5 survival foods your grandma loves
Removing the natural water from fruit and other foods might seem, well, unnatural, but it’s a process that has been successfully used for many years to make food last longer. Bacteria, yeast and mold need that moisture in food to grow, so when those foods are dehydrated, the growth of dangerous microorganisms is inhibited. And besides, if water wasn’t sometimes extracted from fruits such as plums or grapes, we wouldn’t know what prunes and raisins were.
When you’re in a survival situation, you will need foods that have a long shelf life. Nothing beats the taste of fresh fruit, but you can come pretty close with dehydrated fruit that will last and be ready to eat whenever you’re hungry and on the run. And if you make dehydrated foods yourself, you’ll have more control over the taste.
Check out this article, “How to Dehydrate Tasty Snacks.”
The author focuses on three of them – fruit leathers for a sweet and chewy snack, jerky for a tasty, meaty snack, and granola for something crunchy and wholesome. Step by step directions are spelled out for how to make each one, whether you are using a dehydrator or a conventional oven. I was shocked to find out how easy this is!
You can dehydrate just about any food, but these are my 5 favorites:
- Fruits, including strawberries kiwis, peaches, pears, apples, bananas, apricots and oranges.
- Vegetables, such as zucchini, broccoli, squash, corn, cauliflower, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers.
- Nuts, especially almonds, cashews, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts and good old peanuts.
- Seeds, including sunflower, sesame, pomegranate, flax, pumpkin, hemp and chia.
- Meats, such as beef, chicken, pork, turkey, ham, shrimp, buffalo and venison.
How about you? Have you every purchased or prepared dehydrated snacks? Tell me the ones you like to buy and the ones you prefer to make, then share your recipes in the comments.
I use a Ness Co dehydrator with add on light timer. I often make jerky, but sometimes use fruit also. You can do both at same time as long as fruit is on top trays. I quit buying store jerky after the first batch I made.
It’s an answer to prayer for me that someone is making survival food that is NON GMO! In 2009, I purchased a bucket…275 servings that has a 25-year shelf-life and has unhealthy ingredients in it. last year I learned the importance of organic and NON – GMO food. I spent 9 years in pain because of two auto accidents and steroid injections. After I learned good eating habits, the pain started to subside.
i make jerky out of venison every year. i also make jerky out of turkey that i find on sale at the holidays and any beef that i find in the reduced section of the supermarket. all of my jerky is made for human consumption but i also feed it to my dogs and cats as a treat. much cheaper than animal treats and i know what is in it. i also dry fruits on sale when my son was in kosovo i send dried fruit to his unit and they were happy to get it
I bought a good dehydrator and tried it out with oranges, it took so long (30 hrs.) that I decided I could not afford the electricity so maybe buying them already dried is best. Unless I am missing something here!
Oranges are one of the foods that take the longest time to dehydrate.
Grapes also take a long time but make fantastic raisins with no added anything!
When our children were growing, we used to frequent a food auction where we would buy things to freeze, can, and dehydrate. My husband “remodeled” an old chest freezer which we used to dehydrate great quantities of things. Our favorites were dried peaches and bananas. We’ve moved and this auction is no longer close by, and the children have families of their own. I still use an old dehydrator that fits on a table in the kitchen and dry foods yearly which including veggies. The corn is a favorite now. Also, I still can and freeze foods.
I have done kale, strawberries, bananas and tomatoes
I love hot breakfast. I miss, rolled oats, wheat, barely and rye in equal amounts and store in an air tight container. For breakfast I grab one handful of grains and nuke. I then add about 2 Tab of “freeze dried” Strawberry powder, a little butter, mix and eat. Sometimes I add sliced “freeze dried” bananas to the mix too. Yum!
It really does my heart good to see all the comments on this subject, including the detour through the bible. It reminded me that in order to be self-sufficient one must not only practice canning but dehydrating as well. It is funny how you can do one and forget the other. Both have valid benefits that each family should be practicing to take full advantage of our food resources. Just food for thought.
