The 'BASIC 6' Food Storage Groups, and How Much You Should Have

If you are thinking about starting your food storage, or you just want to revamp and fill in the gaps, there is a priority for what comes first.

Generally speaking, there is a "basic 6" when it comes to food storage.  These include:

Grains
Milk
Legumes
Sugars
Cooking Essentials
Fats and oils

Why?  Because these 6 things provide basic survival nutritional value.  If you had to live on these 6 things and nothing else, you could.

Coincidentally, they are also some of the cheapest to come by, so it's a great place to start.

Why I have Food Storage - A Personal Story

Food storage.  Not a popular, nor remotely fun topic for most everyone I know.  But I could talk for hours about it, probably days, and love every minute of it.  But I'm weird.  And I'm okay with that.

And it might be my weirdness that propels me to write this post. But it also might be because I think it is important.

Why do I have food storage?  There are lots of reasons:

Safety

Security

Cost effective

Preparedness

Health benefits

Convenience

But one reason that sometimes slips between the cracks is probably the most important of all.  I have food storage because there was a time in my life when I NEEDED it.  And I don't mean need it as in "I need a cup of sugar from downstairs to make a cake".  I needed it as in, if we wouldn't have had it, we wouldn't have eaten.

Processing Times and lbs. for Basic Canning Recipes

In my last post, I wrote about the importance of altering recipes based on your altitude.  However, I realize that some of you may have recipes handed down from who knows when, and are unaware of if the processing time or lbs. are correct for where you currently live.

So, the following tables show Basic Canning Recipes with appropriate Processing Times and lbs. required for home canning.

It is important to note that the following tables show the appropriate processing time and lbs. of pressure required for UTAH elevation (4,000 - 6,000 feet).

If you live outside of Utah, check my last post to figure out how to alter these recipes to your own location.

Alititude Adjustments for Canning

Since canning season is going to be in full swing pretty soon, I decided to start the year off by providing some basic but useful information.

Today's topic: Altitude and Canning

This post will go over why altitude even matters when dealing with canning, and what changes need to take place based on where you live.  I will also go over the altitude differences between a steam or water bath canner compared to a pressure canner.