Equipped To Survive Equipped To Survive® Presents
The Survival Forum
Where do you want to go on ETS?

Page 1 of 5 1 2 3 4 5 >
Topic Options
#77625 - 11/21/06 09:51 PM Survival Food
Anonymous
Unregistered


Whats your survivall foods in your kits?

whats your experience or opinion on them,taste,storage,etc..?

I've seen mre's which ive never tried and dont plan to any time soon.i heard that soldiers hate them because of the taste and such, but idk,anyone have experience with them?

survival food tabs-dont know much about them,but they sound like vitamins.

freeze dried

dehydrated
etc.............

anyone have experience with any of these?

Top
#77626 - 11/21/06 10:20 PM Re: Survival Food
OldBaldGuy Offline
Geezer

Registered: 09/30/01
Posts: 5695
Loc: Former AFB in CA, recouping fr...
"MRE's...i heard that soldiers hate them..."

From what I have heard, soldiers hate them because in the sandbox that is often all they get to eat for months and months and months. No matter what it is, the same basic thing for long term gets boring. Plus they tend to cause constipation, which is never fun. I have eaten quite a few MRE's, and right this minute have probably 20 or so entrees under our bed (we are currently full-time RV'ers), just in case. Bad thing about MRE's, if you have to carry them, is their weight. You can lighten the load a bit by opening the bag and tossing a lot of the stuff in there, packaging if nothing else.

A friend of mine once bought some of those survival tabs that come in a GI canteen sized bottle. Supposed to be a months worth or something in one jug. As a test he once ate nothing but the tabs for a week or so. He said that he felt OK, but was really craving real food by the end of that week.

If you have room, and can handle the weight, regular canned goods will give you more variety, at a much lower cost than MR's...
_________________________
OBG

Top
#77627 - 11/21/06 10:31 PM Re: Survival Food
Anonymous
Unregistered


ther soldiers hating rations and mre's thing i saw off wikipedia.

Top
#77628 - 11/21/06 11:33 PM Re: Survival Food
91gdub Offline
Member

Registered: 11/12/06
Posts: 172
Loc: South Jersey (the 51st state)
I keep a few packs of instant oatmeal, couple of bags of dehydrated fruit (apricot & cranberry) and a few packs of tuna fish along with coffee (the kind that look like tea bags) along with 4 bottles of water in my BOB.
_________________________
Bill Houston

Top
#77629 - 11/21/06 11:54 PM Re: Survival Food
OldBaldGuy Offline
Geezer

Registered: 09/30/01
Posts: 5695
Loc: Former AFB in CA, recouping fr...
Looks like wikipedia pretty much confirms what I had heard.

I will say one thing, and have said before, anyone complaining about MRE's never had to eat C-rations. The worst MRE is far better than the best C-rat...
_________________________
OBG

Top
#77630 - 11/22/06 12:09 AM Re: Survival Food
Anonymous
Unregistered


Since my BOB is not a huge hicking backpack. i have to watch what i put in my smaller Bob.the bob is not huge but not small.
For food:
[list] 2 intstant oatmeals.
small pack of cajun trail mix
pack of placebo caffein pills(for extra boost of energy)
2 mini travel size jif peanut butter
small pack of candy
mints
2-4 tea bags
sugar
salt / pepper
different flavors or drink mix(so water taste better)
several beef and chicken buillon cubes

i want to add some beef jerky in individual strip packets.or maybe panut butter crackers.and maybe some freeze dried food or maybe a mre(yuck,lol).

Top
#77631 - 11/22/06 12:12 AM Re: Survival Food
Anonymous
Unregistered


o yea c-rations are horrible....so my uncle and grandpa says.


Top
#77632 - 11/22/06 01:20 AM Re: Survival Food
OldBaldGuy Offline
Geezer

Registered: 09/30/01
Posts: 5695
Loc: Former AFB in CA, recouping fr...
But they ain't all bad, they spawned the P-38!!!
_________________________
OBG

Top
#77633 - 11/22/06 01:26 AM Re: Survival Food
OldBaldGuy Offline
Geezer

Registered: 09/30/01
Posts: 5695
Loc: Former AFB in CA, recouping fr...
I think that the PB is a good idea. I once had a short class on nutrition, and the instructor informed all of the single guys in the class that they could eat nothing but PB the rest of their lives and remain reasonably health.

