food storage & preservation - survival guide
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Table of Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 3
Chapter 1 ..................................................................................................................................... 3
…but I Can Live for Weeks without Food ................................................................................. 3
What Does Food Actually Do for You? .................................................................................. 4
Chapter 2 ..................................................................................................................................... 6
Finding and Storing Food in a Survival Situation ...................................................................... 6
What Can I Eat? ................................................................................................................... 6
Food Preservation and the Survivalist – Storing Your Food .................................................. 7
Chapter 3 ..................................................................................................................................... 9
Game, Fish, Fowl and Insects .................................................................................................. 9
Game Animals ...................................................................................................................... 9
Special Notes on Rabbits and Squirrels .............................................................................. 10
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) ........................................................................................ 11
Fish and Shellfish ............................................................................................................... 13
Notes on Shellfish and Crustaceans ................................................................................... 14
Fowl .................................................................................................................................... 14
Creepy-Crawlies – Eating the Insects ................................................................................. 15
Preserving Meat, Fish and Fowl .......................................................................................... 16
Chapter 4 ................................................................................................................................... 19
Vegetables, Fruit and More .................................................................................................... 19
Wild Plants .......................................................................................................................... 19
Vegetables .......................................................................................................................... 21
Fruit .................................................................................................................................... 24
Storing and Preserving Vegetables and Fruit ...................................................................... 24
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 29
Works Cited: .............................................................................................................................. 30
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IntroductionFood – it’s a necessity. While you can go without it for a long time, you must eat in order
to live. In any survival situation, finding food will be one of the largest challenges you
face. And finding food is only the start of the process. If it might be days or weeks before
you see a rescue, or worse, there’s no rescue coming, you’ll have to store that food and
preserve it.
For most of us, finding food is as simple as hitting the grocery store on the way home
from work. As a culture, we’ve lost much of what allowed earlier cultures and
civilizations to thrive without modern technology like refrigeration. We’ve lost the skills
that allowed hunter-gatherers to survive even without the benefit of agriculture.
Where does that leave you in an emergency or a full-blown disaster? How will you
survive against the odds? How will you ensure your family survives?
Do you know where to find food in the wild, away from the overly burdened shelves of
today’s grocery stores?
Do you know what makes one food safe to eat, and another a deadly peril?
Do you know how to store and preserve that food so you have a safe supply of vital
nutrients for the coming days, weeks, months or even years?
There is good news – this book will teach you where to look for food in an emergency or
disaster situation where your survival hinges on knowledge. It will even teach you about
growing your own food – fruits and vegetables that you can grow at home and get off
the grid. Finally, it will even teach you how to preserve your food, from meat and fish to
fruits and vegetables, so you and your family have a safe supply of food that will last
into the future.
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Chapter 1
…but I Can Live for Weeks without FoodWe all know that water is more essential to
survival than food. You can live for up to
three weeks without taking in any actual
food, as long as you have water, right?
That’s only partially correct.
Yes, a healthy human being can live for up
to three weeks without food. The problem
there is that you really have to be in peak
condition, and the environment around you needs to be just right as well.
You need to refrain from activities that burn calories (your body’s energy stores that will
sustain you until your next meal). You need to have adequate water at all times (a
minimum of three cups per day, but more is better). You need to have shelter from the
elements.
That’s a perfect storm of conditions that are rather unlikely to coincide. You might be
healthy, but have very little water. You might be injured. You might lack shelter. You
might simply have to use up your body’s store of energy in the daily quest for survival,
burning precious calories with every second that ticks by.
Technically, you can go without food for up to three weeks when everything else is just
right, but you can’t afford to pin your hopes on that sort of “what if” situation. Not only
that, but every hour that you go without eating, you lose energy. You lose your edge,
slipping farther and farther from being able to defend yourself or your family in a
dangerous situation. You lose your ability to move quickly and make clear, rational
decisions.
It’s a bad place to be.
Survival requires that you find water and shelter first, but you can only afford to ignore
your food situation for so long before your body begins deteriorating.
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Imagine this:
Your flight across the country hits trouble. Maybe it’s a massive storm. Maybe it’s a
terrorist attack. You go down, crashing in the remote mountains. You emerge, the sole
survivor of the little aircraft, faced with the prospect of surviving in a harsh, hostile
environment.
Or maybe it’s something even direr.
Perhaps the unthinkable happens and the nation is attacked, enemy forces punching
through weakened defenses. You’re caught away from home, away from help and away
from your supplies. You’re now faced with the prospect of running, hiding and fighting
with nothing but your wits and whatever you actually had at hand when this nightmare
began.
Your first mission is to find water, and then you must find shelter. Those two
requirements are definitely more important than food, at least initially. However, as
those hours turn into days, your body begins to decline. It consumes what little fat
reserves you might have, and then begins cannibalizing your muscle tissue.
You lose weight.
You lose strength.
You lose stamina.
You lose agility.
You lose mental clarity.
You begin the long, slow slide toward starvation and eventual death.
And, if there’s no help on the way, you’re on your own here. You are the only defense
against the seemingly inevitable.
Food might not be the most important consideration when faced with a survival
situation, but it will become a vital one very shortly. The good news is that food is all
around you, particularly if you find yourself in a remote wilderness environment. The
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trick is knowing where to find food, what’s safe to eat and being able to store it for future
use.
You’re on your own here. Your wits and your knowledge are the only things standing
between you and death.
What Does Food Actually Do for You?Why do you actually need food? The
answer to that is pretty clear – it fuels
your body. Without food, you have lower
energy, and will eventually lack even
enough energy to keep breathing.
However, there’s more to it than that.
Food Delivers Vital NutrientsWhen you eat, the energy contained in the food is converted into a form that your body
can use. However, food does much more than keeping your gas tank topped off. It also
delivers vital elements needed for a healthy, functioning body and brain. Food delivers:
Vitamins
Minerals
Protein
Antioxidants
Immune system boosters
Protection from diseases
If the body does not receive the right nutrition, systems begin malfunctioning, eventually
shutting down and leading to serious health conditions, disease and potential death. It’s
much more complex than simply eating to fuel your gas tank.
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Like your car, your body needs a lot of other things to keep running correctly. Your car or
truck’s power steering system doesn’t work without power steering fluid. If your brake
fluid reservoir is empty, you have no stopping power. If your transmission fluid leaks out,
you won’t go very far.
The same concepts apply to your body. Food delivers the nutrients necessary to keep
your body’s many systems functioning, ensuring that you stay alive and healthy.
You need food to survive. Once you’ve found water and shelter, food should be your
next concern. Of course, finding food in a wilderness area can be daunting, particularly
if you’re not well versed in woods lore. The good news is that there are plenty of things
you can eat, from game to fish to plants. The trick is knowing how to find them or grow
them, identifying which are safe to consume, and then preparing and storing them
correctly.
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Chapter 2
Finding and Storing Food in a Survival Situation
In any survival situation, from suburban disaster scenarios to wilderness survival,
locating water and shelter are your first priorities, but once you’ve secured those, you’ll
need to think about what you’re going to eat. That’s particularly true in any situation in
which rescue is several days away, or not coming at all. It’s also a vital concern for
those who are hoping to make a move toward living off the land on a longer-term basis.
There’s good news here – food is easier to find than you might think in most areas.
What Can I Eat?The supermarket is gone, or out of reach. The local corner store is not an option. TV
dinners, pre-packaged foods and even most fruits and vegetables are no longer
available in the ways we’ve come to expect as consumers in the modern age – vast
quantities of food available at all times just for the taking (and paying).
That doesn’t mean there’s nothing to eat, though. While you might not be able to stop in
at your grocer’s and pick up a pack of New York strips, there’s still plenty to eat out
there, and you can also grow your own food in many situations.
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MammalsVirtually all fur-bearing mammals are safe to eat (with some special caveats that we’ll
touch on in a later chapter). This goes for everything from squirrels to rabbits to
groundhogs to deer to porcupines (once you’ve gotten past the spines).
Mammals can be hunted or trapped, but if you’re in a survival situation, trapping tends
to be the better option as hunting expends more energy, requires more time, and forces
you to forgo looking for other food sources. With that being said, if you’re not in an
emergency, then hunting is an excellent way to obtain food.