Just FYI – if you dehydrate fragrant things such as onions, any kind of peppers, some herbs, do it OUTSIDE! The first time I used my dehydrator to do sweet green peppers in my kitchen, the smell was very strong and lasted for days. It permeated the house. For that reason, I now purchase dehydrated peppers and onion (no crying!) in cans. They’re not very expensive. Extra peppers from the garden can be chopped up and frozen. I use an extension cord to do most of my dehydrating on our outdoor deck. Another hint: If you have some bananas that are about to go bad – but don’t have time to dehydrate or make banana bread right then – peel them, cut them in 1/2 and freeze. (If you leave the peel on, it’s difficult to remove until defrosted, plus your hands get messy.) They don’t turn brown, and are perfect to toss in a smoothie (zap in microwave for 15 seconds first). You can also let them completely defrost to go ahead and make that banana bread or cookies later.
Thank you, I would not of thought to freeze bananas!
I like dehydrating boneless chicken breast strips, for our dogs and store them for a treat or keep in our storage for emergencies, if needed. Apples, peppers, onions, pears are also good for dehydration.
Sometimes, I season the chicken strips before dehydrating with garlic powder and paprika.
I would LOVE simple directions to build a solar dehydrator–portable would be nice, but not necessary.
Will be retiring soon and plan hydroponics or large organic garden. I hate waste and want to build up my pantry.
I have seen directions for one in different places. Mother Earth News is the first one that comes to mind and I have seen more than one style in that magazine.
The website The Prepper Project has plans for just about any food preservation project you might want.
For all of you who want to know formulas, you should look into the formulas written by Dr. John Christopher! There is a wonderful book out detailing his different formulas, how to make and use them yourself, etc. It’s called “The School of Natural Healing” and one of the latest versions is called The Centennial Edition. I just finished including some of his herbal formulas (and one from Jethro Kloss from his “Back to Eden” book) for my 2 year Diploma Project in a local herbalism/botanical medicine course. I would recommend very highly those two books, which you can find at NEARLY ANY bookseller on-line. No, I don’t get any $ for sharing this important info. with you. And, btw, you can find most all of those herbs for sale on-line, as well…or you can buy yourself a Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide and use it to find them for yourself.
I have two books on the same lines, “The Doctors Book of Food Remedies” by Selene Yeager, and “Healing with Vitamins” by the editors of Prevention Magazine.
Both hardback books are organized with excellence.
Amen, on the video marketing comments. It may be popular with marketers, but I delete ALL of them. As stated by some other posts, I will not be played.
I’m glad you have excellent eyesight and have no issues with your reading ability. We have written versions of all of our videos that can be read/scanned at your preferred speed just for folks like you. We, however, do not want to exclude those who do not have your privileges.
I cannot stand those emails and such with the marketing videos. If you start to watch/listen to them, you cannot fast-forward – and some take up 30 minutes of your time. I’d rather read about ideas and new things, then I can go back to the website or article and refresh my knowledge on certain information and get right to it, rather than having to view the entire video again!
My mother and grandmother used to sun dry apples and bag them up for the winter months to save space in the freezer for vegetables.
We have been dehydrating sliced apples, sliced bananas, fruit leathers made from applesauce and cranberry sauce, and pineapple rings (save the juice for cakes). Used them for years hiking the trails in Alaska.
Starfish, How did she do it without the buggies and mold from humidity.Can you tell i live in N.Fl?
True, true! I am so played out on these marketing videos that I just delete them for the most part now. 9 out of 10 don’t get my time. It is torture to sit through that nightmare and it is relentless by so many of you guys out there touting survival. I am totally interested in survival but am soooo tired of being played.
There must be a better way. I suggested to another site that does the same thing to me (there are many now, it seems to be the trend) I might consider a membership to garner information but not sure about that either as I would be concerned the vendor would start throwing any kind of crap at us when challenged to come up with somethig revelent.
1st Marine
I agree completely with Katherine’s comments. Well stated!
When you get a video then after it starts try to x it out and it will ask you whether you want to stay or leave. If you want to stay then the video becomes the written word and you can read and scan it by scrolling down to where you want it.