I've gotta ask this...do those "placebo caffein pills" do any good???
_________________________
OBG

Top
#77634 - 11/22/06 03:48 AM Re: Survival Food
ironraven Offline
Cranky Geek
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 09/08/05
Posts: 4642
Loc: Vermont
Soldiers have complained about thier issue rations since the start of warfare, becuase it about the only safe topic to complain about.

I'm going to say that anyone who complained about 70s-era C-rats never tried K-rations. And those who complained about K-rations never had dried beef, hard beans, "coffee" made out of chichory, and hardtack to live on for a year at a stretch.
_________________________
-IronRaven

When a man dare not speak without malice for fear of giving insult, that is when truth starts to die. Truth is the truest freedom.

Top
#77635 - 11/22/06 04:08 AM Re: Survival Food
Anonymous
Unregistered


mmmmm sounds delicious. <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> haha. just kidding

Top
#77636 - 11/22/06 05:31 AM Re: Survival Food
benjammin Offline
Rapscallion
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 02/06/04
Posts: 4020
Loc: Anchorage AK
MRE's are fine for most folks. I only found one variety that I really didn't care for. I suppose it is like anything else. Even the finest french cuisine doesn't site well on everyone's pallatte, and having the same food day after day will wear on anyone, regardless the quality or quantity.

I know people have long grown weary of me lauding the wonders of pemmican, but as long as people keep bringing this issue up, I will keep mentioning how wonderful a survival food it is, and how versatile. It is infinite in variety, both in recipe as well as preparation. It is durable, it is efficient, and it is proven. It was a survival staple for hundreds of years, long before modern processing methods made more perishable foods last long enough to be useful. It is economical and convenient, and straightforward.

It may not be pallatable by some (as if pallatability were an important criteria for a survival ration), but it works, and if it was good enough for millions of our ancestors, then why change what works?

Considering all the characteristics that make it so uniquely functional, there really is nothing else that even comes close. Categorically it can't be improved on.

The injuns got it right. Anything else is too civilized.
_________________________
The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.
-- Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903)

Top
#77637 - 11/22/06 06:10 AM Re: Survival Food
OldBaldGuy Offline
Geezer

Registered: 09/30/01
Posts: 5695
Loc: Former AFB in CA, recouping fr...
You are so right. Kinda shoots down the old theory that the troops aren't happy unless they are complaining...
_________________________
OBG

Top
#77638 - 11/22/06 08:19 AM Re: Survival Food
redflare Offline
Addict

Registered: 12/25/05
Posts: 647
Loc: SF Bay Area, CA
I only keep Datrex food rations now. They taste great, high in calories and dont require cooking.

Top
#77639 - 11/22/06 02:24 PM Re: Survival Food
thseng Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 03/24/06
Posts: 900
Loc: NW NJ
I think I have found the root of the problem with soldier's rations. In an Army survival manual, they state:

"The three basic types of food are plants, animals and issued rations."
_________________________
- Tom S.

"Never trust and engineer who doesn't carry a pocketknife."

Top
#77640 - 11/22/06 02:37 PM Re: Survival Food
norad45 Offline
Veteran

Registered: 07/01/04
Posts: 1506
Quote:
I've seen mre's which ive never tried and dont plan to any time soon.i heard that soldiers hate them because of the taste and such, but idk,anyone have experience with them?


I've eaten about 20 different ones and I like just about all of them. Of course, I've never had to go 3-4 months on them either, but I bet I'd survive a lot better on them than any sort of power bar. <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Why don't you buy one and try it for yourself? After all, tastes vary, and asking somebody else how they taste isn't very useful is it?

Top
#77641 - 11/22/06 11:27 PM Re: Survival Food
DBAGuy Offline
dedicated member

Registered: 03/02/04
Posts: 165
Loc: Colorado Springs, CO
I keep 1 months worth of MREs for 2 people in the basement (cool, dry place)

If bugging IN, they can stay where they are.

If bugging OUT, it will take me about 10 minutes to pick up 3 duffle bags of MREs, and 4 others full of stuff, (the dogs and cats have their own duffle) throw them in the back of my car, and hightail it.

www.longlifedepot.com is where I get them. They sell a sample pack for $23
_________________________
ZOMBIES! I hate ZOMBIES.

