddit
/r/foraging
Flat_Ranger8906@reddit (OP)
We don’t spray with anything. We just don’t get enough dandelions that grow on the property for a significant source of food/medicine. My plan was to seed my entire side yard (have a little over 2 acres here)
Financial-Parsley482@reddit
I saw a really cool video about collecting the seeds for making Microgreens inside the house in case you can’t go outside. I know that’s more extreme but at least it’s something and I plan for Tuesday. I plan for SHTF+
thomas533@reddit
I thought about this as well but it would take a lot of work to collect that many dandelion seeds and they aren't that great for making microgreens. For $10, I can have a quarter pound of micro green seeds delivered to my door already packaged up in a mylar bag. Honestly, I think microgreens are too much work. It takes me about 5 minutes to walk outside and collect enough edible weed from my yard to make a good salad. I live in a mild climate though, so if that isn't something you can do year round microgreens might be a good choice I guess.
Financial-Parsley482@reddit
I would love to know the source for your micro green seeds for $10 and I live in the Pacific Northwest, which is a fairly mild climate.
What I’m prepping for is if I cannot go outside?
Also, I have a plethora of dandelion seeds all over the yard so I walk around the yard and gather them up. Put them in a napkin as I’m doing other yard tasks bring them inside stuff. I’m in a clamshell that sits in the kitchen and I just keep adding to them every day.
It’s a new thing I’m trying out and I haven’t even tried to make the dandelion Microgreens. I’m just gathering the seeds for now.
Historical_Course587@reddit
Me too, up near the Canadian border. In all my years of trying, here's the best option I've found:
Kale and mustard especially do not die in the winter - they just stop growing. They will re-seed areas as well, even if you don't want them to. Mustard is like dandelion, a true weed. Perpetual spinach is chard and also fairly unkillable in the cold months. If you have room, you can grow baby greens in any window just fine during the colder months. And of course, these are three of the most nutritious plants available in terms of micronutrients, so they will definitely keep you alive if you have the calories to go with them.
thomas533@reddit
This was the first search result: https://www.amazon.com/Todds-Seeds-Broccoli-Friends-Sprouting/dp/B0B46T57P3
I am also in the PNW. Outside of a nuclear fallout situation, I can't think of anything that would keep me inside. But even the risk from nuclear fallout doesn't last forever. But my plan in that case is to leave the area.
Practical-book-3911@reddit
In place of micro green buying in bulk (good for the right now), just plant arugula seeds, radish seeds, and bok Choi right now and let them “go to seed” when they feel like it rather than harvesting for eating. You’ll have a lifetime supply of micro green seeds and having them grow for years in the same place with zero extra effort.
Financial-Parsley482@reddit
I wish I had the Garden space to do this. Alas, I do not.
Flat_Ranger8906@reddit (OP)
We get very few in my yard. 5-6 maximum. Definitely not enough for food/medicine
Fragrant-Platform163@reddit
Wait until they bloom and turn into puffs. All those floaty bits have seeds on the end. No need to buy.
Better-Obligation-19@reddit
I'm wondering if you could pick the spent flowers before they 'puff' and air dry them in a drafty area to prevent mold???? It might be less messy. Or pick the spent flower, pull the seeds before puffing and trim all the fluff off. I will have some flower head here in a few weeks of so, so I'm going to try different stages of gathering just for fun and learning. I also have a ton of microgreen seeds I have ordered so I have lots of great sprouts but it would be nice to practice local plant seed harvesting as well.
Fragrant-Platform163@reddit
If they're yellow they still need to be pollinated. They sprout with a cone shaped head, bloom, get pollinated, and close again to form their seeds before "puff", apparently called "reblooming". The wind takes care of the rest.
Once fully puffed, they are pretty much dry and you can pinch off the fluff, taking the seeds with them, (important note! The white part is the "sail", the seed is the little black oblong part at the bottom of the "T") and store them in a paper envelope or wax paper no problem. Avoid plastic for storing or saving any seeds.
