Powdered food?

You can store food in many ways, but dried and powdered food may be the lightest and most compact. You can buy some powdered food commercially, but I have not found a very wide selection. You can dehydrate and powder a wide variety of food, but have you done that? What powdered foods have you used and found acceptable? What role have you given to powdered food in your preparedness?

my initial venture (this year) into long term food storage, was with the less expensive bulk staples...many were less than $1 per pound

rice
pinto and white beans
pasta
cocoa mix
salt
tea
instant mashed potatoes
pop corn
boullion cubes
dried spices

I plan on adding some higher cost, or more protein in the near future

honey
powdered milk
powdered eggs
possibly some TVP

I hope to get some through LDS's Provident Living outreach... already canned

How about:

Oatmeal (any unflavored type)

Dried Fruit, e.g. raisins, prunes, bananas, etc. (keeps a long time, but not forever)

Buckwheat groats (aka "Kasha"); mostly found in stores specializing in Eastern Europe foods -- it is a grain like rice, cooked in the same way. Was a staple food for most of our ancestors in Eastern Europe). It used to be a major crop in the U.S. also.

Flour and Corn meal.

Just some suggestions to add to the list.

Powdered food is generally bland and energy-intensive to produce. If you want to eat something the consistency of toothpaste for a weekend hike, go ahead, but I'll bet the thrill wears off really soon.

Sue

My family and I really like Shelf Reliance's dehydrated and freeze-dried foods. While we did have some issues with them getting our order right at first, the food itself is very good. I whip up awesome omelets for the family while camping using their powdered eggs, dehydrated sausage crumbles, and freeze-dried peppers & onions. Their prices may seem high but the food tastes surprisingly fresh. DW and the DDs love snacking on the dried fruit ad adding it to their breakfast cereal...though I wish they'd save it for emergencies.

-Blast

Nasty or unfamiliar food in an already-stressful situation will just make things worse. Store what you normally eat, or at least have taste-tested.

If there is a time for comfortingly familiar food, this is it.

Sue

So, now is the time to experiment!

A recent cheese-making class suprised me by relying on powdered milk. The cheese made from powdered milk was, of course, fresh -and tasted little different from that made from fresh milk.

The instructors said it was the same with making butter.

In an earlier class on dehdrating food, the instructors showed us a half-pint jar containing over 40 tomatoes. They used the powdered tomato, hot water, and other dehydrated and powdered vegetables, herbs, and spices to make a tasty soup.

I seem to recall that in the fictional story called something like, "The Long Way Home," the hero ate powdered beans, corn, and rice as the most compact and lightweight rations. I think I would have added onion, garlic, carrot, spices, etcetera.

Are you an Astronaut?You will be better prepped for whatever fears you have by eating Real food,you can't get around it!Just curious? Travel to a 3rd world country,Your choice,& observe what the poor folks there are eating,I'll bet they don't have a clue to,What powdered food is!That should be food for thought!

Add tapioca to the list - easy to prepare, nutritious, and tastes good. I don't think you're necessarily wrong to store away dehydrated foods and powdered foods - you just want to add a few extra flavoring substances as well. Do you like spices - then add a few things like paprika, chili, jalapeno etc. so your re-constituted food doesn't taste so bad.

cheers,
Pete2

Powdered wheat grains are very handy for food preparedness especially if you have powdered dried yeast and powdered Bicarbonate of Soda.

Long term availability of bakery bread and cake products can be quite difficult to obtain during an extended emergency.

I personally like the baking products from a company called Wrights in the UK. Bread and cake mixes are available in quite large bulk purchases of 12Kg (for domestic use) Packs at a reasonable price.

http://www.wrightsflour.co.uk/shop_sub.aspx?productcategoryid=1

http://www.wrightsflour.co.uk/shop_sub.aspx?productcategoryid=2

Other powdered foods I have include powdered milk (Milbona), Malt drink (Ovaltine), Cocoa powder, Bisto gravy powder, Powdered Soups, Potato (Smash) etc.

In the UK finding powdered eggs is quite difficult at local supermarkets but I would only use powdered eggs for baking anyway and these are catered for using the Wrights baking mixes.