Top
#77642 - 11/23/06 02:14 AM Re: Survival Food
311 Offline
Enthusiast

Registered: 03/12/06
Posts: 285
Loc: NY USA
I have mres in my car & truck. It's hard to leave them alone as I think that they are delicious. Yes, the old c-rats were pretty strange. I once had to eat nothing but c-rats for nine days. They had a chocolate disk in them that would break your teeth if you tried to bite it. Also, the peanut butter separated & a wick in the can would burn the oil.

Top
#77643 - 12/07/06 08:57 PM Re: Survival Food
Excomantia Offline
journeyman

Registered: 11/27/06
Posts: 98
Loc: Moved to my new home and now h...
Quote:
i want to add some beef jerky in individual strip packets....


I'm not a fan of factory packaged jerky meat for survival rations, high in sodium, low in food value... If you jerk your own in the sun or even in the heat of your oven at home it retains a lot of its food value and wont speed along dehydration (if you don't add the salt when you do it).

Someone mentioned pemmican somewhere in this thread.. If they hadn't, I would have.

I learned how to make both out of a friends copy of The Indian Tipi: Its History, Construction, and Use by Reginald & Gladys Laubin; it also tells how to make brain tan hides and parfleche (rawhide), some furniture.. basically anything you would need to make to live in a tipi full time, in the way the natives made them and how they lived in them, as well as tips on how to do just that. I bought the book just to have as a refrence in my library.
_________________________
Excomantia

Words Mean Something.

Top
#77644 - 12/07/06 11:26 PM Re: Survival Food
picard120 Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 07/10/05
Posts: 763
How does datrex food taste compare to US army MRE? is Datrex food bland ? Does it have high calories, tasty? Datrex food look like granola bars. I can't survive on 200 calories a day. I would lose weight very fast.

Top
#77645 - 12/08/06 01:59 AM Re: Survival Food
wildman800 Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 11/09/06
Posts: 2851
Loc: La-USA
I just reviewed my BOB tonight, Let's see if my old, senile, paranoid memory will work.
I found that I carry the following (it's a very small, highly mobile bag): I have a Baja jacket, a U.S. Army poncho, 40 oz/water, 12vdc cell phone recharger, reading glasses, ink pen, 2 pieces/welder's soapstone, small & smaller multi-purpose knives, a mini flashlight/laser, messkit (with triox tablets, spoon, brillo pads, matches), chopsticks, sling w/clips, sterno stove w/2 small cans of sterno, whistle, extremely small FAK, survival kit in a can (marginal quality), bic lighter, compass, electrical tape, signal mirror, jeweler's screwdriver, leather lace, 8 oz/buffalo jerky, 23 pieces of hershey dark chocolate, 3-1gal & 1-1qt ziplock bags, 8 Slim Jims.
I use a U.S. Army duffle bag w/ruck sack type shoulder straps that I keep certain items and food in that is ready to go if I have to jump ship & walk home. That's another list but there are MRE's & other food items as well as gear in it.
Onboard ship, I always carry a Buck 110, Leatherman, mini-mag flashlight, lighter, smokes. I plan to take my Nav Kit w/me with a bic lighter, AA batteries, 110vac cell phone charger, ink pens, pencils, nav kit, log book, licenses, binoculars w/camara, AAA batteries, magic marker, mini flashlight, road maps, ziplock bags, & other things that I don't recall while I am too lazy to get it & inventory it here. Oh well!!
_________________________
QMC, USCG (Ret)
The best luck is what you make yourself!

Top
#77646 - 12/08/06 11:19 AM Re: Survival Food
redflare Offline
Addict

Registered: 12/25/05
Posts: 647
Loc: SF Bay Area, CA
Well, survival rations, such as once by Datrex or other brands like Mayday and Survivor Industries, and army MREs are two different animals.
Basically emergency rations are composed of compressed, cooked wheat flour with oil.
Datrex brand, has coconut flakes, so it tastes like a coconut cake. IMHO it tastes pretty good for something designed to be eaten up to 5 years from manufacturing. Additionally, Datrex bars are subdivided into 200 calories chunks, and are sealed individually inside the 2400 or 3600 calorie overwrap. Pretty usefull if you are trying to ration your survival food, while at the same time keeping it from drying out too much.