FishMost freshwater and many saltwater fish are edible, but not all of them are. Even some
of those that are technically edible aren’t necessarily worth your time, either due to the
bad taste or the lack of nutrition in the flesh. Tarpon is one obvious example (a saltwater
fish), but there are numerous others.
Fish can also be caught in a number of ways, from a cane pole to nets, lines, baskets
and numerous other methods. If you live near a safe water source with a fish
population, this can be a great source of fresh food.
Reptiles and AmphibiansMost of the reptiles and amphibians in North America are safe to eat (including
poisonous snakes). You’ll need to remove the skin from all of them, but once past that
(and avoiding any poison glands in a snake’s mouth), you’ll find they’re actually rather
tasty. They’re also a packed with protein. From frogs to turtles to snakes, there’s a
virtual buffet available if you know where to look and how to catch them.
BirdsFrom waterfowl to game birds like quail, many of North America’s birds are edible and
quite tasty. You’ll find familiar critters here like turkeys and pigeons, as well as some that
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you likely have never seen gracing the freezer section of your local big box grocery
store. While catching birds might be harder than catching rabbits or fish with a trap, they
can add a lot to your survivalist menu.
Insects“Eww, gross…bugs.” That’s the reaction most people have to consuming insects of any
type, at least in the Western World. However, the fact remains that insects have long
been a valued and vital part of the daily diet for an incredible number of cultures. Insects
are high in protein, high in fat, and can often be found in large quantities.
Of course, not all insects are edible, and not all that can be eaten are really worth the
time. However gross they might seem, though, edible bugs can and should be part of
your survival menu unless you have access to plenty of other food sources.
PlantsEdible plants are all around you,
whether you realize it or not. In
fact, they outnumber other sources
of food for most people – it’s far
easier to locate edible plants in
your own back yard than it is to
trap something even as basic as a
rabbit. From dandelions to
plantains (ribgrass) to cattails and
more, you have access to a
tremendous range of wild plants just waiting to be plucked, prepared and eaten.
Many of these plants are also extremely high in vitamins and nutrients (dandelion
leaves have more vitamin A than carrots). Most can also be used for many other
purposes. Plantains (not the banana-esque varieties you likely know) are valued as
astringents, while dandelion is great for kidney health).
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Of course, you also have many other potential plants at your disposal if you’re in a
permanent or semi-permanent location and have time for gardening. Even a small
garden can supplement your food-gathering efforts, and a larger garden can actually
give you most of the food you’ll need, with the occasional meat supplement from game,
fish or fowl.
Food Preservation and the Survivalist – Storing Your FoodHaving access to fresh food is vital. You’ll need to eat to keep up your strength and
prevent your body from deteriorating. However, fresh food is only part of the equation. In
any survival situation, from “going off the grid” to disaster scenarios, food storage and
preservation is just as important, if not more so.
Being able to preserve the food you harvest ensures several things, including:
A reliable store of food against times when you’re unable to hunt or gather
A store of food against winter, when plants die and game is scarce
A store of safe food against disease, blight or insect infestation
Storing your food ensures that you are able to spend less time hunting, trapping, fishing
and gathering, and it also ensures that your body’s immune system stays strong. Of
course, there are several different storage methods that you’ll need to know, and they’re
far from being the same. Regardless of your actual method, you need to remember two
rules regarding stored food:
1. Use what you store and store what you use.
2. Rotate your stored foods to ensure taste, flavor and nutrition while protecting
against spoilage.
There is no foolproof, long-term storage method that gives you shelf-stable foods for
years on end. Whether you’re drying, smoking, curing, fermenting or canning your
foods, you will have only so much time before it begins to break down and lose
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nutritional value. This happens well before the food spoils. Use your food in the order in
which it was stored (the oldest food should be consumed first).
As a note, don’t waste your valuable food storage space on foods that you’ll never eat.
For example, while it’s fine to have several MREs on hand for your bug-out kit or
emergency situations, they’re not recommended for long-term survival in an off-the-grid
situation. Don’t waste your money on cases of MREs. Store food you’ll actually eat, and
then eat it.
What storage and preservation methods should you know? We’ll cover a wide range of
techniques throughout the rest of this book, including the following:
In-Ground: Many types of vegetables and plants can actually be left right in the
ground through the fall and winter, giving you access to fresh foods come spring,
or at need throughout the cold months of the year.
Root Cellars: Root cellars were once the preferred method of storing vegetables
and fruit for longer durations, but fell out of favor with the advent or refrigeration.
Dehydrating: By removing most of the water content from foods, you create a
food source that has a much longer shelf life than “fresh” foods. You’ll need to
spend time preparing food for dehydration, but it can be an excellent alternative
to freezing, refrigeration or sterilization necessary with canning.
Canning: Canning requires high heat, the right equipment and a lot of sterilization
to help prevent spoilage. However, it can give you an excellent long-term store of
food, particularly with vegetables and fruit. Meat can be canned as well, but it
requires additional steps.
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Smoking: Smoking foods, especially meat, is one of the oldest ways of
preserving food for future use. You’ll have minimal requirements other than a bit
of time and a place to smoke your food, as well as the salt and spices necessary
for preservation.
Fermenting: Before canning and modern pickling processes came to the fore,
fermenting was one of the most popular ways to preserve fruit and vegetables for
future use. It’s also one of the oldest food storage techniques out there. It’s
virtually identical to the fermentation process in beer brewing, and results in safe
food that also contains important microorganisms for gut health.
There are plenty of ways to preserve and store the food that you harvest, but you’ll need
to know a bit more about each. In the following chapters, we’ll discuss locating and
harvesting foods of all sorts, as well as growing your own and then storing your bounty
against future need.
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Chapter 3Game, Fish, Fowl and Insects
A person who ignores an otherwise healthy food source due to a
personal bias, or because he feels it is unappetizing, is risking his own
survival.” – US Marine Corps Survival Manual
There are many, many sources of food
available to you in the wide world, but not all
of them will look appealing, or even seem like
they’re edible. However, when faced with the
potential of starvation due to lack of food,
you’ll need to put misconceptions and
personal bias behind you. Everything from
game animals to insects can help you survive and even thrive. From worms to
cockroaches to squirrels, rabbits, deer, quail and more, there are plenty of edible
options out there.
Game AnimalsThe term “game animals” covers an incredibly broad range of creatures. Essentially,
anything that serves as food for humans or other creatures can be considered game.
You’ll find lots of familiar faces here, as well as some that might not be so familiar. A few
of the most common game animals include the following:
Pigs
Raccoons
Shrews
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Mice
Rabbits and hares
Armadillos
Beavers
Opossums
Moles
Sheep
Goats
Bison
Deer
Elk
Obviously, this is a very incomplete list, and does not include game fowl, which we’ll
cover later in this section. Essentially, any fur-clad mammal in North America can be
eaten so long as certain precautions are followed. This is particularly important with
rabbits and squirrels, but really applies to all game animals.
Signs of DiseaseThere are dozens, perhaps hundreds of diseases out there that plague game animals.
These range from things like rabies to chronic wasting disease, rabbit fever and more.
While this manual cannot provide you with a full rundown on every possible disease you
might encounter in your hunting and trapping efforts, a few common sense steps can
help ensure that you don’t eat dangerous meat.
Once you’ve killed or caught an animal, look for the following signs and symptoms to
determine if it is fit to dress, cook and eat, or if you should use it as bait in a trap or even
discard it completely. Common sense signs of infection and disease include:
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Sunken eyes Emaciation
(skeletally thin) Scabby skin Hair that rubs off
easily
Creamy discharge from body orifices
Green discharge from body orifices
Dark blood discharge from body orifices
Foul odors from gangrene or decaying flesh
Maggot infestations from previous wounds
Foul odors/lumps from abscesses
Some signs won’t be spotted until you begin dressing the animal. If the outside
appearance is safe and you begin field dressing, continue looking for signs that include:
Green discharge from organs
Black discharge from organs
Cheese-like body fat
Blood clots in muscle tissue
Black blood Bad smell from
muscle tissue
Visible parasites in muscle tissue
Tan or yellow lumps on the inside of the ribcage
Tan/yellow lumps inside lungs
As a note, vigilance against disease should actually begin before bringing down an
animal. Knowing common animal behaviors can help identify those with diseases like
CWD (chronic wasting disease), rabies and others. Look for:
Aggressive behavior in unaggressive species
Lack of control over body movements
Erratic movement
Excessive drooling (a common sign of CWD in deer and elk)
Excessive thirst
Odd articulation/barking/crying
Daytime appearance of nocturnal animals
Aimless wandering/confused behavior
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Special Notes on Rabbits and SquirrelsChances are good you’ve heard the
age-old mantra – “don’t eat wild rabbit
or squirrel during the summer.”