Vacuum sealing the powdered products can effectively double the shelf life. Powdered products are also very energy dense for minimum storage space.

Every situation is different,but to me, an ancient desert rat, the problem with powdered foods is that they almost always require adding water. Where I have roamed a lot, providing water is precisely the problem.

If weight is not an issue, I go with canned goods - rarely would you need to add water in prepping them. If weight is a factor, then you have a proper role for powdered or dehydrated items, but be sure of your water supply. One of my faves for dense nutrition is almost any kind of nut - pecans, walnuts, almonds. Tasty and healthy, especially if you are working hard.

I heartily agree you had best sample the items before you lay in a year's supply. Powdered milk works great is some situations, but it is very poor in others.

Would a diet solely of powdered foods have any negative effects on your digestive tract?

Sue

"Long term availability of bakery bread and cake products can be quite difficult to obtain during an extended emergency. "

If ever we have a huge earthquake in California, make sure you mail me a large fruit cake from the UK.
Hahahahaha !!!

Maybe not everybody here appreciates that comment. Back in the World Wars of the last century soldiers from England were fighting under very bad conditions (trench warfare) in Europe. A lot of food supplies that were sent to the army went bad, or could not be easily prepared. British families responded by mailing fruit cakes. I suppose they probably wrapped them well in greaseproof paper, or something like that. These fruit cakes are basically heavy grain cakes loaded with a lot of moist fruit (like raisins and sultanas). The consistency of these cakes is quite damp and moist. For some reason - which I really don't understand - these fruit cakes last a very long time in storage at room temperature. They can be eaten weeks, and even months, after they have been prepared. They are very rich and high in calories. So they actually make quite a good survival food ... as far as sending a package to someone in a disaster zone.

Am_Fear_Liath_Mor probably knows a whole lot more about this than I do ... so he can clarify.

Pete2

Fruitcakes are also often soaked in brandy (or other liqueur), and coated with sugar, both probably acting as preservatives. I doubt that any of the soldiers turned them down because of the liquor content.

But I wouldn't want it powdered.

Sue

I think the strategy is to use powdered ingredients, with other stuff if you have it, to make fresh food.

Depends on the powder. Most "super food" supplements are powders. They contain spirulina, sprouts, wheat grass, etc. Taste is kinda nasty but definitely good for your digestive tract.

Carrying your custom mix of veggies and spices or fruit and spices, can liven up, and greatly increase the nutritional value, of your canned and fresh foods.

Powdered food is ideal for long term storage but unsuitable in time of disasters.

Take flooding for example, you are surrounded by lots of raw & contaminated water. Clean fresh potable water may not be available to hydrate the powdered food.

Dundee Cake will last approx 3-6 months when stored in an air tight cake storage tin (if you can wait that long )

http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/type-of-dish/entertaining/traditional-dundee-cake.html

I suggest you consider the range and type of disasters before coming to such an absolute conclusion.

By the way, you do have an emergency food plan that includes lots of water, don't you?

And if polluted water is likely to become your only source, you have filters and other treatments lined up to allow you to process such water for consumption, don't you?

It is hard to say categorically what sort of food will be unsuitable during a disaster. Canned goods are heavy, dehydrated and powdered foods require water, time, and perhaps somewhat elaborate cooking arrangements, wild foods may not be in season, etc, etc.

The best approach seems to have a bit of each on hand. My preferred approach is to bug in, so I have lots of canned goods. That's OK as long as I stay put or can leave by vehicle. I also have some freeze dried/dehydrated/powdered items, which I regularly consume on backpacking trips anyway, as well as a stock of energy bars and other "MRE" items.

In a prolonged situation, all of the above will be handy at one time or another.

Powdered food has a few problems, as far as I'm concerned:

* It is highly processed, which can affect nutrition in a time when you really need nutrition. For example, flours may last 6-12 months, whole grains a lot longer.

* It has more surface area exposed to air and light, which reduces livespan and nutrients. Even if it's sealed in the ideal container, how long did it take to get there? What did it lose in the meantime?

* The need for water for reconstituting and digesting it.

* Destruction of nutritional content, molding in poor packaging.

* Refrigeration may help extend life --- don't have refrigeration under survival conditions?