Datrex Ingredients: Wheat flour, vegetable shortening, cane sugar, water, coconut,and salt.
Weight: 1.5lb (701g)/pack
Nutritional information:
Serving size: 1 bar, approximately 1.4 oz (42 g)
Servings per package: 18
Calories: 200
Carbohydrates: 27 g
Protein: 3 g
Total fat: 9 g
Sat fat: 2g
Mono–unsat: 6 g
Poly–unsat: 1 g
Sodium: 0.18%

Mayday bars to me tasted less moist then the Datrex once. Don't know if this is because of the extra soy powder they add to them, or the other ingredients, like vitamins etc. In a survival situation, vitamins are propably the least of your concerns. The bars tasted like a dry cinnamon cake. It felt like I needed more water to wash them down then the Datrex kind.

Mayday Ingredients: Enriched flour, vegetable shortening, sugar, corn syrup, soy flour, corn starch, potassium sorbate, vitamins (Vitamin A, iron, Vitamin E, riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, pantothenic acid, copper, vitamin C, vitamin D, thiamine, niacin, folate, biotin, iodine, zinc), apple cinnamon flavoring.
Weight: 0.56lb (252g)/pack
Nutritional information:
Serving size: 1 bar, 1.5 oz (42.5 grams)
Servings per package: 6
Calories: 200
Carbohydrates: 27.5 g
Protein: 3.5 g
Total fat: 8.5 g
Sat fat: 1 g
Sodium: 1%

I haven't tasted the Survivor Industries (Mainstay) bars yet.


Edited by redflare (12/08/06 11:22 AM)

Top
#77647 - 12/08/06 01:45 PM Re: Survival Food
oldsoldier Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 11/25/06
Posts: 742
Loc: MA
I've gone a month at a time on MRE's in the Army before, and, apart from an apparent lack of variety, on a table (or even a chair) to sit at, they arent THAT bad. The newer ones have a quite large variety, and are FAR more palatable than the older ones in the dark green bags. We used to pack ramne noodles to make a sort of stew out of the dried beef or pork patties. Also, I learned a valuable lesson; ALWAYS use the heater packets for the main course; it makes it that much tastier. I was one who never bothered with that until a couple of years before I got out. What a difference in taste!
Nothing tastes better than that first meal, indoors, out of the elements, sitting at a clean table, after a month of eating MRE's out in the field.
One last mention of palatability; anyone here ever try the old cold winter rations that were army issue, in the 90's? Ugh...choking those down were an experinece in & of itself.
_________________________
my adventures

Top
#77648 - 12/08/06 07:18 PM Re: Survival Food
picard120 Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 07/10/05
Posts: 763
How much calories does a MRE dinner bag have?

you mentioned that you mixed it with ramen noodles to make it palatible. I found ramen noodles lacking sufficient calories for the body to be active outdoors.

Top
#77649 - 12/09/06 05:20 AM Re: Survival Food
OldBaldGuy Offline
Geezer

Registered: 09/30/01
Posts: 5695
Loc: Former AFB in CA, recouping fr...
In the box that is ALWAYS in the back of our vehicle, in addition to the single burner propane stove (I gave my XGK to my step-son) with two new cylinders and a backpacking sized cook kit, are a bunch of "energy" bars,a bunch of MRE entrees (they are pretty good unless you have to eat them for months on end), and a lot of canned foods that can be eaten hot or cold. As in Spam ('nuff said about that), baked beans, chili, stew, etc. My wife and I figure that with the amount we have, we could eat pretty well for at least three days, and a lot longer by stretching it. Also instant coffee, tea bags, sugar packets (altho we do not usually put that stuff in our coffee/tea), and cocoa. Sitting right next to that box is the box with the emergency repair goodies, and the "Runt" 2.5 gallon version of the USGI plastic water container. Scattered throughout the vehicle are a bunck of Kirkland water bottles, and our two day packs have full hydration bladders...
_________________________
OBG

Top
#77650 - 12/09/06 01:00 PM Re: Survival Food
benjammin Offline
Rapscallion
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 02/06/04
Posts: 4020
Loc: Anchorage AK
I believe the main entree varies from around 650 up to 1100 calories. As big as I am, they always satisfied my appetite well enough.
_________________________
The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.
-- Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903)