But if you're plucking them while they're in a partially closed cone you need to dry them. Tricky considering they spread by wind.
Honestly, I take great pride and joy in kicking any puffs I find up and into the wind. If the area is mowed to monoculture death I'll shove them in my pocket and turn them out when I get to a more wild area and let the wind do its thing.
2BrainLesions@reddit
+1 for dandelion. Just soak well to remove dirt/silt etc.
If you boil them, the water is amazing for gut issues
thomas533@reddit
Dirt and silt can't hurt you if you eat them. In fact, people pay a premium for soil-based probiotics so if you're worried about gut health then maybe don't scrub them clean. The only thing you have to worry about is if it's in a field where manure was applied or there's heavy wildlife and you are worried about a risk of e.coli or salmonella. I typically don't wash anything that I forage unless I see something particular gross on it and I haven't ever gotten sick from anything.
2BrainLesions@reddit
Worried about E. coli. And dog pee 🤷♀️🤭
2600sysop@reddit
Jars of multivitamins. They never go bad
Paranormal_Lemon@reddit
They do go bad, they oxidize. Look for coated tablets. The non-coated ones go bad pretty fast, you can tell because the B vitamins turn dark and start to smell bad.
BallsOutKrunked@reddit
They don't go bad but they do lose effectiveness over time. Still, taking 2 in 20 years instead of just 1 is perfectly workable.
Lard523@reddit
plus most vitamins are water soluble, meaning you pee out whatever is too much for your body so you can’t overdose on them if you take a reasonable amount of pills (not all are water soluble, and some can cause genuine problems if you consume too much)
baardvark@reddit
$20 and done.
cantiludan@reddit
Pepper's. Specifically Yellow bell peppers are loaded with Vitamin C, \~340 mg per pepper where an orange has about 70mg. Red Bell \~200mg Green Bell \~140mg
CrazyKingCraig@reddit
The LDS stores sell dried strawberries pretty cheap.
iamfaedreamer@reddit
they're super yummy too as a snack or in drinks
Complex_Ruin_8465@reddit
Freeze dried fruit is better than just dehydrated. Get some #10 cans of freeze dried fruit it has a shelf life of 10-20 years but will need to be used up reasonably quick once opened.
Soff10@reddit
Peppers have vitamin C. I like the mild Italian mixes in jars.
Embarrassed-Fudge803@reddit
Not dried fruit, but I’ve purchased the packets of True Lemon 🍋 & True Lime 🍋🟩 for exactly this reason. No scurvy in our house!
NerfEveryoneElse@reddit
Dried fruits has little VC left. Grow some berries if you can, or buy those multi vitamin pills or drinks.
PrisonerV@reddit
Plant a white pine in your yard. Now you have free unlimited vitamin C to go with that food.
TheMrsH1124@reddit
Seriously white pine is so underrated. I use it for respiratory ailmentsb in tincture form and it's a great detox as well as a tea!
2BrainLesions@reddit
Wait, for real? May I ask which allergies? I'm near wits end
TheMrsH1124@reddit
I use it for colds and asthma. For allergies I would recommend goldenrod and cordyceps
2BrainLesions@reddit
Thanks so much! I'll check out both. Really appreciate the share.
TheMrsH1124@reddit
Of course. I am very partial to Wild Oaks Apothecary tinctures and products. She has an allergy blend that's great!
2BrainLesions@reddit
Thanks so much!!
PrisonerV@reddit
You can make soda with it!
TheMrsH1124@reddit
Ooo I should try that!
Flat_Ranger8906@reddit (OP)
Great idea, and I’ve heard of the soda you can make too. Going to budget in a few white pine trees.
Princessferfs@reddit
Cranberries have vitamin C
karl4319@reddit
If you have a freezer, go with frozen fruit. More nutritious and often a lot cheaper.
And berries are usually the best choices as for as most nutrition for your buck
Imagirl48@reddit
Foraging for Vitamin C is simple almost anywhere.
