Making a Food Cache
and
Evaluating the Safety of Preserved Foods

by

Shirley VanGarde, Ph.D.

Keep this book in a plastic bag by your stored food so you can evaluate the safety of your stored supplies before consuming them. This is important knowledge for both kitchen cupboards and emergency food supplies. The mechanism of preservation is outlined for each type of food and strategies for evaluating that food's safety are given.

This text will also help you get started storing some food supplies. If you reside in a location where hurricanes, tornados or earthquakes are likely, having a food cache is important. Whether you are preparing for brief storm damage situations or long term food shortages it is critical that you have enough of the right types of foods for your household and that they are stored in such a way that they remain safe to eat when opened.

The first edition received excellent reviews in the August 1999 edition of Mother Earth News as sound, practical, canning information for an economical price. It was recommended as a book to definately add to your food preservation library.

The cost is $8 which includes shipping and handling for this 106 page booklet. After two decades of working with householders, I know the most common question is trying to decide if the food that has been stored is still safe to eat. Often the food does not appear the same as when it was put into storage and if there has been storm damage the storage container may also appear different; some of these changes do not affect the safety of the food but others do. Errors in this judgment can have severe consequences. Included are detailed sections on how to determine if your home preserved foods are still safe to eat, instructions on some old but safe preservation methods, reasons why some old methods should not be used today, and some difficult to find recipes for using stored foods. The appendix contains many references for low cost or free information on how to can, dry, glean, and rootcellar and also sources for hard to find preservation equipment. The original purchaser of this book is entitled to some free consulting from the author. Details on inside cover. Ordering information is at end of this page.
Go To Order Form
Return to Main Menu

Table of Contents, Second Edition

GETTING STARTED
What are You Preparing For? 1
What to Store 4
Trial One Day Food Cache 8
Your Sample Menu 11
Examples of Food to Store for Long Term 15
Sample Menus 17
Some Items to Put in Your Cache 22
Dining Without Fuel 24
How to Store Food 25

QUALITY CHANGES IN FOOD Browned Food 25
Rule of Q10 26
Rancid Food 27

IS THE STORED FOOD SAFE TO EAT? 30
Pickles 31
Canned Meat, Fish, Legumes, Vegetables 32
Canned Fruits and Fruit Juices 35
Dry Foods 35
Smoking 36
Salting 35
Sugared Foods 38
Pouches 38
Frozen and Refrigerated Foods 39
Refreeze Foods Safely 39
Which Foods are Perishable 41
Eating Unfamiliar Game Meats 43

HOW TO PRESERVE FOODS 45
Tips for Canning Large Quantities 45
Sealing Without Heat Processing 48
Drying Foods Efficiently 49
Jerky 51
Pre-Cooking Game Jerky 52
Waterglass Eggs 54

HOW TO STORE DRY GOODS 55
Nitrogen Storage 58
Oxygen Absorbers 64
Dry Ice 64
Keeping Food Dry with Desiccants 65
Storing Water 66
What to Do When Your Freezer Stops 71
How to Paraffin Jelly 77
Larding Meat 78
Insects 79
Molds in Pantry 79
Disinfecting Sprouts 81

Appendix (list of in-depth references) 83

RECIPES TO GET YOU STARTED
These are hard-to-find recipes that you will need if planning for long term shortages
Making Fresh Cheese 87
How to Pasteurize Milk 87
Homade Yogurt 89
Starch Thickened Salad Dressing 90
Raspberry Vinegar 91
Homade Soybean Tofu 92
Tofu Mayonnaise 95

RECIPES FOR BREADS REQUIRING LITTLE FUEL
English Muffins 97
Cornmeal Griddle Cakes 98
Basic Pancake Mix 99
Overnight Griddle Cakes 100
Hasty Pudding 100
Whole Wheat Dumplings 101
Flat Onion Bread 101
Legume Flours 102
Homade Grape Nuts Breakfast Cereal 102
Instant Pea Soup 103
Quick Beans and Rice 103
Yeast, wild and commercial 104
Snow Ice Cream 105

Click Here To Go To Order Form

About the author: This is critical information since you are basing your household's safety on the advice of this book.
Shirley VanGarde earned a 4.0 during her doctoral study at Oregon State University. The emphasis of her program was householder food safety and food preservation with minors in horticulture and statistics. The safety decisions outlined in Making a Food Cache are based on scientifically sound principles developed through laboratory research and published in world renown scientific journals. The methods may differ from your grandmother's, but given what we know today about microorganisms and the illnesses they can cause, the principles outlined here are the best to follow now. Dr. VanGarde has 20+ years experience working with householders who preserve seasonal foods and also with serious survivalists who store large amounts of commercially packaged items.

To Order the book, Second Edition

Send $8 as check or money order (sorry, I'm not set up to take charge cards)
Dr. Shirley VanGarde
29217 Lusted Rd.
Gresham, OR 97080

The booklet is a 5x8 inch, spiral bound, paperback which contains 106 pages.
Please print out this order form then print clearly so I can send the book to your correct address.
The $8 includes shipping and handling for any U.S. address.
Foreign orders, please add $4.

Your Name ___________________________________________

Your Street Address ________________________________________

Your City _________________________________________

Your State __________________________________________

Your Zip Code __________________________________________

Your e-mail address in case I cannot read your above address, I can contact you.______________________________

Return to Top of Making a Food Cache Page
Return to Main Menu