Top
#77651 - 12/09/06 03:47 PM Re: Survival Food
AROTC Offline
Addict

Registered: 05/06/04
Posts: 604
Loc: Manhattan
I think we decided the whole package was ~1300 calories, depending on the meal. I personally like MREs for the job they were designed to do. The 2005-2006 production of MREs include things like: White chocolate/rasberry cookie, cheese nips, smoke house almonds,and chocolate peanut butter spread. They got rid of Country Captain Chicken in 2005 and introduced a new omelet. In 2006 they're getting rid of the beefsteak with mushroom gravy and the chicken tetrazzini. I think MRE's are great for what they are. In a short survival situation, or the first couple of high paced days of a longer survival situation, I would choose MREs as a food source. The package is self contained besides drinking water and water to activate the heater. Unlike other food options, three MREs are not three meals. Three MREs contain three entrees, three desserts, three sides/snacks and more. In ROTC, completing 6 two hour missions a day, plus setting up and tearing down a camp, three MREs was more then enough food each day. I threw away almost as much food each time I got new MREs as I ate so I wouldn't have to carry the weight, and I for one didn't lose any weight. That said, yes they do constipate you, yes they are a hellva lot better hot, and yes I did enjoy that first hot meal afterwards.


Edited by AROTC (12/09/06 04:35 PM)
_________________________
A gentleman should always be able to break his fast in the manner of a gentleman where so ever he may find himself.--Good Omens

Top
#77652 - 12/09/06 04:28 PM Re: Survival Food
AROTC Offline
Addict

Registered: 05/06/04
Posts: 604
Loc: Manhattan
Okay, so I've been reading peoples posts and thinking about this subject for my own needs for a while now. So here's a list I came up with.

MREs: Military field rations, designed for an active soldier. Pros: Well balanced, high calories, designed for activity, easy to prepare, decent meals, long shelf life. Cons: heavy, expensive, not great for long periods.

Dehydrated food: There are two types of this, both made by the same company. The first is backpacking food. Pouches contain an entree or dessert or breakfast item. Pros: Lightweight, relatively easy to prepare, long shelf life, tasty. Cons: expensive, need boiling water to prepare, each pouch is just a meal, no goodies, sides are extra. The second type is emergency storage food. These are stored in #10 cans, are stable for 25 years but are otherwise similar to backpacking food. Pros: extremely long life, less expensive then MREs or Backpacking food, probably as tasty as backpacking food, meals (eg spagetti) or staples (eg diced beef). Cons: um, needs external water and heating, have to buy goodies, sides, snacks seperately, unless you want to power through a can of scrambled eggs (17 2/3 cup servings to a can) before you can eat spagetti you open a lot of food you may not need for a short disaster and it has to be eaten in 2-3 weeks.

Canned goods from the store: Buy a couple extra everytime you shop. Pros: eat what you normally eat, easy to stockpile, pretty cheap, decent shelf life. Cons: can be heavy, have to be careful to get the nutrients and calories you need since things like canned vegetables have little of either, have to plan menus they aren't self contained.

Datrex/Mainstay: Life boat rations. Pros: Long shelf life, compact. Cons: basically starvation rations, fine if you're sitting tight and waiting for rescue, no where near enough food for an active survivor.

Pemmican: No experience. Eager to try the idea out. Pros?: Tasty, good shelf life, high in calories. Cons?: shelf life compared to canned or retort pouch food, possibly nutrient balance, possibly menu fatigue

Food choices depend on what you're doing and how. Bugging out on foot, dehydrated backpack food is probably best. Bugging in for the long haul, store bought food or canned dehydrated emergency food. Lost on the trail, maybe an MRE in your ruck or a bag of pemmican.

