Storing Food in T2K

[.45cultist]

Originally Posted by WallShadow

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?

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?

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

[swaghauler]

Originally Posted by .45cultist

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.

[WallShadow]

Originally Posted by swaghauler

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?

[aspqrz]

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

[.45cultist]

Originally Posted by swaghauler

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.

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.