Survival Foods

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by zeehag

at least the one you express is!

Thanks. The 'real' me is much different

[Tashtego]

Do you remember Swanson's (I think) freeze dried Beef and Bacon Bars. Does anybody make them anymore? If so, where can I get them?

[SvenG]

Originally Posted by Saucy Sailoress

Chocolate lasts forever, so long as it's kept in a fairly cool place.

And keep it under lock and key !



-Sven

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by mintyspilot

....................
"The great British legal case testing these questions was Regina v Dudley and Stephens in 1884. Cast adrift on a lifeboat 1,000 miles from land and close to death, sailors Thomas Dudley and Edward Stephens killed their cabin boy, Richard Parker, and with their shipmate Edmund Brooks survived on Parker's remains until they were rescued four days later, by which time all four would otherwise have probably perished.

Dudley and Stephens were brought to trial on their return to England, and the judges wrestled with Hugo Grotius and Pufendorf, Lord Bacon and Lord Hales, the concept of necessity, the right to self-preservation and other weighty considerations, before eventually pronouncing a verdict of guilty and imposing the death penalty. It was, however, commuted to six months' imprisonment."
.......

I had always believed that they were pardoned immediately after the guilty verdict was handed down - perhaps just another "fact" that I have wrong .

Originally Posted by Astrid

If I remember correctly, Navy lifeboat survival kits usually do have fish hooks and line.

I understood the principle function of the fishing line was to keep the occupants occupied while waiting for rescue, actually catching anything was just a by-product.

[Wotname]

Does anyone have experience of eating (and/or making) pemmican.

I have been intrigued by this food source for a long time but have never gotten around to making / eating it. Its history would indicate that it is a energy dense long lasting food - might taste awful of course .

As well as being a popular polar food in the heyday of polar exploration, I believe it was issued to British troops in the Boer war as emergency rations. The story I heard was that each soldier carried a sealed tin of pemmican (about the size of a tobacco tin) which could only be opened by direct order. It contained enough energy for a 24 hour forced march.

I realize there are now many more modern foods but apart from the taste, are these better and can they be homemade as easily. Again I am assuming that pemmican making is not that difficult (but I repeat - I have never tried t do it)>

[capt_douglas]

Pemmican is a concentrated food that is best consumed sparingly, when you are active, and not for an extended period of time. Consumption of hard fat can be unhealthy for sedentary people, and protein over consumption can overload the body with uric acid (which may lead to gout) and calcium oxalate (the mineral which forms kidney stones). Ketones may also build up in the system, causing kidney damage. (A sign of protein overconsumption is ketone breath, which smells like nail polish or overripe pineapple.)

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by JanetGroene

Having to provision for weeks and even months at a time without a freezer and usually no ice nor fridge, I'm very keen on some long-life (canned in nitrogen) survival foods but others are simply awful. A new feature on my blog, Janet Groene's BoatCook will be a Recipe of the Week using shelf-stable foods. (They can be, but don't have to be, survival packs.) I'll value input from all of you Out There. If you have an opinion or recipe please contact me at janetgroene@yahoo.com and let me know if you want to be mentioned by name or other ID. My #1 is hard red winter wheat, bought in cans (rat proof) and ground fresh as needed. It keeps for centuries and is a basic food unless one has celiac disease. #2 might be honey, which keeps forever and can be purchased almost anywhere. I can't stand TVP, although I can sometimes get the crumbles down without gagging. Sound off, please, here and/or e-mail me privately.

Freeze-dried mountaineering or survival food looks great -- a lightweight, elegant solution which I have used while camping.

It just has one disadvantage -- it's bloody expensive!!! It's many times as expensive as ordinary canned food. I don't think you have the same problem with weight on a cruising boat, as you do while camping, so I don't quite understand why one would turn to freeze-dried food.

We use ordinary canned food from Tesco, and have no trouble storing it under sole plates, under settees, and in abundant nooks and crannies on board. It's dirt cheap and there is a great variety of food available. A great advantage of cans is that they are robust and can be stored in almost any reasonably dry place -- just don't pile them up near your fluxgate compass!