These are my conclusions, your needs or opinions may vary. Let me know what I've forgotten or overlooked.
_________________________
A gentleman should always be able to break his fast in the manner of a gentleman where so ever he may find himself.--Good Omens

Top
#77653 - 12/09/06 05:47 PM Re: Survival Food (Jerky..longer post)
Excomantia Offline
journeyman

Registered: 11/27/06
Posts: 98
Loc: Moved to my new home and now h...
Excerpt about makeing jerky from the book I mentioned:
Quote:
...(Jerky) may not be quite as tasty as fresh meat, but it has much food value and actually is very good. It has the advantage of being light in weight and of keeping indefinitely, so long as it is kept perfectly dry...
...Jerky can be made out of almost any piece of meat. The piece can be small, only a pound or so, or large, up to several pounds in size. Of corse it must be removed from the bone and kept in chunk form. A very sharp butcher knife is required. A hunting knife is too thick-edged and usually too short for the job...
...First, cut straight through the center of the piece, stopping within a quarter of an inch of going clear through. Then the process is practically like unrolling the meat, first one side of the chunk and then the other (Drawing reference here). Hold the meat on the palm of the hand and work the knife carfully along through the meat, parallel to the surface of the palm. Be careful you do not cut yourself, and don't be discouraged if at first it seems very slow.... ...one little chunk opens up into a long, thin slice, many inches in length. We have seen pieces fire and six feet long! You will end up by discovering that you have only about one pound of jerky for every five pounds of fresh meat you start with. But, you still have the real meat and all of its food value. All you have lost is water.
Skewers, usually of plum or cherry wood, are made to keep the long strips spread while drying. These are pointed at both ends and merely caught on each side of the strip. The strips are then hung in the hot sun on poles of the drying racks, which are made in various forms, high enough so that the dogs cannot reach them. Bruce Yellowtail made a big fuss when his grandmother hung some of her jerky on his radio aerial!
You need not worry about flies. The meat is cut so thin, not much over a quarter of an inch in thickness, that flies cannot "blow" it. And the cleaner the camp is kept, the fewer flies there will be. Very few flies will even alight on the meat. Even if they do, sunlight is a good disinfectant, and most people prefer the jerky cooked, further eliminating any danger of contamination.
While drying the meat, make sure that no two surfaces touch. In the hot sun, jerky will dry hard in a couple of days. It should be removed at night, piled up on a clean canvas and covered, so it will not absorb moisture from the atmosphere... ...When it is properly cured, it is nearly as hard as iron, about the consistency of sole leather, but we can assure you that it does not taste like it.
...It can be cared for...by keeping it in cloth sacks which are in the air and dry all the time. For an extended period of time it can be kept in a big tin can, like a lard can. If the meat gets damp, or is unprotected in a dark place, it may be attacked by weevils.
Jerky is sometimes eaten "as is," but is best when cooked. One method of cooking is to break it up into little pieces, barely cover them with water, and simmer until soft. The jerky will never regain the original plumpness and texture of the meat, but it will become quite tender, depending upon what cut of meat it was made from in the first place. Salt the stew to taste, and, if you like, thicken the broth with a little flower for a rich gravy.
_________________________
Excomantia

Words Mean Something.

Top
#77654 - 12/09/06 06:09 PM Re: Survival Food (Pemmican...longer post)
Excomantia Offline
journeyman

Registered: 11/27/06
Posts: 98
Loc: Moved to my new home and now h...
Excerpt from the book I mentioned about pemmican..
Quote:
To make pemmican, first roast jerky over coals until the grease begins to show and it takes on a ritch brown color like seared fresh meat. This in itself is a good way to prepare jerky for eating. It is rather crunchy but very tasty. To continue with the pemmican, pound the roasted jerky fine. This is done on a clean canvas or oil-cloth, using a smooth, flat stone for an anvil and the back of an axe for the pounder. Formerly a stone hammer, set in rawhide, was used.
Now dry fresh chokecherries just enough to take out the excess moisture, then pound in the same way, enough to reduce the pits to as fine a pulp as possible. Mix some of this cherry pulp with the pounded jerky, pour melted suet (the hard fatty tissue about the loins and kidneys of beef, sheep, etc., used in cooking or processed to yield tallow) over the whole mass, mix it thoroughly, and then pat into egg-shaped balls. These balls can be preserved in oiled silk or in a plastic bag. In the old days, the pemmican, instead of being made into balls, was stored in cases made of bladders or of rawhide, with melted suet poured over it, and sealed completely...
...Service berries, or June berries, sometimes called squawberries, can be used in the same way. Sometimes nowadays the pemmican is made without any fruit, a little sugar being added instead. But it is not so rich or tasty as the old kind...
_________________________
Excomantia

Words Mean Something.

