Glad you caught that. I was a little rushed as I was waiting to unload. It should actually be 1 Atmosphere INCREASE per 10 meters of WATER DEPTH. This is important because the Specific Gravity of a fluid can change the pressure (in Atmospheres) at depth. For instance, if you were to dive down a 100-meter shaft filled with a liquid chemical denser than water, the pressure would be greater.

Solar Dehydrating
 

Solar dehydrating is the most economical method of preserving food for the long term. Only smoking meat requires fewer resources to preserve food.

The best "homemade" dehydrator I ever saw was comprised of:

1 solar blanket
1 bug net
2 saw horses
2 old aluminum framed screen doors

The screen doors were laid flat on the saw horses to form a rack on which the food was "sandwiched" in between them on wax paper with 1" gaps between the lines of wax paper (for air flow). The solar blanket was attached to the back of the doors (where the hinges had been) and laid to the ground under the feet of the saw horses to reflect the sunlight upwards from underneath the two doors. The bug netting was laid over top of the two doors to act as an extra layer of bug/bird protection. The solar blanket would ramp the temperature up on the screen doors to over 120F degrees. The aluminum would absorb and hold the heat. It would dehydrate tomatoes in a day. It was also used to dry seeds for the following year's garden.

Cars would also make good dehydrators. Just put racks in the cabin, crack the windows and cover them with bug nets to protect the food. The interior of a car will easily exceed the 105F to 118F heat needed for dehydration.

Dehydrating Food In Twilight2000:

Dehydrating food is a skill Easy(2 X Skill): Survival and takes 24 to 48 hours depending on the food item being dehydrated. If stored properly in a dry place at 72F/22C, the food will remain fresh for 1D6+6 months.

Temperature and Food Storage:

Most food using pre-industrial storage/preservation methods will last the longest when stored in a dry place at 72F/22C. A change in temperature of just 20F/11C will double or halve the shelf life of the food in question. At 52F/11C, the food will last TWICE AS LONG. At 92F/33F, the shelf life of stored food will BE HALVED.

trash into (edible) treasure.
 

I sometimes dried my sage, basil, and catnip by placing them in the car in paper bags on a hot day. The bags allowed airflow but kept the sun directly off the herbs.

Hmmmm...with a little fudging and jackleg mechanic work---cut several panels out of the car roofs and trunk lids, insert scavanged windshields, maybe install a remote watering supply system--IV tubes or aquarium tubing leading to individual pots or beds. You can make mobile greenhouses to extend your growing/seedling-planting season. Mobile in the sense that if you release the parking brake, the greenhouse can be steered out of shadow into afternoon light.

Initially those Ball jars and lids will probably be the only thing left on the looted or cleaned out store shelves., later, people might be pouring wax on top of food in a variety of bottles and jars, paraffin and the like will be worth their weight to stash away.

https://youtu.be/E7_f-jmmGdQ I'm reposted this from cuisine thread in case someone missed it. There's a tone of these, and he's just one of many ration/nre reviewers. The us Korean war b1&b2 unit episode is the best. Best example of food keeping, and going bad.

And pressure cookers/canners and extra gaskets and weights. Seeing how food can be quickly cooked in a pressure cooker, this would be helpful in fuel savings. Hmmm...multiple focused solar reflectors plus pressure cooker = fuelless rapid cooker?:cool:

Someone has already pointed out that paraffin sealing of jars is only suitable for high-sugar jams and such. You can't preserve veggies that way. Veggies, especially non-acidic ones, need to be pressure canned with good seals. Elsewise, food poisoning or worse: my Junior-High science teacher taught us that the best way to kill yourself is to poorly-can stringbeans, because they have a tendency to generate botullism toxin. Maybe a good way of creating paralyzing poison for a blowgun dart? Or would the required dosage be rather large?

Canning For The Apocalypse
 

Canning is a method of food preservation that has been around since the Napoleonic Wars. It uses a "three piece" jar consisting of a wide mouth mason jar, an inner lid, and a threaded lid that holds the expandable inner lid in place. Everything but the inner lid is reusable. Just increase the item's wear value by 1 for each use until it EXCEEDS 10 (at which point it is unusable).