Smaller containers of powdered foods are probably acceptable for adding to other foods (eggs, flours, spices, etc), but large containers are probably a false economy for a small family.

Sue

Grains such as wheat will last a great deal longer than the milled flour, but you will need the equipment to mill the wheat grain into flour. Hand milling (lets assume that domestic electrically powered milling machines are unavailable i.e. no electricity supply) is quite a tiring chore in an emergency situation. Vacuum sealing powdered foods and kept in a dry cool environment will keep for more than 12 months. Rotation as part of normal kitchen preparation of food is required as with all food stuffs (with the possible exception of very expensive canned freeze dried food stuffs)



The amount of water to reconstitute the powdered ingredients for baking is actually very small in comparison to the amount of water required for digesting the prepare bread and cake. Soups, milk etc does require substantially more water, but if water is such short supply then the general advice is not to eat anything.





Powdered foods require a little more attention when stored for the medium term such as a dark/low moisture/cool temperature environment together with air tight/pest resistant storage bins/containers.


Freshly baked bread - spoils in 3 days - ready to eat.

Frozen bread - 3 months - needs refrigeration and defrosting.

Wheat Flours - spoils 12+ months - needs some kitchen and baking equipment.

Wheat Grain - 5-10+ years. - needs specialist kitchen and baking equipment.

The ability to produce freshly baked bread 3-4 months into a long term emergency cannot be underestimated.

You can also cook whole grains as they are. It might be bland and get boring, but the nutrition is there.

For commercially processed powdered food, of course, there may be a higher protein content from the now-invisible food pests, also ground up. 8-/

And for me, the bottom line is: Why bother with powdered food if something else is available?

Sue

a minimum amount of research has come up with the following non meat sources of complete proteins, containing all of the necessary amino acids... what am I missing?

soy protein
quinona
powdered milk

Amaranth grain
Eggs
Buckwheat
Hemp seed
Spirulina, but I don't think you can process this at home.

Also, combine within one or two days for complete protein:
Beans + grain
Beans + seeds
Beans + nuts

If you're using soy, make sure it is from an organic source; there are a lot of questions about genetically-modified (GM) soy, and about 85% of the soy grown in the U.S. is GM.

Sue

Nice to see everyone getting into the spirit of things!

The powdered food I am most interested in is that I produce myself from dehydrated stuff. No preservatives, additives, etcetera, except perhaps a little salt. Frozen to kill bugs. Vacuum sealed in relatively small containers / bags with oxygen and water absorbers. Stored in the proverbial cool, dry place. Rotated out and eaten by at least 12 months.

Because I cannot figure out how to dry and powder some things, like milk, I also am interested in some commercial powdered foods.

This is just part of a solution, but because you can control a lot of the contents, I think powdered foods, especially DIY stuff, deserve consideration.

Oats would be a replacement for quinona and soy protein.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oats

As half of world production of soy protein is from GMO sources contamination is a real possibility.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_5119.cfm



I think I'll stick with the oats



Even if you have to end up wearing a skirt..

I mentioned flooding in my previous post. The irony of flooding is you had so much water but it is not potable.


I do have a plan that included enough water to last 72hours. Storing more water would not be possible.

I do have some water filter for normal hiking / camping uses. However, it is beyond these device to deal with flood water which is contaminated with raw sewage / toxic petrochemical / floating corpse, etc.

This looks like a good start for a new thread!

Another dairy byproduct is Whey protein isolate. I'd say go with Whey or Egg protein suplements and either mix them with water/juice or mix it in your food. 25g per serving is a ton of protein, the equivalent of a huge steak or chicken breast, and much easier to digest.

appears that oats, powdered eggs,or powdered milk are the easiest to put away... already have the beans and rice..thanks all

AFLM...my maternal grandfather was born in Edinburgh Castle...

I'm afraid not. Both quinoa and soy are complete proteins by themselves (at least, when not GMO). You would have to combine oats with beans (blech!), seeds or nuts to end up with a complete protein.

I like oats with walnuts, which makes it a complete protein AND delicious.

Cute guy on the label! Our oat guy isn't nearly as good-looking.