However, you might not be aware of
the reason for this bit of folklore.
Actually, there is some grounding in
truth. The cause? Bot flies. In some
parts of the country, they’re called
“wolves” while others call them
weevils, warbles, or some variant of the name. Really, they’re bot fly eggs and larva.
You’ll notice they make large lumps on rabbit pelts, and within the underlying muscle
tissue.
Bot flies are active during the hot months of the year, and they die off during the fall and
winter, which means no new infections. However, it does NOT kill existing infestations.
The only way to kill bot fly eggs is by cooking meat to an internal temperature of 160
degrees Fahrenheit. This applies to squirrels, rabbits and other small game.
Tularemia, aka rabbit fever, is another potential problem. It’s caused by a bacteria
spread by ticks, fleas and other insects. Rabbits and rodents (squirrels) are the most
commonly infected animals. The problem here is that the disease can pass to humans
in a number of ways. The most common means of transmission is actually from contact
with tainted blood or flesh while dressing the animal.
You can protect yourself from tularemia by wearing gloves during the process and
cleaning both yourself and the rabbit thoroughly. To make the meat safe to eat, you’ll
need to ensure that you cook it to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
NOTE: Freezing has no effect on tularemia, as it can actually survive for years in
subfreezing temperatures.
Symptoms of tularemia (rabbit fever) in rabbits include:
Slowness in movement
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Lowered head
Rubbing the nose and front feet into the ground
Staggering and spasms
Big Game vs. Small GameThere’s a natural tendency to want to bring down big game, rather than smaller animals.
While bringing down that 12-point buck might be a point of pride, there are actually
plenty of arguments against worrying about larger animals and instead concentrating
your efforts on smaller ones.
Smaller animals, like rabbits, pigeons and the rest, will provide one meal with very few
leftovers that need to be stored or discarded. They can also be stored more easily than
the meat from large animals. Because of their size, larger animals require a
considerable amount of time and effort to store, and there’s the chance that the meat
will spoil before you have the opportunity to eat it.
Generally, large game is better when there are multiple people who need to eat. Smaller
game is the better choice for individuals and single families. There’s also the question of
availability. There might be as many as 20 rabbits in a single acre of land, but likely no
deer at all. You’ll find far more food available to you if you concentrate your efforts on
smaller game.
Lastly, there’s the consideration of time, effort and the tools necessary. Bringing down
big game requires hunting, usually. You’re unlikely to catch a deer, elk or bison with any
sort of trap. That means it’s an active pursuit that takes away time you could spend on
other survival efforts, such as locating fresh drinking water or preserving the food you
already have.
Second, you’ll need the right tools to bring down larger game, possibly a gun. Guns
require ammunition, and they also make a great deal of noise. Ammunition needs to be
hoarded in a survival scenario, and depending on your situation, the sound of a gunshot
could be deadly dangerous.
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Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)Remember mad cow disease? Chronic wasting disease, or CWD, is the wild animal
equivalent, and is found in deer, elk, mule deer and moose in several areas of North
America. CWD is part of the same family as mad cow disease – prion diseases, or
transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.
Is it communicable? Yes, it can be transmitted from animal to animal and from
contaminated ground to other animals. However, there is no evidence yet that it can be
transmitted from a game animal to humans. With that being said, it’s always better to be
safe than sorry. Mad cow eventually became communicable to humans, and it’s
possible that CWD will as well. If an animal is obviously infected, do NOT use it as food.
To date, chronic wasting disease is found in many different states, including:
Wyoming Utah South Dakota New York West Virginia Virginia
Nebraska Kansas Wisconsin North Dakota Maryland Texas
Minnesota New Mexico Illinois Pennsylvania
Moreover, it’s been diagnosed in captive deer populations within the following areas:
Alberta Iowa Kansas Michigan South Dakota
Saskatchewan Missouri Montana Nebraska
Colorado New York Oklahoma Pennsylvania Wisconsin
How do you recognize symptoms of CWD? It’s difficult to determine with 100% certainty
whether an animal is infected, but the following signs can be indicators. Note that
symptoms often don’t appear until late in development of the disease. CWD can lie
dormant for years:
Excessive drooling
Odd stance
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Stumbling
Emaciation
Excessive drinking
Blank facial expression
Grinding of the teeth
NOTE: CWD can be contracted by animals of any age, although it is more common in
adults. It’s a progressive disease, and it’s ALWAYS fatal.
Trapping vs. HuntingBoth hunting and trapping should be in your
skills list, as you’ll need to employ them both
if you’re going to feed yourself and your
family. However, of the two, trapping is the
more important to master, as it offers a
number of advantages over hunting.
Supplement what you’re able to trap with
hunting, rather than vice versa.
What makes trapping such a beneficial skill to master? Actually, there are several
reasons, all of them of equal importance. Let’s take a closer look.
Time Spent: Hunting can take anywhere from hours to days. During that time,
you’ll do nothing else. Anyone who’s ever gone deer hunting is familiar with
spending the entire day in a tree stand or behind a blind, possibly never even
seeing a deer. Trapping doesn’t require you to be present. You set your traps and
then leave, returning some time later to check your traps. This allows you to do
other things with your time while the trap does the job of catching your food.
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Materials and Tools: Trapping will require a few tools and materials, but there’s
no ammunition involved and no loud noises created. In many instances, you can
make traps with all-natural materials that you have at hand, or with a few
strategically purchased supplies (chicken wire, for instance).
Game Availability: While you can certainly hunt squirrels and other small game
with a gun, you’ll find that trapping small game allows you to tap into the larger
population of game animals. As mentioned previously, there are far more rabbits,
squirrels and other small animals around than there are large game animals.
Better Chance of Success: Both trapping and hunting come with some measure
of luck involved. However, trapping allows you to even the odds a great deal
more than hunting does. Strategically placed traps and snares on game trails,
near watering holes and at dens or burrows gives you a much better chance of
success than what hunters enjoy.
Fish and ShellfishDepending on where you’re located, you may have access to freshwater and saltwater
fish, as well as shellfish. Both have been staples of the human diet for millennia. Both
fish and shellfish are high in nutrients and vitamins. You can also catch them in a
number of ways, including with traps, which is simpler and less time consuming than
attempting to fish with a line.
Almost all freshwater fish in North America are safe to eat, although environmental
contamination makes regional threats important to know. For instance, Michigan’s
Saginaw and Tittabawassee rivers are both at risk for chemical toxicity, including PCBs
(note: this also applies to fowl and wild game animals living in those river basins).
A partial list of edible freshwater fish in North America’s lakes, streams and rivers
includes:
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Trout
Bass
Catfish
Bream
Yellow perch
Walleye
Salmon
Bluegill
Crappie
Pike
This is only a partial list and there are some caveats as well. For instance, while the
majority of freshwater fish are not poisonous, that does not mean their eggs are safe to
eat. One well-known example is the gar – the eggs are poisonous.
Other concerns here are environmental, rather than natural defenses. The vast majority
of American waterways contain at least some mercury as well as other chemicals.
Thousands of streams, rivers and lakes have been posted as no-fishing zones because
of this toxicity and the danger it poses to humans. However, even un-posted areas can
be potential threats.
The best defense against environmental poisoning is to learn about your area. Most
state governments post information about freshwater fish species within their borders,
as well as no-fish areas and other threats to human health. Avoid taking fish from these
areas. It’s wise to avoid eating game or fowl that live near these areas as well, as they
can contain almost as many toxins as the fish (from drinking the water).