Water Bath Canning:

This system uses boiling water to seal the canning jars and preserve the food. It requires that the food be acidic in nature to prevent the growth of bacteria as the seal on Water Bath cans is not as strong as pressure canning. Common items that can be Water Bath canned would be:
-Fruit
-Pickles
-Tomatoes

* NEVER use an Aluminum, Copper or Iron pot to boil the jars. A chemical reaction can occur that will ruin your food (or at least discolor it). A Stainless Steel pot is the number one choice here.

To Water Bath can you place the jars in a pot so that water can circulate COMPLETELY around the jars (there are special racks that fit in pots for this) as well as over the top of them. You must leave room in the jars for expansion of the food and water in them. You will boil for about 30 Minutes (varies with altitude) and remove the cans from the pot and let them sit. The jars will "hiss" and "pop" as the inner lids expand and form a vacuum seal. The jars should be allowed to sit and "settle" for 24 hours. This allows the pressure inside the jar to equalize with the outside. You will know if the process was successful if you press on the inner lid (the part that expands) and it DOESN'T move. This means the seal is good. A lid that moves has a bad seal and must be used in just 1D6 days.

Raw/Cold Packed Vegetables: These vegetables will have air trapped inside the food that can escape and cause spoilage. You may store cold packed vegetables for 1D3 Months before they will begin to spoil.

Hot packed Vegetables: These are vegetables that have been cooked (eliminating the air inside the food) and then Water bath canned. These vegetables will last for 1D10 Months before spoilage will begin to set in.

Pressure Canning:

This can be used for ALL foodstuffs as the pressure creates a MUCH STRONGER SEAL than Water Bath Canning. The preparation is exactly the same for Water Bath Canning but you must boil the food in a pressure cooker at a pressure based on your altitude for 10 Minutes. The jars must then settle like those above. They can be checked just like Water Bath jars BUT BE CAREFUL! PRESSURE SEALED JARS CAN EXPLODE IF JOSTLED TOO MUCH. I let them sit for at least 30 minutes before handling them. Any "exploding" food jars will be spectacular but not really capable of causing injury to anyone at least a meter away. The food will be ruined by glass shards, though. Pressure Canned foods will last for 1D6+6 Months when stored in a cool (72F/22C) dry place.

Canning: This is a task Easy(2 X Skill): Cooking, or Routine(1.5 X Skill): Survival. Failure means the food is cooked and must be consumed before it spoils.

Canning Kits:

21 Quart Water Bath Canning Kit: Contains 1 Stainless Steel Pot, 7 Jar Rack, a Wide Mouth Funnel, Ladle, Lid Wand, and Tongs. Jars are NOT included. Price: $60 (V/V), Wt: 4kg, Bulk: 10.

10 Quart Pressure Canning Kit: Contains 1 Pressure (4 1-Quart Jars/7 Pint Jars) Vessel, Rack, Funnel, Ladle, Lid Wand, and Tongs. Jars are NOT included. Price: $259 (V/V), Wt: 6kg, Bulk 10.

30 Quart Pressure Canning Kit: Contains 1 Pressure Vessel (14 1-Quart Jars/19 Pint Jars), Funnel, Ladle, Lid Wand, and Tongs. Jars are NOT included. Price: $379 (C/C), Wt: 12Kg, Bulk 30.

1-Quart Canning Jars With Lids (1 dozen): Price: $25 (V/V), Wt: 2Kg, Bulk: 3 each jar.

1-Pint Canning Jars With Lids (1 dozen): Price: $14 (V/V), Wt: 1Kg, Bulk: 1 per jar.

as always, use what you will and ignore the rest.

Swag.

I'll remind you that according to Traveller:2300, one of teh dew positive outcomes of the Twilight War was that humanity discovered how tasty rat was; it was still a favored dish in 2300 - well after the Twilight War.

Uncle Ted

And the meat farms on Aurora (Kafer Dawn) were stocked with rabbits, and guinea pigs, which are enormously efficient in meat to bone percentage. Rats, I'd imagine, are pretty close.