I love your video (she said sarcastically). Do you really think people are willing to sit through all those drawings? – or perhaps most of your clientele is reactionary and unable to read as well. I’m willing to see what you have to offer, but my life does not include listening to a sales pitch for many minutes. Perhaps you could just write a short, concise page (or get someone else to do it if you can’t) so that those of us who have other things going on in our lives can get the information without the pain of the video presentation.
Even though this has become a popular marketing tool it fails in soooo very many ways. I wish you well in your endeavors Your products may have some intrinsic value – even if it’s “road food” for travellers who have a destination. Please keep me on your list for the day I might have time.
My wife wrote a book based on the memoirs of her great,great, great, great grandmother on her mother’s side (who was one of the first female doctors in the very early 1800’s in Missouri and combined it with her Native American Indian ancestors’ way of doing things.
It is a great reference book, complete with recipes. The book is called: Simply Living in a Complex World by C.L. Aenk. You can get purchase it through Amazon.com. Great Christmas gifts for the preppers in your life.
Allen — thank you for your post. I am an American registered nurse of vastly diverse heritage with interest in Ancestry and history, lived in Joplin, MO for 3 formative years, and have interest in nutrition. I am not a prepper (liberal Quaker) — but I am going to Amazon to check out your wife’s book!
While dehydrated foods do have their place, using an oven, not only uses energy that can be costly, but also in prolonged blackout situations, not practical, it also is a higher heat source that destroys nutrients. Electric dehydrators are better at preserving nutrients, but it does cost money and is useless in prolonged blackout scenarios. Solar dryers are better, and yes, slower, but retain the nutrients you need and can be made portable. That along with a solar oven that can also be made portable (both can be made to fold up for easy compact storage and carrying) and one has a renewable resource that also does not send up smoke signals telling others where you are. Which also means that you can process foods on the go. Otherwise, if you have a safe and stable place to hunker down, then an earthen root cellar/pantry cache for your food sources makes great sense to using canning as your main means of food storage. As long as the jars stay cool and dry, that food will be available for years to come, even for your children and grand kids if need be and you have the ability to put that much away. Also, you can create a cold storage in the ground, along with very thick insulation and plenty of ice manufacture in the winter time (great for northern zones 1-5) and then a drip collection so the water from melting ice is not wasted and you have an underground freezer/refrigerator.
dehydrated food take up much less space to store, so long as it kept from the damp. I like canning better because it comes out of the jar all cooked, tasty as is, and ready to go. You just need a large pantry to hold it all.
I don’t doubt that moderate heat with necessary ventilation would speed things up – I just didn’t want to add another electric appliance when I’m prepping for rough times when electricity MIGHT NOT be available.
Never dehydrated anything ’till last year with lots of herbs and peppers produced. There likely are better ways than the 3 cheap and basic that I’ve done:
#1 Cut peppers to small slices and laid out thinly on paper towels. Placed under kitchen ceiling fan, occasionally turning until dried a few days later. Chili Pequin required puncturing all the tiny peppers. Herbs w/stems laid out (basil was slow). I also dried some small batches of herbs in paper grocery bags under the fan.
#2 A large batch of basil was laid out on a clean old sheet of corrugated steel roofing in the sun for a few days.
#3 This year, to get the clutter out of the kitchen, I laid out my herbs on cookie sheets and put in outdoor grill (grill exposed to morning sun) with top closed. Dried in a couple days.
Can I dry the excessive amount of Malabar Spinach that I am getting now, and would it still be tasty after rehydrating and steaming with herbs?
My favorite is to dry strawberries. Only problem is they aren’t always ripe or available when I am in the mood and my Grand Daughter and her 3 little girls can eat an entire batch of 12 trays in a day or so. You probably already know how to you a Ronco Dehydrator so I won’t have to school you in that. Here is my secret;
I go to the Local Dollar Tree and grab a basket and traipse back to the freezer section. I make sure I get the SLICED Strawberries. Now comes the fun part and I hope you are not Diabetic. I run the berries under cold water. Now we get into the mode to make this all work. I take the wet strawberries to the island and grab my stool and start rolling them in a bowl of sugar, brand isn’t important. I have put nylon screen on the trays of my dehydrator. So I make sure the berries are NOT touching each other. It takes a couple days to get all of them done. I don’t take them all the way down to brittle chips. I leave just a bit of flex. I find that when I change the trays around every 8 or 9 hours there are some missing. Sure hope you don’t have little poltergeists around your home.
