Last Updated on October 17, 2022 by admin_hunter
The average American has less than 3 days’ worth of food at home. This means that should supply lines be disrupted for whatever reason, we’re just 3 days away from a national catastrophe. This is not great news. It’s no brainer that cooking for yourself has health, financial and survival advantages. Just because your pantry is filled with months or years of prepper food doesn’t mean you’re ready to live on it. Spending time in a critical survival situation will require you to know how to cook survival food. An emergency situation means you have to make fast decisions, and you will be left with fewer choices. You may not have the privilege of owning all the required ingredients or heating resources. But still, you must figure out how to cook a meal and make it a bit more appealing than it would be.
How to Make Survival Foods
Preparing survival foods require a special set of skills and determination. You can use basic ingredients to improvise and make the best meals. In this post, we will share some basic recipes on survival cooking.
Hardtack
If you have limited time to prepare a decent and balanced meal, you can always turn to hardtack. It is a nutritious alternative to yeast dough. Hardtacks have a long history and were used by the Roman Empire as their version of hard biscuit. In America, hardtacks are known by different names: hard bread, ship biscuit and tooth duller among others. They are common for their numerous mentions in civil war letters, songs and poems.
Ingredients for making hardtack are simple and easy to get. All you need is flour, water, sugar and salt and you’re good to go! To prepare it, simply mix the flour into water and add salt or sugar. Next, spread the dough and cut it into squares or rectangles. You can poke small holes on both surfaces using a fork. Bake it at approximately 375 degrees and let it out in the open air till it is completely hard.
To consume them, dip them into water or your favorite drink for them to soften up. It isn’t recommendable to add flavoring to hardtacks. The reason behind this is that proteins and fats soften the hardtacks and accelerates rotting. If you wish to add flavors, do that at the time of consumption. You can store hardtacks for months in a cool place to use it for a camping or emergency situation.
Tomato Macaroni with Cheese
The combination of macaroni with cheese is something most Americans are familiar with. On top of being quick to make, its procedure is quite simple. It is a great meal to turn to during times of crisis or when you’re short of time. For this meal, all you will require 2 cups of macaroni, a package of cheese powder soup and canned tomatoes.
The first step is boiling the macaroni in water for not more than ten minutes. After that, take it from the pan and drain out the water. Retain half the water as you will need it afterwards. Return the macaroni back to the pan and the cheese soup and tomatoes. Simmer it for about five or so minutes. This should be on low heat. At this point, the pieces of cheese should have melted. Add the water you had earlier retained, if necessary. This is a simple meal that takes a relatively short time to get ready.
Pemmican
Another quick survival food on our list is pemmican. It is a Native American food commonly referred to as the ultimate survival food. Pemmican is basically a mixture of animal fats, berries, powdered and smoked meat. The meat isn’t specific and can come from your favorite animal. Rich in both fats and protein, the meal can last for weeks. A number of recipes can be used to make pemmican, all of which are easy and time-saving. If you’re a lover of spices and wish to add them to pemmican, ensure they are safe for preservation and don’t come with side effects. They might otherwise cause your meal to go bad. Just like hardtacks, it is recommendable that you add spices during the time of consumption.
Cheese
Cheese is one of the most common survival foods globally. From the simplest to the most complex ones, making cheese is an art that doesn’t require any special skills. Cheese is made using a simple process. This is how it is prepared.
Milk, from any animal, is warmed then acidified using either vinegar or any other acidified liquid. Afterwards, coagulants which are plant-based are used to condense the milk and turn it into cheese. The next step after this is to wash the cheese and set it aside to continue aging. Depending on the flavor, cheese can take between a few days and years to turn into its finest form and flavor. On top of being a good way of making money, making cheese also helps to avoid wasting milk. Cheese might be very useful during times of crisis. Making it, however, requires patience.
Wine
You are in for a rude shock if you thought that wine is only used as a recreational and luxurious beverage. For years, wine has been known for its medicinal functions, a form of water purifier and also an ingredient in making lots of different meals. Wine is made through the time-consuming process of fermenting grapes and yeast. What’s great about wine is that it gets better with time. The longer it ferments the richer and sweeter it is. You can decide to drink wine as beverage or use it in preparing other meals such as pork, ham, turkey and goose among others. The common ground is that turning to wine as a survival food is a thoughtful and unique idea.
Peanut Butter Energy Bars
This recipe is normally prepared at home before going out on a hiking or scouting trip as part of the emergency survival kit. It is easy and quick to make and requires no complex ingredients. They may not be the tastiest food, but they’re calorically dense with lots of healthy fats and protein. The energy they provide will keep you going all day. For its preparation, you will require a cup of peanut butter, a cup of honey and three cups of instant oatmeal.
The first step entails mixing the peanut butter and honey in a saucepan. Heat them on low heat to liquefy them a little and make them more manageable. While heating, stir them vigorously. Next, pour the oatmeal in a pan then add the now homogenous mixture. Mix them and press them so that they are equally flat on the sides. With this meal, there is no need for refrigeration. You simply need to cut it by a knife into separate bars. You could, however, get creative and add dried fruits or green and protein powders to enhance their taste. To preserve the food for long, place them into plastic bags and push air out of the bags as much as you can. They can last you for several months.
PRO TIP: the above-discussed recipes vary depending on what foods you have at hand. The good news is you can customize these foods according to the situation you are in. Experimenting is the name of the game. While trying out, you may discover more about your personal taste and this will come in handy during survival times.
Conclusion
The above-mentioned foods are quick and simple to prepare. Moreover, their ingredients are easy to get. Before preparing the foods, however, you would need to consider a number of factors. These include the price, whether anyone in your family is allergic to any ingredient, the calorie content and the minimal cooking requirements. Survival foods come in handy when SHTF; times that require quick and right decisions. Instead of waiting till disaster to strike, why not start learning to make these foods today?