I would be afraid to let her out. Unlikely that she went in willingly.

Also MRE's found at 29 Palms by civilian cleaning crews have poisoned more than a few.

Must have been GEN 1 MREs. They were REALLY HORRENDOUS!!! The drill Sergeants would give us C-Rations with them because you would open them up and 50% of the time mold spores would "explode" from the package. The "pork patty" and the "beef patty" BOTH tasted EXACTLY THE SAME...like Soy.

Didn't you pay attention to the "Front--Toward Enemy" label on those Biological Warfare units?:D

Some of you may (or may not) know of the following two actual cases -

1) A London based Providore had taken over an older company (late 80's or early 90's IIRC) and was clearing out its old warehouse. At the very back (or in an out of the way corner) were a quantity of rough packing crates. On opening them, they found rusty cans ... but ones that had not popped (aka 'blown' ... gone off) ... but no labelling.

No one knew their provenance. But, after some searching, they discovered the cans were of Crimean War vintage. They had one of the London based Universities open some of the cans to run tests ... they found that inside was a Beef Broth which, though it was a bit rusty (these were iron cans, not galvanised or plastic coated on the inside) it was perfectly safe.

No. None of the scientists were game to eat it, but they were sure it wasn't contaminated ... they also weren't sure how much caloric value it had, but figured not all that much.

A lot of 'use by' dates are polite fictions ... Chocolate, for example, has one (here in Oz, anyway) ... but Chocolate that's foil wrapped doesn't go off within your lifetime or mine. Worst that happens is that it goes rock hard and develops a milky brown surface skin, but remains perfectly edible.

So you can assume that properly (or fortuitously) stored canned goods will last a lot longer than the Use By date would suggest ... a heck of a lot longer.

2) In Darwin during WW2 a new officer was taking over as Supply Officer on a Bathurst class Corvette and (either a really dumb move or a really smart one, depending) insisted on doing a full inventory before he signed off on receipt.

In one of the vessel's storerooms was a wooden keg. Marked with a broad arrow (aka 'HMG issue'). With what they thought was a serial number. 1815. Couldn't figure out what the heck it was, so they opened it ... inside was salt meat in brine. Still looked good, though the bits that stuck up over the then level of the brine were ... well, mummified. They realised that they '1815' was the YEAR it had been laid down.

As far as they could figure it had been kicked from ship to ship as an old one decommissioned and a new one took on stores ... since 1815.

So don't assume that preserved foods of any sort will go off as fast as the Use By date regime in your country implies they will.

Phil

What is your thought on the reusable canning jar lids? I do not can, but know some who do, and they are about 50-50 on saying they suck, or are the best thing ever.

My wife and I took a canning and preserving class presented by the Penn State Agricultural Extension, and their take on the matter was one lid, one use. If there's a reuseable form of lid, they didn't mention it.

There are, here is the first link I found to it (also I think a photo of it.)
https://www.lehmans.com/product/reus...FRSEfgodqVYLjA

No, it still happens since MRE's are "wet pack", the temperature turns their shelf life to months. A few supply sergeants have been jailed for failure to rotate stock and poisoning troops also. I think they are getting the message, the citizens, don't listen. A cache of bad food can start any number of plots. Stolen bad rations being used to undermine reconstruction efforts, looking for medical help, etc.

I've never used them either. I knew they existed because I've seen ads for them. I Pressure Can just like Mom and Grandma taught me to as a kid. If it's not broken, I don't fix it.

The other
 

GOLDEN RULE

MRE time and temperature indicator.
 

Since about 2000, cases of MREs have had small stickers on them that are intended to indicate if they have been exposed to high heat and thus might have gone bad.

It starts off as a small (about 1 inch square) orange sticker with a black circle and orange square inside. If they have been exposed to heat, and have likely gone bad, the center turns black.

Even when some components of the MRE have gone bad, other items are still edible. The main component (beef stew might be bulging and obviously bad) but the crackers, M&Ms, beverage powder, oatmeal bar... are usually good to go.