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Fishing vs. TrappingThere’s little that can compare with a day spent
with rod and reel in hand. However, in a
survival situation, luxuries like spending the
entire day on the lake casting for fish aren’t
that feasible. While fishing with a rod and reel
might be unavoidable from time to time, it’s not
necessarily the best option for you.
Trapping fish, like trapping small game, is
largely an automated, self-managed process.
You make the trap, set it, and then leave. The
trap does all the work while you’re able to focus your energies on other things, like
preparing and storing other food. Fishing is extremely time consuming, and it only
allows you to catch a single fish at a time. With traps and nets, you can catch multiple
fish, giving you more bang for the time spent on the water.
While you can purchase fish traps on the market, and nets can also be found, you can
also make your own if you’re in a pinch, or in an unexpected survival situation. Native
Americans as well as European settlers made their own fish traps from natural sources,
and you will have access to most, if not all, of those sources.
Notes on Shellfish and CrustaceansShellfish like shrimp, mussels and clams are excellent sources of nutrition for those in a
coastal environment. However, while shellfish offer vital nutrition, they can also be the
source of considerable danger if you’re unwary or not careful. There are several rules to
follow when harvesting shellfish for consumption and storage.
Do not harvest any shellfish from above the high tide line. These can be infected
with a number of different bacteria and can pose very serious health risks to you
and your family. Always harvest fresh shellfish under the water.
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Do not harvest shellfish/animals that have pointed shells. These are almost
universally poisonous/toxic and can lead to serious health problems and even
death.
Always thoroughly rise shellfish in saltwater, not freshwater. Immediately cool the
shellfish and cook it as soon as possible to avoid bacterial growth.
Never eat the innards of crabs (crab butter), as they can carry a considerable
number of toxins and pollutants. Always clean crabs completely and eat only the
meat.
FowlNorth America is filled with game birds and other fowl that can be caught and eaten in
survival situation. From the lowly pigeon to ducks, geese, quail and more, there are
plenty of options out there. The real trick with fowl is twofold. First, know if the bird is fit
to eat. Second, know how to bring it down.
Edible fowl can be found in all areas of the country, from urban areas to the wilderness.
You’ll find those that are partial to water (waterfowl), as well as those that live farther
from the water. Most hunters will discover that it’s easier to locate fowl near water, but
anyone can bring down a bird or two for consumption and storage no matter where you
might be located. Don’t forget bird eggs – an unprotected nest can be a source of
considerable bounty.
Some of the most commonly eaten fowl include:
Bobwhites
Quail
Partridges
Ducks
Geese
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Turkeys
Grouse
Prairie chickens
Woodcocks
Snipes
Pheasant
Guinea fowl
Wood pigeons
This is only a fraction of the birdlife you’ll find in the world, and most of the species not
listed are edible. There are no poisonous birds, but there are those that you might not
want to consume because of environmental pollution or bacteria. For instance, it’s not
advisable to eat buzzards or vultures because they’re carrion eaters and are ALWAYS
infected with bacteria (it’s harmless to the birds, but potentially devastating to humans).
Other animals to bypass can include city pigeons, as they tend to contain a lot of
pollutants and chemicals in their flesh. You should also avoid trying to kill most birds of
prey (hawks, falcons, eagles, etc.) simply due to the danger they pose through their
claws and beaks. These are predators, and can easily maim or cause and severe
injuries.
If you’re in a permanent or semi-permanent location, you might even consider raising
some birds yourself. Chickens are perhaps the simplest to manage and they pay off
with both meat and eggs, but you can raise several other species, including quail and
turkeys. Be aware that you’ll need to give them plenty of room to forage while still
providing protection from predators. This makes raising birds yourself something only
suited to individuals and families with a permanent survival location, whether that’s a
cabin in the woods or something else.
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Catching BirdsThere are numerous ways to catch birds for food. Some are more feasible than others
for individuals in a survival situation. For instance, using a dog and gun may or may not
be feasible depending on where you’re located and whether you have a dog and
shotgun. As with hunting game, using a gun for hunting birds may not be advisable,
particularly if you’re in dangerous territory and need to remain undetected.
Whether you’re facing a dangerous threat or simply trying to
live off the grid, trapping is generally a better option. There
are quite a few bird traps that can be built by hand or even
purchased outright. You’ll even find special traps designed
for different environments and bird types, from waterfowl to
upland birds. Again the same arguments support trapping
birds as trapping fish and game – it’s less time consuming,
completely automated beyond setting and checking traps,
and frees you up to do other, more important things.
Creepy-Crawlies – Eating the InsectsWe’ve saved the best for last (or the worst, depending on your point of view). Insects
are everywhere, and they can provide a vital source of protein, fat and nutrition in a
pinch. While you’ll doubtless choose a roasted rabbit over a wriggling cockroach, when
you don’t have choices, insects can serve quite well. You’ll just need to put aside your
personal bias and realize the benefits that insects can offer.
Which Insects Are Safe to Eat?While insects can be a vital food source, not all insects are safe to eat. Some can be
made safe to eat, but is it really worth the trouble? Knowing which bugs are worth your
time and effort, and which should be avoided is important. Some of the edible insects in
North America include:
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Crickets
Grasshoppers
Ants (cook them first)
June bugs and many other beetles
Termites
Centipedes (but beware of millipedes)
Scorpions (tail and stinger removed)
Mealworms
Bees and other “stinging” insects with the stinger removed
Which Insects Should You Avoid?While there are quite a few edible insects out there, some just aren’t fit for eating
because of poison, toxins and other threats. The same rule can be applied to insects as
applies to amphibians and reptiles – avoid those with bright colors. Red, yellow, orange
and the like are warnings that a particular insect has a nasty surprise weapon. Avoid
them.
Some harmless insects do have bright colors (mimicry as self-defense), but it’s always
better to be safe than sorry. You should also avoid eating insects in urban and suburban
areas due to the extensive use of pesticides. It’s also important to avoid eating insects
like ticks, spiders, flies or those with hair, as these can be poisonous, cause infection
and/or carry diseases and bacteria.
Where Do I Find Edible InsectsEdible insects can be found virtually everywhere. Of course, there are some “better”
places to look for your next creepy-crawlie meal. The underside of logs is a prime
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location, but you can also find them on, in and around lakes and ponds. Anthills are
obvious sources of food, as are termite mounds.
NOTE: Insects spoil very quickly, even when cooked. Eat them immediately and do not
store them for longer than a few days.
Preserving Meat, Fish and FowlOnce you’ve mastered catching and
killing food in the wild, you need to
take thought for food storage.
Properly preserved and stored, many
types of game, fish and birds can be
stored for weeks, months or even
longer. There are also lots of ways to
preserve and store your food for
future use.
As a note, most of these will require that you are in a permanent or semi-permanent
location, although some can be adapted to preserving food in the wilderness. Game,
fish and fowl can all be preserved through smoking, pressure canning and
dehydrating/drying. This section will cover the basics of all three methods, as well as
their pros and cons.
Smoking MeatThere’s some considerable confusion with those new to the survivalist mentality
between smoking and salt-preserving meat. Actually, they’re both part of the same
process. Smoking meat requires at least salt and smoke. You can (and probably should)
also use other spices to liven up the flavor of your preserved meat when you finally
prepare it for eating. Some spices and herbs also help prevent bacteria and further
extend the shelf life of your meat. We’ll cover those important items shortly.
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Smoking meat first requires that you salt it. Salt acts as a barrier against bacteria and
keeps the meat from spoiling. NOTE: It IS possible to preserve meat with only salt. Salt
curing is an age-old technique that has been used by cultures and civilizations around
the world. However, for the best results, we recommend combining salting and smoking.
In order to create meat that doesn’t need refrigeration, you’ll follow the process known
as hard smoking. This creates jerky, essentially, although larger pieces of meat can also
be smoked and preserved. NOTE: If you’ll be storing your meat without refrigeration,
DO NOT cook it before smoking it. Cooked meat MUST be refrigerated in order to
remain safe to eat. Raw smoked meat does not.
Smoking is a time consuming process and it requires good temperature control.