Top
#77655 - 12/10/06 01:49 AM Re: Survival Food (Pemmican...longer post)
redflare Offline
Addict

Registered: 12/25/05
Posts: 647
Loc: SF Bay Area, CA
I just remembered reading that back in the frontier days of the US, folks used to survive on food called hominy - corn flour, if memory serves me well. The way I remember reading about this is, they would take it with water as a draft, and it would keep them feeling full for days on end.

Top
#77656 - 12/10/06 02:20 AM Re: Survival Food (Pemmican...longer post)
Excomantia Offline
journeyman

Registered: 11/27/06
Posts: 98
Loc: Moved to my new home and now h...
Ground up hominy in water? Sounds a lot like Grits.
_________________________
Excomantia

Words Mean Something.

Top
#77657 - 12/10/06 03:31 AM Re: Survival Food (Jerky..longer post)
picard120 Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 07/10/05
Posts: 763
wouldn't it be easier just to buy jerky meat from a wholesale vendor? are commercial jerky meat tasty and nutritrious?

I don't have the skills or time to make jerky meat.

Top
#77658 - 12/10/06 03:57 AM Re: Survival Food (Jerky..longer post)
Excomantia Offline
journeyman

Registered: 11/27/06
Posts: 98
Loc: Moved to my new home and now h...
Quote:
wouldn't it be easier just to buy jerky meat from a wholesale vendor? are commercial jerky meat tasty and nutritrious?


Modern commercial jerky is high in sodium, usually because of the jerking process they use, which will require more water to keep you hydrated, which might be a limited resource if your useing jerky as a survival food.. it also looses a lot of its food value, again because of the jerking process..
This method of jerking meat is the old way, the most basic.. I know it doesn't pick up salt or loose a lot of the food value of the meat during the process.. I imagine that you could get nearly the same results if you were to use a dehydrator, as long as it didn't involve cooking the meat or removeing the water in the meat by salts or other chemiclas.. you may even be able to wrap the strips of meat in canvas or muslin, put them on the a bakeing sheet and on low heat put them in the oven with the door cracked.. don't cook them though..
Please note though, I've never tried it those ways, so I don't know for sure, but the book did mention hanging the meat from the tipi poles during inclement weather, remember there are fires inside tipis, so I guess it would work like the oven.
_________________________
Excomantia

Words Mean Something.

Top
#77659 - 12/10/06 08:40 PM Re: Survival Food
Nicodemus Offline
Paranoid?
Veteran

Registered: 10/30/05
Posts: 1341
Loc: Virginia, US
I noticed that you sell Datrex Blue Rations on your site, Redflare. I was thinking about picking up quite a bit, but how much space it would take up in my car is going to be a determining factor in the amount because I still need to carry emergency gear along with whatever else I pack for a trip.

Is there any way you might know the size of one 3600kcal package in inches off the top of your head, or could I convince you to measure one?

Thanks for any help. It's appreciated.


Edited by Nicodemus (12/10/06 08:48 PM)
_________________________
"Learn survival skills when your life doesn't depend on it."

Top
#77660 - 12/11/06 08:20 AM Re: Survival Food
benjammin Offline
Rapscallion
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 02/06/04
Posts: 4020
Loc: Anchorage AK
Datrex blue rations weigh 700 grams per 3600 Kcal package.

You might read my post on the main forum under "Emergency Rations - Info Please".
_________________________
The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.
-- Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903)

Top
#77661 - 12/11/06 10:32 AM Re: Survival Food
redflare Offline
Addict

Registered: 12/25/05
Posts: 647
Loc: SF Bay Area, CA
Malcontent from the other thread posted the dimensions. Thanks Malcontent!
Quote:
The blue Datrex rations packs are about 4-3/8" x 3-5/8" x 2-1/2".