Approximate Preservation Times by Preservation Method
 

Here are some of the most common methods of food preservation and the average amount of time that the preserved food should last. The chart will also list a Check Frequency representing how often a check for spoilage must be made once the preservation time is exceeded.

Refrigerated Foods: This storage method involves holding the food in an environment of 40F/5C down to 33F/1C. The typical lifespan of refrigerated foods before a check for spoilage are:
Beef: 7 days before spoilage begins. Check Frequency: 1 day.
Lamb: 6 days before spoilage begins. Check Frequency: 1 day.
Pork/Produce: 5 days before spoilage begins. Check Frequency: 1 day.
Poultry/Fish: 2 days before spoilage begins. Check Frequency: 1 day.

Frozen Foods: This storage method involves holding foods at temperatures of 32F/0C for longer term storage. The typical lifespan of frozen foods is:
Beef/Vegetables: 12 months before spoilage begins. Check Frequency: 1 month.
Fish/Lamb: 10 months before spoilage begins. Check Frequency: 1 month.
Pork: 8 months before spoilage begins. Check Frequency: 1 month.
Poultry: 15 months before spoilage begins. Check Frequency: 1 month.

Freeze Dried/Processed Food: This commercial storage method involves both dehydrating and then freeze-drying food. It is most commonly used for making camping/backpacking foods (such as the Mountain House brand). This food is the civilian equivalent of an MRE. The lifespan of this food is 5 years with a Check Frequency of 1 year.

Commercial Canned Foods: This represents commercially canned foods such as Campbell's soups or Dinty Moore beef stew. This food counts as an MRE for consumption because it too is "fortified" with added vitamins and minerals. The average lifespan of the typical canned good is 24 months with a Check Frequency of 6 Months after the listed expiration date. Dented cans add one to the Check for spoilage roll.

Enhanced Commercially Canned Foods: This represents commercially canned, specially prepared, "survival rations" like the products CMMG prepares (I highly recommend their Tactical Bacon if you can afford it). This food is the equivalent of an MRE but cost 10X as much. The shelf life of this food is 10 years and the Check Frequency is 1 year.

Smoked Meats: This is one of the most common primitive methods of food preservation. Smoked meats have a life expectancy of 1 month before spoilage begins. The Check Frequency is 1 week for smoked meats.

Sun Dried/Dehydrated Foods: This method of preservation involves "sun drying" or dry heat preservation (placing food in a hot and dry environment such as a car's cabin on an open grate/screen). It can be used for a variety of foods. The lifespan of Dried foods is 1 month and the Check Frequency is 1 month.

Dry Cured (salted) Foods: This is another method of preservation using spices and salts to infuse the food and then "cure" it over a low heat (you can use an oven to do this). This is how beef jerky is made. The lifespan of Cured meat is:
Beef/Fish/Lamb/Pork: 24 months before spoilage occurs. Check Frequency is 1 month.
Poultry: 12 months before spoilage occurs. Check Frequency is 1 month.

Wet-Packed/Cured (salted) Foods: This form of salt curing involves a chemical cocktail using salt and other preservatives to "cure" meats BUT allow them to remain "soft" when cooked. The finished product is often canned (like European Canned Hams) or sealed in barrels of brine water. This preservation method was commonly used for bulk rations until WW2. The average lifespan before spoilage of wet-packed, cured meats is 5 years. The Check Frequency is 1 year.

Canning/Pressure Canning of Foods: This method of preservation involves bringing the food in question to a boil under pressure to create a "seal" on the glass container it is in. If the food IS ACIDIC, you can create the seal using only the pressure from the boil. For other foods, you must boil the jars in a "pressure cooker," which increases the pressure inside the jar to create a more powerful seal. The lifespan of "Canned" food is 12 months with a Check Frequency of 1 month.