Thankfully, a handful of modern implements can make things relatively simple (you
really only need a way to tell time and a thermometer to measure the temperature of the
air in your drying environment).
There are lots of different methods for smoking your meat. However, remember that
higher temperatures (above 155 degrees Fahrenheit) will actually start cooking your
meat. For beginners, it might be better to start out at about 125 degrees and then
increase that temperature slowly through the entire smoking process until you reach
145 degrees or so. You’ll need to smoke your meat for about 7 hours or so. Smoking is
not difficult and not particularly technical – you just need smoke, low heat and time.
Herbs and Spices That Enhance Protection against SpoilageHerbs and spices bring a lot of flavor to your food, but they also protect it against
spoiling. Of course, not all of them are created equal. The following are the most
important herbs and spices to use against microbial action and food degradation:
Garlic Clove Ginger Black pepper Oregano Cinnamon
Nutmeg Allspice Mustard Bay leaves Thyme
Cumin Horseradish Onion Cayenne pepper Fennel
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Combine different options together to gain even more protection (many herbs and
spices have synergistic reactions when combined, amplifying their powers of
preservation).
Prepping and Smoking the MeatSmoking is easier with thinner strips of meat. The goal
is to remove as much moisture as possible, and that’s
easier with thinner pieces than with thick cuts. Choose
lean cuts of meat and then remove ALL of the visible
fat. If you want chewy jerky, cut with the grain. If you
prefer something less chewy, slice the meat across
the grain.
You’ll now need to marinate the meat in a brine
mixture/marinade. You can make a liquid brine easily
with just two cups of salt and two quarts of water. Add
half a teaspoon of black pepper, a cup of sugar, half a
teaspoon of garlic powder and a half-teaspoon of
turmeric powder to improve the taste and add a bit more protection from spoilage.
Soak your meat for at least three hours, but the longer you soak it, the better your
results will be. Yes, this is essentially adding more moisture to the meat, but it’s also
adding salt and seasonings necessary to the preserving process. Once you’ve soaked
the meat long enough, put it in your smoker/smoke house and start the process.
If you prefer not to use a liquid brine, you can use a dry marinade. Just mix the dry
ingredients listed above, completely coat both sides of the meat, and then pound it in
with a meat mallet. Allow it to sit in the refrigerator in a closed container for several
hours before smoking. It’s also possible to go straight from the marinating process to
the smokehouse (necessary if you lack refrigeration).
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Pressure Canning Meat, Fish and FowlWhile many fruits and vegetables can be canned using the “hot water bath” method,
that’s not the case with meat. In order to can meat in mason jars, you’ll need much
higher heat than what’s possible in a hot water bath. The same applies to many types of
produce you’ll get from your garden, but we’ll cover that in a later chapter.
You’ll need to assemble your supplies to pressure can meat, and you’ll also need to
make sure everything is thoroughly sterilized (a boiling water bath and thorough
washing of your canner, lids and jars is really all that’s necessary). As a note, you can
use either a pressure cooker or a pressure canner. A canner is preferable, as it can hold
more jars (and larger jars) than what’s possible with a cooker.
Important Canning NotesIf you’re preserving meat or any food that contains meat (stew, chili, etc.), then you’ll
need to remember the following:
The temperature must be 240 degrees Fahrenheit.
The pressure canner must reach at least 10 psi (this will vary by elevation – the
higher you live, the higher the pressure should be).
Precook your meat until the red color changes to brown (for red meat, obviously).
Fish and fowl should also be precooked.
All meat should be cut into bite-sized pieces before being added to jars.
Process quart jars of meat for 90 minutes.
Process pint jars of meat for 75 minutes.
The Pressure Canning ProcessOnce you’ve cut your meat into bite-sized chunks and
precooked it, add it to your jars. Pack the meat tight, and
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leave space at the head (top of the jar). Add boiling broth to the jar, leaving about an
inch at the top of the jar. Place the lid on and then tighten the band until you feel
resistance. Do NOT screw on tightly.
Place your jars in your pressure canner and bring the water to a boil with the lid off.
Once the water is boiling, put the lid in place with the petcock valve open (or pressure
regulator off). Allow steam to build and vent for about 10 minutes to ensure that all air
pockets have been eliminated and then close the valve or put the regulator in place.
Wait until the pressure cooker is fully pressurized. If your model has a petcock valve,
this should take about five minutes. If you’re using a model with a pressure regulator,
just watch the gauge. Once it reaches full pressure, turn down the heat to low and start
your process timing.
Once the process time is over, DO NOT open the pressure cooker. Most models have a
safety feature that seals the cooker as long as there is any pressure inside, but
accidents can happen. Let the cooker cool until all the pressure has been released.
Once open, allow your jars to cool completely before placing them on a shelf for
storage.
Dehydrating MeatWe’ve already covered one form of dehydrating meat – smoking. However, you don’t
HAVE to smoke the meat if you don’t want to, although smoke does add additional
protection from spoilage and it imparts that lovely smoky flavor. If you prefer to dry your
meat without smoke, though, the process is relatively similar. You need a good brine for
curing, and then you must have heat and air.
A decent food dehydrator can do a good job of drying meat with low heat and airflow but
without any smoke, which can be beneficial if you don’t have a smoker or smokehouse.
Just remember that you need to ensure your meat is not cooked before drying, as that
will require refrigeration. Your food dehydrator should be able to reach at least 145
degrees, although 150 would be better.
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Drying meat isn’t difficult – the Native Americans used to use the sun and wind to dry
their meat while hanging on brambles or drying racks outdoors. It’s straightforward and
simple. Just remember that moisture and too much heat are the enemies here.
Chapter 4
Vegetables, Fruit and MoreMeat doesn’t need to be your only source of food. In fact, it
shouldn’t be. Eating nothing but meat puts you in danger of
developing any number of diseases, including scurvy.
Protein poisoning is also a possibility, particularly with rabbit
and squirrel-based diets, as they are very lean meats with
little fat. Whether you’re going off grid or you’re faced with a
survival situation, vegetables, fruit and many different wild
plants can also be part of your diet, helping you protect
against disease and maintain a healthy body.
Wild PlantsYou might not realize it, but all of the vegetables and fruit we eat today were once wild.
Domesticated varieties have changed considerably over time and through judicious
growing techniques, but the fact remains that those wild versions still exist. There are
also numerous other plants that grow wild that are not only edible, but even better for
your body than most of what passes for food in today’s supermarkets.
Of course, there are just as many inedible wild plants as there are edible ones, so it
pays to know exactly what you’re getting into here. A partial list of edible wild plants in
North America includes the following:
Wild asparagus
Amaranth
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Cattail
Dandelion
Cat’s Ear (looks very similar to dandelion)
Clover
Chicory
Plantain (not the banana-lookalike)
Prickly pear cactus
Wood sorrel
Blackberries
Blueberries
Raspberries
Kudzu (if you’re in the South, you’ve got a smorgasbord available)
There’s also a whole host of nuts and seeds, including walnuts, acorns, pine nuts,
hickory nuts, hazel nuts and pecans. As you might have guessed, this is only the tiniest
fraction of possible wild edibles that you’ll encounter. However, just because a plant
LOOKS like something else doesn’t mean that it’s safe to eat. Unless you’re positive
that plant is what you think it is, use caution.
How to Determine Plant EdibilityYou’re stuck in the mountains after a fall while hiking. Rescue is days away, if it comes
at all. You’ve got water left in your canteen, and you’ve managed to build a small
shelter. Now what do you do about food? There are lots of green, growing things around
you, but are they safe to eat? Before you cram that leaf or stalk into your mouth, stop
and test things. It’s a little time consuming, but a little fasting is always preferable to
death by poisoning.
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Before you do anything else, make sure there’s plenty of the plant type around. There’s
little point in spending your time testing for edibility if there’s not enough abundance to
make a difference in your survival. It requires more than 24 hours to determine edibility
for each part of a plant, so double-check just how much of it you’ve seen growing.
Also, never test more than one part of one plant at a time. Testing two or more parts of a
plant, or multiple plants at once will not allow you to determine safety and edibility.
Finally, remember that many plants can cause discomfort and diarrhea when eaten on
an empty stomach.