[Astrid]

Pemmican--military and arctic expedition types:

How to Make Pemmican

[zeehag]

i normally live without fridge on board. i find i donot need to buy weird and specially prepared foods at ridiculously elevated prices. i rarely use canned foods in my life. i use fresh and i keep them fresh by using my cooler places on board for stowage. many places have small areas in which the families grow their own vegetables- i shop these family run veggie stands. most folks cruising , i find, use huge stores for reprovisioning where the prices are higher than those i find, and the food is not as fresh.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by capt_douglas

Pemmican is a concentrated food that is best consumed sparingly, when you are active, and not for an extended period of time. Consumption of hard fat can be unhealthy for sedentary people, and protein over consumption can overload the body with uric acid (which may lead to gout) and calcium oxalate (the mineral which forms kidney stones). Ketones may also build up in the system, causing kidney damage. (A sign of protein overconsumption is ketone breath, which smells like nail polish or overripe pineapple.)

Thanks Capt D for this input, I understand that it is not something to form one's main diet around but as a "survival food" onboard, it does seem to rate some merit.
It is concentrated, keeps well and without refrigeration (I assume), can be home made (easily?), should not be expensive (if homemade).

The main negatives (as I see it) apart from the above, it may increase you water requirements (??) and taste (??).

In a survival situation, I guess taste is not so important and I am thinking that one is usually forced to be active and that such situations are rarely long term

[barnakiel]

I think perhaps the survival thing has to be not so much about high energy (survival does not imply marching 24/7) but rather giving the body the elements without which the body will stop.

This is why water comes at the top of the list. I am not much into dietary things but probably simple sugars will come next.

Think of what the people in the hospital get while they cannot take normal food - what is this stuff?

b.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

I think perhaps the survival thing has to be not so much about high energy (survival does not imply marching 24/7) but rather giving the body the elements without which the body will stop.

This is why water comes at the top of the list. I am not much into dietary things but probably simple sugars will come next.

Think of what the people in the hospital get while they cannot take normal food - what is this stuff?

b.

Glucose (I think).
OK I am no expert (but I know there many on CF that will correct me if I am wrong - I hope).
My simple understanding is that essentially the body converts all foods (carbs. fats, proteins etc) into glucose and puts it in the bloodstream which then races around in the blood supplying fuel to all the various cells. Any left over after the circuit is then converted into fat and stored for later use if no more food is indigested.

Glucose is absorbed quickly into the blood, fats and proteins not so fast (refer to GI info).

Any food will help one survive - it is a case of what to take with you in the planning stage.

I guess I am differentiating between normal stores and a "special survival store" that keeps well and is compact.

Maybe this thread is more about alternate low cost long lasting "normal" stores - if so, I apologize for the thread drift.

BTW, normal everyday sugar is about 50% glucose & 50% sucrose and I understand that sucrose is not converted to glucose by the body (& therefore doesn't supply fuel for the cells) but it is converted to fat!

[Astrid]

Pemmican formed a part of a British soldier's iron ration during the 1880s and 90s (4oz) along with four one ounce chocolate bars. These rations were produced by Bovril in the UK. As stated earlier, this was part of the soldier's issue equipment and was not to be used unless all other forms of rations had been exhausted. The iron ration was considered to be sufficient for about 36 hours marching.

I would personally not recommend it except for emergencies, mostly because of the high fat content which is far above what modern nutritionists would consider to be healthy for the average person today. However, it is still commercially available through Canaway in Canada, Native American Natural Foods in Kyle South Dakota, or US Wellness Meats in Missouri. Be warned though, this stuff is instant hardening of the arteries with up to 50% tallow.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Wotname

.............

BTW, normal everyday sugar is about 50% glucose & 50% sucrose and I understand that sucrose is not converted to glucose by the body (& therefore doesn't supply fuel for the cells) but it is converted to fat!

Opps... stuffed that up - must have had a senior moment.

It should have read normal everyday sugar is sucrose which is about 50% glucose & 50% fructose. It is fructose that is not converted to glucose but is converted to fat. Thus 50% of sugar (sucrose) can be used as body fuel but the 50% becomes body fat - it is worse (fat wise) when using high fructose corn syrup.

[RiverRat]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Today I bought a small piece of ham.

It should last a while.

A French Chef and his French wife took me shopping.

They agreed with the taste / value / condition / conditions of sale (etc) of this Jamon and I was allowed to purchase it.

It now hangs in the aft cabin.

Looks like what they call in the Borough Market in London a TROTTER as it still has the hoof on it. MarkJ, does yours still have the hoof attached? Either way, I hope you have a good recipe for red beans and rice to use it with.