Ona scale of 1 to NASA, how tricky is it to make your own shelf stable meals?

One old time way was getting a barrel and putting a layer of salt in the bottom, then fish, then salt layer, fish, etc, until the barrel was full. That lasts a long time. But still not years.

Yeah nah

Can't be done.

beautiful

kidneys-be-gone

proper retort packaging can get you a couple years. you aren't doing it in your kitchen, consumer grade equipment is not designed for that and you need sterilization you're not prepared to provide, not-quite-vacuum vacpacking plus muh crushed vitamin c tablet may buy you a couple weeks.

for your plan you would literally do better going to your local chinese market and buying them out of retort jap curry. if you want actual food security, you're better dumping flour, rice, and beans into mason jars, maybe cooking some hardtack, and treating the inevitable worms as bonus protein.

You soak it in hot water, which removes most of the salt. This was extremely common.

oh.... well that makes sense.
thanks for the enlightenment dood.

While we're on the subject of making preserved food edible again, what's the best way to eat hard tack? I've heard the stories about Civil War soldiers breaking it up with rifle butts and then soaking it in coffee or frying it in lard, but are there other methods?

Sharpen the hardtack into spear and arrow heads and hunt for fresh meat

The Japs like to make it with cocoa or other flavorings, bake it a little less hard than US civil war spec (that shit was on open shelves for 20 years prior!), and just eat it plain. Soaking in coffee, tea, or milk is also an option. Gooks crumble it and mix with rock candy.

>You soak it in hot water, which removes most of the salt. This was extremely common.

Bad idea.

In case of a huge SHTF crisis, you're not gonna want to waste gallons of fresh water just trying to soak the salt out of your dried meats.

>5 years ideally

Even most military MREs have an expiration date of 2-3 years. Yeah steve 1989 eats shit thats 30 years old but he's not living off it.

Freeze dried foods can last 10-20 years when stored properly, but again, you gotta worry about adding water.

Kek.

Interesting approach from the Japanese there. I've made some hardtack myself a couple times, and the second time I replaced half of the flour with rolled oats. Seemed logical to me, get some more protein in the biscuits as well as some taste and texture. I can't say how it affected shelf-life though, since I ate them all over a month. I made the stuff more out of culinary curiosity than any real interest in food security or preparedness.

The Calorie Mate memefood from Metal Gear Solid is a very soft Japanese hardtack, for perspective. My favorite flavor is cocoa but you can also get cheese, fruit, and maple versions, as well as retort pouch drinks with apple or citrus jellies, and canned drinks with those three beverages or corn chowder. I'd try any of those options while reconstituting the harder stuff.

and yeah, baking your own with any of these will reduce shelf life significantly. it can just be done on an industrial scale and still last 2-3 years when shipped in a sealed foil pack.

You can make most things shelf stable by extracting all the water and adding salt.

Both sugar and salt are shelf-stable and add excitement to every piece of 'tack.

eating preserved food makes you into a zombie
youtube.com/watch?v=IcpzqZrpLVM

Is this doomsday underground bunker prepping we are talking here or is gardening an option. If so I would suggest you pack some seeds away.

Pickling is also an option for long shelf life.