To test for edibility, follow these steps:
1. Do not eat anything for eight hours before testing for edibility. The US Marine
Corps also recommends drinking nothing but purified water beforehand.
2. Deconstruct the plant into its various component parts – flower, stem, buds and
roots. Each of these must be tested one at a time. Many plants have both edible
and inedible portions.
3. During the eight hours of fasting, take the opportunity to determine if contact
poisoning occurs with the plant you’ve selected. Place a small piece of the plant
on your inner wrist and make sure the juice contacts your skin. Watch for
breakouts, swelling, itching and other signs of contact poisoning for the next 15
minutes.
4. Choose a small portion of one segment from the plant you’ve chosen to test.
5. Touch it to your lip, but do not put it in your mouth. Watch for swelling, irritation
and other signs. Leave it in place for at least three minutes.
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6. If there’s no reaction on your lip, place the plant piece in your mouth on your
tongue, but do not chew. Leave it there for 15 minutes. If there is no reaction
during that time, chew a small piece, and hold it in your mouth.
7. If there is no reaction to the inside of your mouth at the end of 15 more minutes,
swallow it. Wait a full eight hours before testing another piece of the plant. If you
notice ill effects during the time after eating the plant, force yourself to vomit it out
and drink water. Add charcoal if possible.
8. If there is no adverse reaction to the plant during the initial eight hours, prepare a
quarter-cup of the same portion of the plant and eat it. You’ll need to wait another
eight hours to determine if there are any ill effects from a larger serving. If there
are none, this portion of the plant is safe to eat.
Now, obviously this is a very time consuming process. You can reduce the need to test
plants for edibility by becoming familiar with the edible plants within your local
environment (and those you intend to travel within). Once learned, edible plants are
easily recognized wherever they grow.
Signs a Plant Should Be AvoidedWhile some plants can be tested
for edibility, others should be
avoided outright for safety and
health reasons. The following rules
apply to all situations when forced
to eat wild plants. Avoid:
All mushrooms and
funguses – while some are
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safe to eat, others are deadly. Unless you’re 100% certain of the type in question,
don’t eat it.
Plants with shiny leaves – shiny leaves are often an indication of contact poison,
such as poison ivy or poison oak.
Plants with spines, hairs or thorns – some obvious exceptions here include Cat’s
Ear (similar to dandelion, but with light hair on the leaves), blackberries and
prickly pear cactus.
Plants with milky sap – red leaf lettuce, which rarely grows wild, and dandelion
are two exceptions to this rule.
Yellow or white berries – blackberries, blueberries, gooseberries, muscadines
and elderberries are always edible, and are neither white nor yellow.
Plants that smell like almonds – this is a sign of cyanide.
Grain heads with purple, black or blue spurs on their seed heads.
VegetablesWhen you talk about vegetables, you’re talking about gardening. While wild versions of
some veggies can be found, they’re not that common. Gardening is only suited to
permanent locations. You’ll need space to plant your vegetables, as well as good soil
and a ready supply of clean water to help them grow. This has some serious
connotations that go well beyond the need to till, fertilize and grow plants.
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One important factor to understand is how much garden space (and how many plants)
you need to feed an individual person. In order to feed one person a primarily
vegetarian diet for a year, you’ll need roughly 4,000 square feet of garden space.
However, to supplement your diet with fresh vegetables throughout the year, you’ll need
far less.
There are dozens of potential vegetables to choose for your garden, including the
following:
A wide range of lettuce varieties
Cabbage
Spinach
Cucumbers (both pickling and eating varieties)
Zucchini
Squash (several varieties)
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Celery
Green beans (pole or bush beans)
Bell peppers
Artichokes
Asparagus
Rutabagas
Turnips
Potatoes
Corn
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The list goes on and on and on. However, there are a few considerations you’ll need to
make when choosing the veggies you’ll plant around your home.
Considerations for Choosing and Growing VegetablesA host of considerations play into creating
your garden and then choosing the right
plants to put in. Some of the most important
include the following:
Your Preferences – There’s no point
in planting vegetables that you and
your family don’t like to eat. Sure, a
certain vegetable might be packed with vitamins, but if you won’t eat it, that’s just
wasted space in your garden. For your first garden, it’s highly recommended that
you plant varieties you enjoy eating so you can get used to the difference
between garden-fresh and store-bought produce. Once you’ve gardened for a
year, start experimenting with other varieties and vegetables.
Your Zone – A great deal of your success (or failure) with growing vegetables
hinges on where you’re located in North America. If you’re in the deep South, you
won’t have a lot of luck growing cool weather crops like spinach. Conversely, if
you’re way up north, you might not have any luck with a corn crop or other warm-
loving plants. Know your temperature zone and the length of your growing
season. Then, plan accordingly.
Your Soil Condition – When it comes to growing vegetables, one type of soil isn’t
necessarily as good as another. While you’ll likely get seeds to germinate in even
the poorest, most nutrient deprived soil, you won’t get much actual growth from
them. If you’re not sure what your soil’s condition is, you can have it tested
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(usually at your local agriculture or farm extension). Base your conditioning and
fertilizing efforts on an accurate soil test to ensure that your plants have the
minerals necessary for robust, sustained growth.
Commercial Fertilizer or Compost and Manure? – Commercial fertilizers are
available from most big box home improvement stores, as well as farm stores.
However, there’s a lot to be said for opting out of that sort of thing. Most
commercial fertilizers are nothing but chemicals, and if you’re trying to get off
grid, you’ll want to give your plants something better than synthetics.
Opt for compost and manure. Compost is easy to make on your own, and it gives
you something to do with all of your excess plant material, eggshells and other
biodegradable items. Manure is available from any farmer with cows or chickens
(try to buy from farmers who raise their cattle on grass diets only).
Your Available Space – If you’re growing a garden, you’ll need space, and lots of
it. Not only will you need enough room to plan the appropriate number of
vegetable rows, but you’ll need space between those rows. The space between
each row should be enough to accommodate people walking (in order to
harvest), as well as the space necessary for mature plants.
Growing vegetables really only requires a little space, good sunlight, clean water and
good soil. Mother Nature takes care of the rest.
The Case for Heirloom vs. HybridHybrid plants are everywhere these days. You’ll find them on virtually every flat surface
at your local greenhouse. There are some very good things about hybrids – they’re bred
to be disease and pest resistant, to produce shapely vegetables, and to be resistant to
drought and other dangers. However, they do have their drawbacks.
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The first and foremost is that most hybrids today are GMOs, or genetically modified
organisms. While there is certainly the argument that most anything you can eat today
is genetically modified in some way, these crops were augmented in a lab by adding
specific DNA sequences to their genes. It’s resulted in some scary, scary things.
Second, hybrid plants don’t replicate themselves. If you grow a hybrid tomato plant and
save the seed to replant next year, you won’t have a hybrid plant. You’ll have one of the
first plant’s ancestors, whatever that might have been.
Heirloom plants on the other hand, haven’t been tampered with on the genetic level (at
least not in a laboratory setting). These are old varieties of plants, dating from the 1930s
back into the late 1800s and sometimes even farther back. They’re not as resistant to
pests and diseases, but they don’t have the issues that GMOs do. Moreover, you can
save your own seed and replant the same thing next year without having to worry about
what’s going to come up out of the ground.
FruitFruit is highly nutritious, delicious
and can be preserved and stored in
a number of different ways. From
apples to pears to peaches and
more, you can grow a wide variety of
fruit right at home. Of course, there
are a few caveats here that can
make an enormous difference in your
food planning. For instance, most fruit trees won’t actually yield edible fruit for several
years after planting.
If you’ll be planting a survival garden, it’s important to opt for perennial fruits that will last
for years and decades to come with minimal effort and upkeep on your part. That does
include fruit trees, but it also includes things like grapes, muscadines and other woody
vines. A few of the fruit options you might consider include:
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Strawberries – Once entrenched, the plants come back year after year
Blueberries
Blackberries
Raspberries
Huckleberries
Apples (from a range of varieties)
Pears (from a range of varieties)
Figs
Grapes
Peaches
Plums
Of course, this barely scratches the surface of what’s possible, but you get the idea. As
a note, choose hardy plants that are able to withstand drought, insects and other threats
with minimal intervention by you and your family. If you’re pressed for space, opt for
dwarf trees or semi-dwarf varieties, as they can provide as much fruit as a full-sized tree
in a smaller footprint. This will help you create a fruit garden that is largely self-
sustaining and will provide you with fresh food for years to come.