Confit Preservation: This method of preservation is used with "greasy" meats such as Duck, frog legs, or other "oily" foods. It involves "slow cooking" the meat in Lard/Fat for a period of time until the Fat mixes with the oils in the meat and "renders" to a creamy texture. This boils off the water and O2, preserving the meat under a layer of fat. It is then often sealed in an air-tight container and can last a fairly long time. As a bonus, the meat is very tasty cold (unlike most of its contemporary preservation methods). The shelf life of Confit is 3 months with a Check Frequency of 1 month.

Checking For Spoilage:

When a Spoilage Check is called for (by the Check Frequency of the Storage Method), you must roll 1d20. The following modifiers apply to this Spoilage Check:

+1 for each previous Spoilage Check made (or Check Frequency period exceeded).
+1 for every 10F/5.5C of temperature OVER 70F/20C or fraction thereof.
+2 for damaged food packaging (rusted cans)
+1 for dented cans which are still sealed
-1 for every 10F/5.5C of temperature BELOW 40F/5C

Any roll of 20 or more indicates spoilage has occurred. You must then check the Food Spoilage Table in the next posting to see HOW the food is contaminated.

Food Contamination Table:
 

Below is a table you can use to determine HOW a food source may be contaminated.

Food Contamination Tables:

25+........... Radiological AND Chemical Contamination (roll on BOTH tables)
23 to 24..... Radiological Contamination
21 to 22..... Chemical Contamination
18 to 20..... Viral Contamination
15 to 17..... Parasitic Contamination
10 to 14..... Bacterial Contamination
05 to 09..... Mold/Surface Spoilage (10% to 60% of food)
01 to 04..... Rancid Food (see below)

Modifiers to the Contamination Tables:

+1 20km from a crater
+1 Devastated/Anarchy
+2 10km from a crater
+5 5km from a crater
+10 1km from a crater
+1 for freshwater fish (versus saltwater fish which are MORE resistant to bacteria and parasites)

Radiological Contamination: Add the modifiers above to the roll.
20+........... Heavy Contamination of 1D10 X 10 Rads.
15 to 19..... Moderate Contamination of 1D20 Rads.
09 to 14..... Light Contamination of 1D10 Rads.
01 to 08..... Trace Contamination of 1D6 Rads.

Anyone exposed to Radiological contamination can "bind" RAD ingested food and reduce exposure by 1D6 Rads by taking a dose of Potassium Iodine.

Chemical Contamination: add the modifiers above to the roll.
21+.......... Contamination resembling Blood Agent (1-3) or Blister Agent (4-6).
16 to 20.... Very Dangerous Chemicals/Heavy Metals (see below).
11 to 15.... Dangerous Chemicals/Heavy Metals (see below).
06 to 10.... Fairly Dangerous Chemicals (see below).
01 to 05.... Toxic Chemicals (see below).

There are a number of treatments to bind or treat chemical poisoning, from Atropine to Lithium Dioxide injections (for certain heavy metal poisonings). Finding an appropriate treatment requires an average of Chemistry and Medical skills.

Viral Contamination: Nothing is added to this roll.
18 to 20.... Hepatitis-C
13 to 17.... Hepatitis-A
07 to 12.... Norovirus (minor flu-like virus)
01 to 06.... Rotavirus (minor flu-like virus)

Parasitic Infestation: Nothing is added to this roll
20............ Tapeworm (see below)
15 to 19.... Amoebic Dysentery
10 to 14.... Cryptosporidium (as a minor illness)
01 to 09.... Giardia (as a minor illness)

Bacterial Infection:
20............. Botulism Toxin or Campylobacter (in seafood), (see below)
15 to 19..... Typhoid Fever
10 to 14..... Cholera
01 to 09..... Minor Food Poisoning (Listeria, Salmonella, etc...) (see below).

Explanation of Table Results:

Heavy Radiological Contamination: In addition to inducing Radiation sickness based on the character's current exposure level, the ingestion of this much radiation will force the character to roll against his STR, CON, and AGL as though he had hit an aging point during character creation. Rolling his characteristic score or less on 1D10 will result in the loss of a characteristic point.