Flat_Ranger8906@reddit (OP)
Wouldn’t be if we had ash blocking out the sun. JS
TheMrsH1124@reddit
If Ash is blocking out the sun we have larger problems
BallsOutKrunked@reddit
Yeah but scurvy would be legit one.
TheMrsH1124@reddit
It won't hit for like five months
1LittleBirdie@reddit
Rosehips! I love Roses so knowing they are a historic source of vitamin C makes me extra happy
2BrainLesions@reddit
Oooh!! TY!
smsff2@reddit
Is there anything wrong with multivitamins? That seems like a price-effective solution.
TheMrsH1124@reddit
I wouldn't get a multivitamin. Multivitamins may have components that could degrade with time. I would just get a big box of a ascorbic acid powder.
mckenner1122@reddit
Ascorbic acid powder degrades rather quickly. It’s both unstable and reactive.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8773188/
It’s not harmful, mind you. Just a hell of a lot less effective, particularly once opened.
TheMrsH1124@reddit
The commercially available powder is actually sodium ascorbate, but I used ascorbic acid as that is more commonly recognized. Powdered sodium ascorbate is quite stable under normal storage conditions. It does degrade very quickly when dissolved, which is why you can't bulk mix things like EmergenC powder. But the powder will retain nutrients as long as any other storage method for vitamin C, or longer.
The article you cited is referring to true ascorbic acid, which is quite unstable and reactive due to its chemical structure (I'm an organic chemist).
mckenner1122@reddit
Oh hey!! I thought I recognized your screen name! 🫙 🥩
👋🧡
I didn’t know you were an organic chemist! That’s actually pretty awesome! (And a darn useful skill to have).
The degradation of ascorbic is why we don’t trust it for canning other than to “make food pretty” - like we can’t count the acidity for preserving food the way we can with citric acid. It’s just a bummer that it doesn’t provide much in the way of nutritional value…
TheMrsH1124@reddit
Hahaha! I was peering at yours too. Hi! Nice to see you on this side of the internet, too 😂
Yep it's a pity. And why I don't can fruit as a source of vitamin C . . . I can it for taste alone. Freeze the ones I want to keep for their nutritional value.
And thank you. It's a really fun field. I dabbled in the orgo side of microbiology in grad school as well . . . Hence all my interests 😂
mckenner1122@reddit
Do you ever hang over at the two x version of this sub? I sometimes find it a little more reasonable and a little less …
Cosplay/Cosprepper?
Lots of moms, wives, aunties, just like minded people who are trying to stock up for protection against budget constraints, snowstorms, and other “bad days” rather than “TEOTWAWKI” type stuff.
TheMrsH1124@reddit
The algorithm prefers to push r/preppers. Idk why. I'd rather be over on Two X 😂 maybe I just need to search it and engage more there!
BallsOutKrunked@reddit
That sub leans hard into teotwawki land on occasion.
Flat_Ranger8906@reddit (OP)
Actually that’s a great idea as there doesn’t seem to be any reasonable deals on bulk, freeze dried fruits.
Professional_Tip_867@reddit
you can freeze vitamins
CopperRose17@reddit
Just buy a few canisters of Tang. It's high in vitamin C and has calcium. It is cheap and simple to store. In regular life, you might not want to drink something artificial. If supply chains are disrupted, it would be better to drink Tang than get scurvy. It also helps hide the taste of stale-tasting water. As preppers, we need to remember to keep things simple if we can. :)
WUMSDoc@reddit
Buy large jars of Vitamin C pills. Problem solved.
FarSink4547@reddit
Potatoes and sweet potatoes have cut c. You could also dry peppers everything from bell to jalepeno sweet cherry peppers etc
Seawolfe665@reddit
I dont have a ton of dried fruits. But I do have a lot of marmalades and jams. My marmalades are just lemon and sugar, and mix into a lot of things.
NefariousnessLast281@reddit
I don’t have dried fruit, but I have canned tomatoes and canned pineapple which are both high in vitamin C and I have emergen-c powder drink mix and multi-vitamins to supplement holes in my diet.