Storing and Preserving Vegetables and FruitGrowing your own fruit and vegetables will let you reap rich rewards throughout the
growing season. However, it doesn’t have to stop when the cold weather sets in. For
thousands of years, humans have found innovative ways to store perishable food
against the lean times of winter, and you can do the same. The savvy survivalist or off-
grider knows several key ways to preserve and store fruit and vegetables, keeping their
nutrition intact and even enhancing their flavor.
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Chances are good you’ve already thought of at least one way – canning. It’s the most
common way to store most any vegetable or fruit crop. However, it’s not the only one,
and depending on where you live and your specific situation, it might not be the best
method. In this section, we’ll cover six different methods for storing and preserving your
foods.
In-GroundThe cooler weather is setting in and you still have crops in the field. You have two
choices. You can harvest them now, or you can consider in-ground storage. First,
understand that in-ground storage is really only doable for some specific types of
vegetables, mostly for root crops and tubers. You can store vegetables like:
Carrots
Parsnips
Beets
Turnips
Potatoes
Horseradish
Ginger
It’s really as simple as it sounds. When the days grow short and the air gets chill, just
leave those crops in the ground. Cover them with protective mulch – pine straw, hay,
wood chips, etc. – and they’ll be protected against frost and harm for a time. It’s a short-
term storage solution and will last through the winter. You can do something similar for
cool-weather crops like spinach, cabbage and cauliflower as well. Just protect the plants
from hard frost with a layer of mulch and they’ll last for several weeks.
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Root CellarsBefore the advent of refrigeration
and canning technology, many
households had a root cellar. Root
cellars have fallen away today in
favor of more conventional
technology, but that doesn’t mean
they’re not worth considering.
Most fruits and vegetables can
last for many weeks when properly stored. You need a cool, slightly moist place to store
them and an underground root cellar is the perfect option. Don’t attempt to use your
basement or garage as a root cellar, though. They tend to be too dry and too warm to
adequately protect against rot and degradation. With that being said, you can create a
basement root cellar that can serve in a pinch, although it will not be as protective as a
dug cellar.
All you really need to build a root cellar is a shovel and a means of supporting the roof
and walls. You don’t even need concrete, as a packed earth floor and earth walls are
the preferred options here to ensure good moisture levels. Choose a spot that’s
elevated to protect against rainwater running into the cellar from outside. The side of a
hill is the perfect spot to start digging, but you can also dig down vertically. You’ll find
that sandy soils work best here.
The simplest method to create a root cellar is the pit method. You only need to dig a pit
large enough to accommodate your fruits and vegetables. Flare the sides to prevent
them from collapsing. You’ll need to dig deep enough that all of your crops can be
stored under the soil level. Add straw to the hole, and then cover the pit with a thick
wooden lid. Cover the lid with soil and you’re done.
More ambitious survivalists can take things much further. At 10 feet down (10 feet of
earth protecting your produce in all directions), you’ll have a constant cool temperature
throughout the year. A few braces to prevent the walls and roof from collapsing and
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some wooden shelving to store your food, and you’re set. Make sure there’s plenty of
space between shelves, as good air circulation is the key to preventing mold.
Canning (Boiling Water Bath)The boiling water bath method of at-home canning is both the simplest form of this food
storage method and the least time consuming and expensive. You need only a few
pieces of basic equipment, and there’s no need for a pressure canner. NOTE: The
boiling water bath method is NOT adequate for low-acid foods. All low-acid foods,
including tomatoes, should be canned using a pressure canner to prevent the potential
for botulism.
Botulism: Botulism is a disease created by bacteria that lives in the soil. Improper
canning methods are insufficient to destroy this bacteria, leading to paralysis (the
bacteria produces a nerve toxin). While food-borne botulism is the least common form in
the United States (infant botulism is the most common, followed by wound botulism), it
still bears taking precautions. Use the right canning technique and always verify acid
content in your food.
To can your food, you will need the following:
Mason jars (or the equivalent) to store your canned food. Make sure you have
enough jars and that they’re the right size. Pints are easier to store, but quart jars
hold more food. There are also larger jars available if needed.
Enough two-piece lids to seal your jars – these have a vacuum seal lid and a
screw-on band. During the boil, pressure within the jar will expel air and the
resulting vacuum will suck the lid down. You simply screw the band on and you’re
done.
A container large enough to boil several jars at once. A large stockpot can work
quite well here, or a pressure canner without the lid.
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Make sure you know the pH of your food. A lot of fruit is sufficiently acidic for this type of
canning, but most vegetables are not. Tomatoes are borderline – they CAN be canned
using the boiling water method, but you must add citric acid to each jar to ensure
enough acidity to kill off the bacteria. If you don’t want citric acid changing the taste of
your favorite tomato recipes, go with pressure canning.
Sterilize your glass jars and lids in boiling water.
The jars should be boiled for a full 10 minutes.
In a separate pot, simmer your lids at about 180
degrees Fahrenheit. You’ll also need to blanch
the food you’re canning – boil it for roughly 10
minutes. This will start the cooking process, but
not complete it.
Next, add the food to the jars and place the lid on. Screw on the band finger tight (do
not over tighten). Completely submerge the jars in boiling water and leave them for 10
minutes. After 10 minutes, remove the jars and allow them to cool completely. This can
take several hours. Do NOT place hot or warm jars in the refrigerator.
Once the jars have cooled, check the seal on the lid. You can do this easily by pressing
down on the center of the lid. If it “pops” down, it did not seal. You can either store it in
the refrigerator for immediate consumption, or you can process the jar again. If you
choose to reprocess the jar, remove the lid and check for any food caught between the
lip of the jar and the lid.
Below, you’ll find a basic list of high and low acid foods. Note that this is very basic – it’s
always best to know the actual pH level of the foods you want to can.
Low Acid Food – Pressure Canning Needed
High Acid Food – Boiling Water Canning Possible
Figs Dates Asian pears Beans Corn Cucumbers Asparagus
Apples Strawberries Pears (not Asian pears) Blackberries Cranberries Peaches Blueberries
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Bananas Pineapple Peas Leafy green vegetables (kale,
spinach, lettuce, etc.) Garlic Green beans Tomatoes (without citric acid)
Raspberries Tomatoes (with citric acid added
only)
Pressure CanningWe covered pressure canning in the section on storing meat,
fish and fowl, but we’ll go over it once more. The process for
canning fruits and vegetables is identical to canning meat
with a few minor differences. The most notable difference is
that you don’t have to cut your vegetables and fruit into
smaller pieces for canning, unlike meat. However, many
home-canners prefer to break up their food as it’s possible to
fit more into a jar this way.
With pressure canning, there is no need to sterilize your jars
and lids, as the processing time exceeds 10 minutes and
ensures that any germs are destroyed. Fill your jars to within a half-inch of the top
(headspace). If you’re canning a very starchy vegetable, you’ll need to leave a full inch
of space at the top.
Start the water in the pressure canner boiling. Screw the lids onto your jars until you feel
resistance. Do NOT over tighten your lids, as pressure within the jars can cause them to
explode. Once the lids are on, place them in the canner and cover them with the lid.
Leave the valve open so that steam can escape. Let the heat inside the canner build for
about 10 minutes to force out any air pockets. Next, close the valve and begin your
processing time.
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Most vegetables will only need about 30 minutes of processing time for pint jars, or 40
minutes of processing for quart jars. Dried beans and greens should process for 75
minutes for a pint and 90 minutes for a quart (the same processing duration as meat).
Once the processing time is over, remove the canner from the heat. Do NOT attempt to
open it. The canner is still pressurized. Allow it to sit until all pressure has vented. Once
the interior pressure drops below 1 PSI, the safety mechanism will disengage and you
can safely remove your canned foods. Check the seal on all lids and reprocess any that
did not seal properly.