Very Dangerous Chemical Contamination: This contamination will resemble a Flu with severe disorientation (Serious fatigue for 1D6 days) and a Chance of Fatality of 5 (see Diseases in Twilight2000). In addition, the character will have to make rolls against his CON, STR, AGL, and INT Characteristics due to the poisoning. the player must roll above his current stat on 1D10, or lose one point just like the aging roll in character generation does. If he is treated by someone (or a team) with BOTH Medical AND Chemistry skills and they succeed at a DIFFICULT roll of the combined skills, he may add 1 to the 1D10 roll.

Dangerous Chemical Contamination: This is the same as Very Dangerous contamination above EXCEPT that there is NO roll against INT because there is no "cognitive/neurological damage" from the exposure.

Fairly Dangerous Chemical Contamination This poisoning has a 1 Chance of Fatality (see Diseases in Twilight2000), and results in a Light level of Fatigue (1d6 days) if treated successfully (an Average chance using Chem & Medical). Unsuccessful treatment results in a Moderate Level of Fatigue (1D6 days) and a roll against STR, CON, and AGL or lose a point of characteristic.

Toxic Chemical Poisoning: This poisoning has a 1 Chance of Fatality (see diseases in Twilight2000) IF treatment fails (treatment is the same as Fairly Dangerous Chemical Poisoning). There is a Light level of Fatigue (1D6 days) if successful, and a Moderate Level of Fatigue (1D6 days) if unsuccessful. There is NO characteristic loss for this poisoning.

Parasitic Infestations: All of these can be destroyed by cooking the food (be careful of those post-apocalyptic salads boys and girls), but only the Tapeworm poses a true LONG-TERM threat. 1D6 months after infection, a Tapeworm will inflict a CONSTANT Light level of Fatigue. Additionally, the player will have to consume 2X the normal amount of rations or gain fatigue. Finally, the character must roll against STR, CON, and AGL every YEAR until the tapeworm is surgically removed or they die.

Botulism Toxin/Campylobacter: These food poisonings are very dangerous and the 5 Fatality Rating in the Twilight2000 Disease rules refers to these toxins. They both can cause long-term neurological issues so a Characteristic Loss roll like those for Chemical Poisoning above is mandated ON A FAILED TREATMENT ROLL. Successful treatment results in NO characteristic losses.

Minor Food Poisoning: The more common types of Food Poisoning have only a 1 Chance of Fatality (instead of Twilight2000's 5) and will result in no complications for the sufferer.

Mold Contamination: This contamination can be easily removed and from 10% to 60% of the food will be lost. There is a small chance of a more serious event, though. On a natural roll of 20 (on 1D20), There is Staph present in the contaminated food. The character will contract an infection from consuming UNCOOKED food (Vegans beware) based on their current condition: Healthy= 2 in 20, Lightly Wounded=4 in 20, Moderately Wounded= 6 in 20, Seriously Wounded= 8 in 20, Critically Wounded= 10 in 20, Deadly Wounded= 12 in 20. This is just the same as the infections described in the rules.

Rancid Food: Rancid food is the cousin to "Skunk Water" (see the Water Purification thread). The food is not contaminated but has begun to spoil. The characters CAN eat the food IF they can get past the horrible taste. The Character must roll under their CON or vomit up the "unpalatable food." If the roll fails by more than 5, the character becomes sick for 1d3 days (as a minor illness).

I hope this adds some depth to your gaming experience. As always, use what you want and ignore the rest.

Swag.

Cool!:)

Water Glassing: The Storage of Raw, Unwashed Eggs
 

Here is a method of storing RAW eggs for winter use.

https://youtu.be/bTlcCvvUjl0



You would add one ounce of HYDRATED LIME (by weight) to a quart of clean water. Then just add clean BUT UNWASHED eggs to this solution and cover to prevent evaporation & dirt or bug intrusion into the container of lime water. For those using the Food Contamination Table, you would start checks at EIGHT MONTHS and check each month thereafter for spoilage.

Swag

Preserving Eggs With Townsends
 

Here are 6 methods of egg preservation with success rates from Townsends.

https://youtu.be/yUYgguMz1qI

Swag

A Q&A with Townsends, Storing Potatoes Advice