How do u freeze dry?
I found a way to freeze dry online without an expensive appliance. The gist of the article was to freeze the food (set it up the same as for heat drying) then thaw with a little heat and refreeze until it’s completely dry. The freezing brins the moisture to the outside of the food surface. Heating removes the moisture. I would use a chest freezer and an oven. Personally, though, I use an inexpensive heat dehydrator with extra trays. I figure I’ll use the trays in a solar system in the event of power outage.
do not dehydrate any food. when the water is sucked out so are the nutriens. freeze dried food retains thier nutrients
joi,
not only are you full of crap with your comment, dehydrated food not having any nutrients, you are also deceived. You should do some research before you post something like that…I’m just saying…
control the production and distribution of food and you control the world. this is how the beast will have all people on this rock to take his number or starve. but if you claimed Jesusu as your savior you do not need to worry about food and or water. you will be raptured after the dead in christ are raptured. read the bibile. if your a sinner (& we all are) get right with god and his son and don’t worry about hoarding food. claim the pardon offered to you in Jesus name.
I totally agree. All this hoarding will get you no where if you are on the run anyway!! I have seen some very hard times and God always gets me through and He will continue till the end!!!
Take your own advice, rapture is never mentioned in the Bible. There are only 2 eventualities, a small group go to heaven, (144,000, not everyone) and those who survive Armageddon. Yes it is true we have to put faith in God, we do have to works backed b faith. God does not expect us to wait for him to save us. Remember the ultimate prepper, Noah.
The 144,000 only refers to Jews. The believers in Christ will be raptured BEFORE the 144,000 Jews are raptured. Although the word “rapture” itself may not be used, the Bible does mention a “falling away” or “catching away”, which IS rapture. The “experts” don’t agree as to whether the rapture will be “pre”, “mid”, or “post” tribulation, but the book of Revelations chpt 7:9 indicates that believers will be raptured during the 6th seal, and WILL go through some suffering, but perhaps not the WORST of it, because God wipes away their tears and they won’t be hurt or suffer ANY MORE!!! Ch7::16-17. There are some scriptures that indicate we’ll be raptured before God’s wrath is poured out (at least in it’s fullest), but we may be here while satan pours out his wrath, and some will be given over to death, and some believers will be proven during this time! And think about it, there is tribulation (to some degree) on the earth now, and has been in every generation! SO, do prepare, don’t be fearful, Do trust Jesus, even trust and ask him to guide you in your preparing. There have been many prophecies warning God’s people to prepare, so to Not prepare is to be disobedient, and to not be in faith, and you will suffer anytime you willfully disobey! Jesus will guide you & help you in your preparing. Mostly Hide the WORD OF GOD IN YOUR HEART in revelation and faith, that WORD is your greatest protection and provision WHEN you SPEAK it out of your mouth in LIVING FAITH!
You go! God bless you!
We the church forget we’re supposed to be grafted into Israel. The Jews are NOT separate from the church. What is promised to them is also promised to the Gentiles that are grafted in.
The deciding factor is the Messiah.
(I realize I’m misusing the term Gentile and that this is a super condensed comment–do your own research in the Bible with the Holy Spirit as your guide)
Hi there joi, I appreciate your reply about Jesus. We do have to have a personal relationship with Christ to spend eternity with him and he has brought me through many situations, but I believe he wants us to be prepared for a disaster, such as a tornado (which we were in) or a hurricane or even a shortage of gas in our country which will bring a lot of things to a halt. Especially food. We will certainly be raptured when Christ burst that Eastern sky, but disaster can happen before that. Don’t you go to the store and buy food for your family? God just doesn’t allow it to appear in your fridge, right. He expects us to heed the warnings and to be as prepared as we can be, Thanks.
sliced bananas dipped in pineapple and then dehydrated and asparagus spears, lemons & limes
My grandmother told me about making what they called “Leather Britches.” They would run a string thru the end of a green bean until they had a string of beans. This would be hung in the sun to dry or in a room that was heated by the sun (like an attic.) In winter the beans would be put into boiling water to reconstitute them. Not the same as preparing them in other ways, but if you’re hungry, and have some bacon to put in them, they taste pretty good.
those who are able and willing to return to this way of living has a viable chance to survive the troubles ahead .
