Four Cooking Items You Shouldn’t Forget to Stockpile

Much consideration is given to stockpiling food for an emergency. In fact, food and water are often the top two items one thinks about when preparing for an uncertain future.

Too often, however, we forget about how we’re going to prepare that survival food. You can survive on bland food for as long as necessary, as long as it’s nutritious. But if the crisis lasts more than a week or so, you’re going to want some variety.

Among the items that will help you prepare your survival food – and add some different tastes that will alleviate boredom at mealtime – are salt, spices, sugar and oil.

Cooking Oil

It’s a great idea to include cooking oil in your survival stash. For one thing, it will add much-needed calories to your diet.

In addition to aiding in the cooking process, olive oil and coconut oil can double as a skin care helper. Adding oil to damp wood or other flammables will help them burn longer, which will be useful when you’re trying to get a fire going.

You can also use cooking oil for rust-proofing knives and other tools, preserving vegetables and for emergency fuel.

Salt

Salt adds flavor to many foods, and it’s also a great preservative when you need to make that food last. Native Americans used it frequently while curing and drying meat.

This essential mineral cannot be produced by our bodies. And when we do get enough of it from food, much of it gets eliminated in bodily fluids.

Now, there has been much talk in recent years about how harmful salt can be for us. Too much of it is included in processed foods, so stay away from them.

One of the great things about salt is that if it’s stored properly, such as in food-grade buckets or Mylar bags, it will last for decades. So make sure you stockpile some.

Sugar

Sugar has been labeled as another no-no, but again, it’s due to the excessive amount of sugar that is placed in many processed foods.

Our bodies manufacture sugar from various foods that are rich in carbohydrates, including cereal and fruits. Like salt, sugar can last a long time if stored properly.

In a survival situation, you can use sugar to create an energy drink that will keep you awake while dealing with a stressful situation.

Sugar is also useful for preserving food, curing meat, treating wounds and even killing cockroaches.

Spices

Spices will not only provide flavor for your food, which will be a key to variety for your taste buds, but they can also be medicinal.

Cinnamon, curry, cumin and ginger are among the spices you might want to stockpile. Others include black pepper, turmeric, oregano, garlic, chili powder, bay leaves, thyme and mustard powder.

You can also add spices to teas. As with sugar and salt, make sure to store your spices properly. There’s no way to know how long a crisis will last.

Stockpiling the essentials including food, water, flashlights, batteries, etc., is crucial to survival. But adding cooking oil, salt, sugar and spices to your stash will make surviving a lot easier.