Top
#77662 - 12/12/06 01:15 AM Re: Survival Food (Pemmican...longer post)
Old_Scout Offline
journeyman

Registered: 11/03/06
Posts: 95
Loc: Delaware
Quote:
folks used to survive on food called hominy - corn flour

What your referring too is probably not hominy. Hominy is corn that has been hulled and treated with lye, steamed then dried, and if ground is hominy grits (or just grits). The pioneers corn flour which is dried corn (best is sweet corn) then ground. Indians invented it. Cope's dried sweet corn (the modern version) is delicious rehydrated, then cooked to like a mush or pudding. Check it out - http://www.copefoods.com/
_________________________
See 'Ya Down the Trail,
Mike McGrath

"Be Prepared" "For what?" "Why, any old thing!" B-P

Top
#77663 - 12/12/06 06:58 AM Re: Survival Food (Pemmican...longer post)
aloha Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 11/16/05
Posts: 1059
Loc: Hawaii, USA
I haven't tried this yet, but hear that parched corn is a fantastic old time survival food. It supposedly keeps for a long time, is nutritious, provides fiber, and a handful can keep you going for a while. It was a favorite of the American Indians.
_________________________
---------
http://hanzosoutdoors.blogspot.com/

Top
#77664 - 12/12/06 10:55 AM Ground corn
redflare Offline
Addict

Registered: 12/25/05
Posts: 647
Loc: SF Bay Area, CA
Quote:
I haven't tried this yet, but hear that parched corn is a fantastic old time survival food. It supposedly keeps for a long time, is nutritious, provides fiber, and a handful can keep you going for a while. It was a favorite of the American Indians.

Yes this is what I was refering to! I just don't remember the details on how to make this survival food.

Top
#77665 - 12/12/06 01:54 PM Re: Survival Food (Pemmican...longer post)
norad45 Offline
Veteran

Registered: 07/01/04
Posts: 1506
Quote:
I haven't tried this yet, but hear that parched corn is a fantastic old time survival food. It supposedly keeps for a long time, is nutritious, provides fiber, and a handful can keep you going for a while. It was a favorite of the American Indians.

They are called Corn Nuts. They are a favorite of mine too, particularly the limon picante flavor. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Top
#77666 - 12/12/06 09:31 PM Re: Survival Food
RobertRogers Offline
Survivor
Member

Registered: 12/12/06
Posts: 198
For myself I store about 50-lbs each of dried beans and rice, which taken together is a complete protein source. Also alot of dried milk, oatmeal, noodles all of which I cycle through and replace as I use.

I figure this is a good start, from which I can supplement as opportunity arises.
_________________________
FireSteel.com

Top
#77667 - 12/12/06 10:42 PM Re: Survival Food
benjammin Offline
Rapscallion
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 02/06/04
Posts: 4020
Loc: Anchorage AK
What do you use for survival rations during travel? Do you keep anything on your person as edc survival food?
_________________________
The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.
-- Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903)

Top
#77668 - 12/19/06 09:05 PM Re: Survival Food
Craig_phx Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 04/05/05
Posts: 715
Loc: Phoenix, AZ
There were some good things in the C-rations (US Army, 1973-1982). My favorite was the chocolate disk. The canned food needed to be heated to taste good. Our mess hall used metal trash cans and immersion heaters to heat the cans. When we were in the field we would get them for lunch. There was no way we could heat them without getting in trouble and they did not taste very good then. The store bought MREs I have tried are not very good! I'd rather have C-rations.
_________________________
Thermo-regulate, hydrate and communicate.

Top
Page 1 of 5 1 2 3 4 5 >



Moderator:  Alan_Romania, Blast, chaosmagnet, cliff 
October
Su M Tu W Th F Sa
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30 31
Who's Online
0 registered (), 397 Guests and 4 Spiders online.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
israfaceVity, Explorer9, GallenR, Jeebo, NicholasMarshall
5369 Registered Users
Newest Posts
Use of mirror, helicopter pilot notices
by Phaedrus
10/03/24 05:15 AM
What did you do today to prepare?
by Jeanette_Isabelle
10/01/24 12:34 AM
The price of gold
by brandtb
09/27/24 07:40 PM
Hurricane/Tropical Depression Francine Cometh
by wildman800
09/11/24 05:58 PM
Newest Images
Tiny knife / wrench
Handmade knives
2"x2" Glass Signal Mirror, Retroreflective Mesh
Trade School Tool Kit
My Pocket Kit
Glossary
Test

WARNING & DISCLAIMER: SELECT AND USE OUTDOORS AND SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT, SUPPLIES AND TECHNIQUES AT YOUR OWN RISK. Information posted on this forum is not reviewed for accuracy and may not be reliable, use at your own risk. Please review the full WARNING & DISCLAIMER about information on this site.