We did not rotate our bean stock. How long are they good for we had a bag that said it expired in 2003 that looked fine to me
Dried Beans? As beans age they lose their oils, resist water absorption and won’t swell. Worst case, they must be ground to be used. They are sill edible, just might be crunchy.
I cook loads of tomato sauce, then run it through my Vitamix (blender) then dehydrate it on teflon sheets (or parchment paper) in my Excaliber like fruit leather. After it’s brittle dry, I run it through a coffee grinder making it into a powder. Reconstitute to use
I dry tomatoes, hot and sweet peppers, apples, cilantro and other herbs in my Excalibur dryer every year. They are tasty in soups and stews and since I dry it at a low temperature, always have the nutrients of fresh food.
One year we took the family and went to Death Valley for a few days. I took a bunch of apples and some pinapple juice and cookie sheets. I cut the aples into slices, dipped in the juice and put them on the cookie sheets and left to dry in the back window of the motorhome. They were yummy. You can also do this in the summer in a hot car – in the back set window or in a van anywhere the sun will hit them.
I live in the AZ desert so the patio and a cookie sheet work great…that is if the birds and stray cats leave things alone ;o]…
Do what my mother did.put a rack in a 9x13pan,put in meat or whatever,cover with a pane of glass&set on a roof in the sun.keeps out birds,cats,dogs,and ants.
I love making dehydrated fruit snacks. You can buy in the store, but full of sugar. I blend the fruit, add lemon juice to keep the color and stevia or tuvia to sweeten. Instead of pouring it on the dryer sheet as a full sheet – I call them fruit dollars and make them about the size of 2 silver dollars. I use waxed paper in the dryer so then I can just roll up the waxed paper, put in a bottle and vacuum pack them. they can also go in the freezer or fridge. However, once my kids see I have made a batch, they don’t last long. Try it – you’ll like it. When I was young, we lived on a farm and when we would butch, we would slice some of the meat very thin, cover with lots of pepper and hang on strings in the bedroom until dry. Wonderful jerky. We used the pepper to keep the flies off. My brother also said we could’t tell the pepper from the fly specks – but no fly would dare land on our peppered jerky! Have fun.
Try building a solar “out house: food dehydrator. http://youtu.be/oVTcnCuX2Qc If you combine this system with the solar pop can tech, then you would have “ONE MEAN DRYING MACHINE! Here is the pop can solar heater: http://youtu.be/pXYaO596cgY Now all you need is fruits and nuts! None of those here…LOL
Muriel,
You should write a book with illustration on how to make a dehydrator like your dad’s.
Dehydrated okra last year. Our children love them, says taste like popcorn. But willl be great in soups and stews later on.
We are living on the old family homestead. The farm has been in the family for just over 200 years.
In the back yard just out side of the back door is a foundation where a stacked brick drying oven was. There were 2 inch drawers where the food to be dried was placed. Then the sun heating the bricks produced the heat that dried the meat, fruits, and vegitables. So I guess this could be considered a Solar Drier. Of course this can be used year round. Only have to brush the snow off the outside bricks and they would still heat the inside. I can build one for you and show the pics if you cannot figure it out.
murial would you share some of your grandmother’s remedies? i use natural methods when i can like raw honey and colloidal silver but want to learn some remedies that i can find myself. do this with myself and my critters. thanks
I love pineapple and apricots both of which I prefer to purchase. It seems I can never get the right balance when I make them myself. Strawberries on the other hand are the best if I make them myself.