Sue

I'm afraid not. Both quinoa and soy are complete proteins by themselves (at least, when not GMO). You would have to combine oats with beans (blech!), seeds or nuts to end up with a complete protein.

I like oats with walnuts, which makes it a complete protein AND delicious.

Your oat guy is much cuter than our oat guy

Sue

I purchased Sam's Club instant dry milk today for $13.54 for a 22 qt 4.4lb (2kg) box and vacuum sealed it... best price I've seen in a while for cash and carry outside of LDS cannery

Also much easier to poop your pants,too!

i talked about this years ago,but,parched corn rough ground is said to be the best "powdered" food.i made a batch years ago and ran a few photos here.the taste is not bad and you need to know how to eat it,spoon fulls followed by cold water.just eating it results in it sticking to you teeth. pea meal works the same way.

Its not powdered, but wheat germ is an excellent survival food. It does goes rancid after awhile so be sure to check the date and keep it in the fridge after opening.

i went thru my old photos and here is a shot of the parched corn.

"Dundee Cake will last approx 3-6 months when stored in an air tight cake storage tin (if you can wait that long grin )"

Pretty good suggestion. I think I'm going to try making one of these cakes every 4-6 months and storing it in a cake tin.

CanoeDogs
I like several of the other suggestions above as well. I'm curious about the "parched corn". Was this just corn kernels that were dried and then ground? Or did you bake it in the oven at a low temp??

Pete2

Pete..i got the best frozen corn,not the store brand,and "parched" it in a dry fry pan---no oil--until it had a semi brown look.not burned.i kept the corn moving around in the pan with a fork and then cooled it on a plate.the corn is now hard as a rock!..to grind it i put it thru a electric coffee grinder.when i did the post some years ago someone came back with parched corn as a snack that could be bought at his local stores.i forget where.the trick is how you eat it.taken dry and then washed down with cold water it swells in the stomach to give you a full feeling.1900's testing showed it to be high in everything needed to make it a single main food item..

Seriously, folks, I don't think your grain and your legume (beans, lentils)need to be mixed together in the same 'dish' for proper nutrition. If they are eaten at the same meal or even the next meal or the next day is ok-the combined items for the complete protein need to be in ones DIET.
For those who might care, quinoa is a seed, but is not a true grain-not being from the grass family. That is likely why it breaks rank and provides nutrition the other grains do not.

gimpy

Our powdered goods are limited to flour, milk, cocao, potatoes, pancake mix, pudding, jello, cake mix, biscuit mix, soup, gravy mixes and boullion.

We're tried a few brands of powdered eggs, with no requests for repeat yet.

Their website indicates they are a U.S. company, doing sales in the U.S. and Canada. I see that MEC carries them, which is a good sign (MEC doesn't sell cr@p). You should be able to get them.

I'd offer to test them, but I confess I'm a total egg snob. I get mine from a farm family I've known all my life. Brown eggs, from happy chickens. They apologize when the yolks are too dark; I keep telling them they should be charging a big fat premium for those. The flavour is just magnificent ... !

IMHO, eating local is one of the best things we can do for the earth and the economy. Sometimes it's a little more expensive but it always seems to taste more yummy! Besides, Farmer Fred down the road is a more likely dource of food if things go seriously south.

i know this is more "camping" than "survival" but i take Wakefield brand egg mix. it has egg with dry milk,oil and salt added in the pack. and it's just fine on long canoe trips.i have it ever other day for breakfast,pancakes on the others.it seems to be made for people without refrigeration and just not the outdoor gang.
the trick is not to make it just as scrambled egg but add too it.
i found just egg leaves you hungry after awhile so i add Minute Rice as a carbo filler along with sun dried tomato and freeze dried onion for taste.a pack of bacon chips adds the "grease factor".half a pack a person is more than enough.i would think that a box of this put away would work for those times when you are without power for a long time or bailed out someplace.





now i know thats not the rat jerky and greens that pure survival guys would be into but with a family waiting for the power to go back on or once a week waiting for the roads to be cleared so you could get back home a meal like that would make things just a bit more tolerable

Hmmm. That actually looks pretty good!

Gotta love canoeists -- they serve up chow that's actually edible. Unlike my usual backpacking swill.