NOTE: Your pressure canner should come with an instruction set, and possibly several
canning recipes. Always follow the instructions specific to your pressure canner, as
different models have different requirements.
Drying/DehydratingWhile dehydrated fruit is the most familiar, you can also dehydrate vegetables.
However, there are a few differences between the two methods, so this section will be
split between fruits and veggies.
Dehydrating Vegetables
Almost all vegetables can be dehydrated just fine, and can be eaten dried or rehydrated
for use in cooking. If the vegetable is one that you would ordinarily eat raw, you only
need to clean and cut them before putting them in the dehydrator. Examples of these
include carrots, peppers, onions mushrooms and more.
However, if it’s something that should be cooked before being eaten (corn, for instance),
then you’ll need to blanch it for about eight minutes before cutting and placing in the
food dehydrator.
As with fruit, your drying time will be determined by the water content of the food.
Blanched vegetables will take longer than raw vegetables, as well, because the boiling
process adds moisture to your food.
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Dehydrating Fruits
Dried fruit has been a human staple for thousands of years, perhaps tens of thousands
of years. All you really need is a protected place with plenty of sunshine on a warm day
and you’re up and running. However, using modern dehydrators makes things a bit
simpler.
Most fruit should be peeled before being cut. However, this is not mandatory. Fruit can
be dried with the peel on, but that does make the dehydration process slower. We
recommend peeling most fruits before dehydrating them.
You’ll need to cut your fruit into small slices. Thinner is better here, as thick pieces take
longer to dry than thicker pieces. Once peeled and cut, place your fruit in the dehydrator
and start the process. The drying time will be dictated by the moisture content of the
fruit.
Rules for Both Fruit and Vegetables
Drying both fruit and vegetables will require that you follow some identical rules to
ensure quality and taste in the finished food. These include:
While dried food does not need to be refrigerated, most of the moisture that
allows microorganisms to thrive must be removed.
Both forced air and rising air methods work.
Raise the temperature of your dehydrator gradually
to help ensure even moisture removal. If the outside
dries before the inside, inner moisture might not be
removed, leaving your food open to spoiling.
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The dryer your food, the longer it will last – make sure to thoroughly dehydrate
your fruit and vegetables for the longest shelf life.
While dehydrated food can last indefinitely, nutritional value begins to be lost
after about a year, so consume your food within the first year after drying.
Rehydrating your food can be done by soaking it in water, or adding it to a soup
or stew.
Store all dried fruit and vegetables in airtight containers. Glass and plastic
containers with airtight lids work well, but you can even use zip-lock bags in a
pinch.
FermentingLong before refrigeration and canning, humans discovered several ways to preserve
food and prevent it from spoiling. Drying was one, but there were others. Fermenting is
one of the most ancient food storage and preservation methods available, and it’s not
only a good way to keep food for a longer period. Fermented food has a lot of added
nutritional value as well – it’s also a huge benefit for gut health.
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Fermented food is exactly what
it sounds like. The same
fermentation process is found in
making beer, wine and liquor, as
well as with bread dough.
Fermentation relies on yeast and
other microorganisms. Not sure
fermented food is for you? Ever
tried sauerkraut or dilly beans? If
so, you’ve had (and likely
enjoyed) fermented food.
Almost any type of fruit or vegetable can be fermented. It really only requires some salt,
some water and a little bit of time. You can add additional seasonings, spices, herbs and
more to create the flavors you want, but brine is really the heart of the matter. There’s
also no boiling, no canning and no heat involved here.
Perhaps the simplest example of fermenting food can be found with making sauerkraut.
You can do this with either a traditional crock or with a two quart-sized Mason jar.
Simply cut up a head of cabbage like you would for coleslaw (cut into quarters, then
eighths, then shred), and combine with the cabbage with one and a half tablespoons of
salt in a large bowl. Mix the salt into the cabbage while squeezing the cabbage tightly.
Do this for about 5-10 minutes. You’ll notice the cabbage becoming more and more
watery during this time.
When you’re done, add a tablespoon of caraway seeds if you want some additional
flavor, and then pack the cabbage into a Mason jar. Pack the cabbage tightly in the jar,
and then weigh it down. You can use virtually anything you like to weigh it down, but a
small zip-lock sandwich bag filled with water works very well. As the fermentation
process proceeds, the cabbage will produce its own water. As the water level rises,
small bits of cabbage will rise to the surface. If you don’t weigh it down, these can form
mold.
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Leave your sauerkraut to ferment for at least three days (not refrigerated). You can age
it as long as you like, and the flavor will only improve and become more complex over
time.
Fermenting can be done with almost anything, and all it really requires is a little salt,
some water, the right seasonings and a place to store your jars while those microbes go
to work.
NOTE: Fermented food does not have the same shelf life as pressure canned foods.
Where pressure canning can give you food that will last indefinitely, fermented food
usually lasts for several weeks or months. Refrigerating fermented foods can extend
this period.
Conclusion
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Water and shelter might be your first priorities in any survival situation; however, once
those have been secured, you must turn your mind to finding food, and then storing and
preserving it. Without a reliable store of safe food, you and your family are not only at a
disadvantage, but you’re in danger from depleted energy, clouded thinking, reduced
stamina and even the threat of disease.
The good news is that food is all around you. All you have to do is know where to look.
From small animals to big game, from wild plants to cultivated fruits and vegetables, the
earth’s bounty can sustain you at all times. Combine that immense wealth of food with
the storage and preservation techniques highlighted within this book and you will have
safe, tasty food available to you all year long.
Whether you’re preparing for an emergency or disaster, you’re fed up with being on the
grid, or you just want to start getting back to living a life closer to nature, knowledge is
the key. Use the tips and techniques set forth within this book to guide your food
sourcing, as well as your preservation and storage efforts.
Works Cited:
http://www.wilderness-survival-skills.com/survivalfood.html
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http://www.bcadventure.com/adventure/wilderness/survival/food.htm
http://lifehacker.com/5454722/use-the-universal-edibility-test-to-find-food-in-a-survival-
situation
http://www.thenewsurvivalist.com/edibles_from_the_wild.html
http://artcontest.nra.org/documents/pdf/youth/gamelist.pdf
MCRP 3-02H Survival, Evasion and Recovery (US Marine Corps)
FM 21-76/MCRP 3-02F US Marine Corps Survival Manual
http://www.fieldandstream.com/answers/hunting/small-game/butchering-cooking-
rabbits-squirrels-and-other-small-game/what-time-year-
http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/publications/disease_emergence/Chapter5.pdf
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=587240&mode=2
http://icwdm.org/handbook/damage/wildlifediseases.asp
http://www.stripersonline.com/t/524615/edible-freshwater-fish
http://www.cwd-
info.org/index.php/fuseaction/about.faqDetail/ID/4b1982dc3c3be1d312cd0bb2b8f4dcc6
http://www.cwd-info.org/
http://www.critters360.com/index.php/the-danger-of-tularemia-in-rabbits-22551/
http://www.birds-of-north-america.net/game-birds.html
http://www.identicards.com/productcart/pc/viewcontent.asp?idpage=18
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_trapping
http://www.thenewsurvivalist.com/food_preservation_techniques.html#mbp_toc_21
http://www.artofmanliness.com/2010/10/06/surviving-in-the-wild-19-common-edible-
plants/
http://www.twineagles.org/edible-wild-plants.html
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http://www.myfamilysurvivalplan.com/52-plants-in-the-wild-you-can-eat/
http://gardening.about.com/od/vegetable1/a/How-Much-Plant.htm
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/doomsday-castle/articles/plant-your-
own-secret-survival-garden/
http://readynutrition.com/resources/considerations-when-planning-a-survival-
garden_12112010/
http://www.bhg.com/gardening/plant-dictionary/fruit/
http://www.sunset.com/garden/fruits-veggies/best-vegetables-fruit-herbs-to-plant
http://pss.uvm.edu/homefruit/hfgless.htm
http://www.almanac.com/root-cellar-build
http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/building-root-cellar-your-home
http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/divisions/dfbmd/diseases/botulism/
http://www.pickyourown.org/food_acidity.htm
http://www.backpackingchef.com/dehydrating-vegetables.html
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