I too have a new found interest in dehydrated foods and have been experimenting. My oven obviously does not get a low enough temp to use as a dehydrator because like some of my other cooking trails in the oven food became crispy before it’s time :-) I currently have 2 experiments going with air drying green beans. One string of green beans, using a needle and heavy thread, was blanched and hanging in my kitchen window is not drying as fast as the other not blanched and hanging in my glassed in back porch here in FL. I am also trying a very basic electric dehydrator purchased as a yard sale for $5 with 5 trays. My next experiment is do to an old memory of my mother air drying foods between sheets of cheese stretched on a frame out in our southern Indiana back yard. After talking to a local farmer who still utilizes this method I believe I will try this method as well. He warned me not to place food on aluminum or fiberglass screens. He built a frame using chicken wire to support the cheese cloth, then placed food BETWEEN layers of cheese cloth that was stretched over the frame. I found in the local craft department plastic mesh used I believe for cross stitching that could be attached to a wood frame, the plastic mesh should be supportive to the weight of the food being dried and washable too. Thank you for helping us, help others. “Through Sharing We ALL Grow !”………
Muriel Mayo.. Please tell me how to purchase one of your Dad’s homemade dehydrators.. Pls contact me at shereelindsay@aol.com Thanks!
I grow many herbs and use them while they’re fresh but I also dry them, including drying onions and garlic. I crush or grind the the dried product and make an herb blend. With this blend, I include making herbal salts, using Real Salt. The real salts have the natural minerals and they taste better.
I use these herbs for everything – from meat rubs and main dishes to making my own salad dressings and vinaigrettes. When I give these blends as gifts – I usually have have second requests.
One of my favorite dehydrated snacks is honey and cinnamon apple slices. Instead of using lemon juice or ascorbic acid, I dip slices of apples in honey then sprinkle cinnamon on both sides of the apples… then dehydrate! They are a great snack or can be added to a blender with 1/2 cup of water for instant cinnamon applesauce.
To Murial Mayo, I have NEVER dehydrated anything. My mother “lockered” (this was before personal freezers). Do you have picture of your dehydrator? Any tips on what to do to get started?
I grew up canning and dehydrating fruits and veggies. My grand parents came from the “old country”, and canning and farming was a way of life for them. I just wish I had paid more attention when I had the chance. Now I have to learn on my own, but I’m still canning and dehydrating and learning more as I go. I still remember the flavor of fresh canned peaches in the middle of winter with snow on the ground. You just can’t buy that…
I hqve been dehydrating for as long as I can remember. I have one of the. Manyndehydrators my dad made 30 years ago 3×3 4 feet tall 8 racksracks were screen door mesh. The little fan in bottom with small heat element cost 99 cents. I can dehydrate 25 pounds od onionsto a time in 2days..15 pounds of red bell pepper in 2 days..cantalope is great. Dry my own seeds from garden..dry all garden vegtables together make a chpped veg medly to add to everthing like basil/parslyred peppers/garlic/cabbage/chantrell muushroom we pick/read about the health benifits of this one/carrots/sage/fennell/broccoli/I also blend these with hot peppers and add to salt wallla seasoning salt that’s WOW…after canning all our food s we eat also its hard to find anything in store that even tastes this good. Each week I can 10 quarts chicken or/turkey/beef/pork or all together broth and use this nutritional power house in everything/pasta/gravy soups/beans/potatoes/vegies/etc
Would you consider sharing your dehydrating skills more in depth? I would love to know more. I am a quite the beginner and prepping on my own for my family of 5. I did plant a garden this spring and looking for a way to use and store my harvest with little waste. I sure do miss my grandparents!
I have dehydrated canned and pickled almost everything imaginable,after being raised by naturalists its second nature. My Grandmother was a natural Doctor and she took me with her when harvesting her remedies. They worked better than I have seen
Do you have these remedies that you can share?
All the above information is certainly needed and necessary and would provide a parachute to help break the fall when we go over the cliff. The “if” we go over the cliff is no longer in question. Its “when” we go over the cliff thats important. When massive and complex problems exist the pills we take to treat the symptoms won’t be enough to save the masses. If we think the problems we now face only affect this country everybody needs to dig a lot deeper for the answers. There are many books and articles and scientific studies that have dug deep enough to get to the roots of the problems we face “globally”. The best one I have read on these issues is a book by Chris Martenson called “The Crash Course”. Read it, it will really open your eyes about what the future has in store for us and proovides estimates on when they will occur.