NefariousnessLast281@reddit
Adding that as far as canned tomatoes go, jars of canned salsa, tomato soup and pasta sauce also count. In an emergency I might not have the energy or resources to cook but I can definitely open a jar of salsa and pour it over beans or eat it with corn chips.
mystery_biscotti@reddit
You know, tomatoes are rich in Vitamin C. If they're fresh.
Strawberries. Bell peppers. Hell, get a thing of Tang powder or four...
Dadd_io@reddit
Canned tomatoes still have 2/3 of their vitamin C and have more antioxidants than fresh. Overall canned are healthier (due to being more concentrated (.
mystery_biscotti@reddit
Depends on what you want from a food, but I agree with the majority of your point.
Ahappygoluckygirl@reddit
Canned tomatoes or multivitamins
carpetbowl@reddit
Big Lot's meds aisle is actually a great resource, I got a 90 day bottle of multivitamins for $3.
FunyunGrundy@reddit
Buy a few cans of Tang powdered drink mix - one glass is 120% of RDA vitamin C.
ClementineCoda@reddit
Strawberries are in season, often on sale, have more Vit C than citrus, and taste better than some of the other options.
Yes, plant a few Eastern White Pine, great for occasional tea or emergencies. Inner bark, baby green cones, and pollen are all edible.
Plant some sea buckthorn too! Omegas, Vit C, and versatile, use leaves for tea and berries for juice (use like lemon juice), jam, etc.
GooseGosselin@reddit
TBH, I went with #10 cans of freeze dried. Very happy with them.
Mule_Wagon_777@reddit
LDS Church food storage store online has the best prices on freeze-dried fruits and other basics packed in #10 cans.
MNConcerto@reddit
Freeze dried fruits and vegetables. Lasts for 25 or 30 years when stored properly.
TheMrsH1124@reddit
Neither dried fruits or canned fruits are very great sources of vitamin C for the price. You are much better off going on Amazon and getting a bulk tub of ascorbic acid powder. You can mix that into any food and It will provide your ascorbic acid needs in a small footprint.
polyamy74@reddit
Scurvy and Rickets and ither nutrition deficiency diseases are a big fear of mine. So we keep, eat and rotate dried fruit from Costco, have long-term stores of dried apples from the LDS food storage, keep extra backup bottles of Juice Plus+ (ground up fruit/veg), use and rorate through can of fruit and veg, have frozen rotated fruit and veg, and we keep fruit juices around (homemade cranberry is easy and full of nutrients!). We also live in an area where people have citrus trees in their yards that oroduce more than they can eat, so we have alternative citrus types to trade or eat ourselves, as well as other fresh fruit and veg. A deep pantry with a backup plan is worth more than gold.
JRHLowdown3@reddit
Are you talking about DEHYDRATED and freeze dried fruits that will store long term, or are you talking about "dried" fruits as in still somewhat leathery made to snack on find them in the grocery store items? The latter having more moisture and will not store as long.
And yeah everyone is replying with alternate Vit C sources and those are great, but I assume you want some FOOD variety also.
Also, your rice to beans ratio is out of kilter a smidge, usually it's more rice than beans.
WhereDidAllTheSnowGo@reddit
Why not canned fruits?
They’ll keep longer, fresher, probably cheaper when on sale too.
With dry, you’ll need to rotate much more often
Mechbear2000@reddit
Stock up now. Ive read about lots of trees in the north east that have not set fruit this year because of the late season cold snaps we got. Apples, cherries, even peaches got hit.
AI Slop
State-by-State Harvest Impacts
Eastern and Mid-Atlantic Orchards
The South and West
Flat_Ranger8906@reddit (OP)
With everything else going on that’s kind of ominous
CyclingDutchie@reddit
Powdered fruits and multivitamines are a way to store Vit C, for a long time.
dawn_thesis@reddit
freeze-dried broccoli has vitamin C and at least some of the fiber that is currently missing