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Homesteading creates a different mindset for people. They become less reliant on things like supply chains and more focused on what they can grow, build, or create themselves. This naturally creates an environment that is somewhat resistant to things like recessions, where grocery prices rise and yet income seems to be dropping. When your dollar doesn’t go quite as far as you need or want it to, having a recession proof pantry can help save pennies and cents that you need for other things.
Recession Proof Your Pantry With Food Preservation Options
Fresh vegetables and fruits are super useful in the spring and summer, and a garden is one of the best and first steps in working to make your home safe from recession. However, most people lose their garden when the winter rolls around.
Bulk purchasing when prices are low is another step in creating a recession-proof pantry. You can pick up large boxes of fruits and vegetables when they’re in season. Do a herdshare to get dairy products and a cow or pig share for beef and pork. The problem with buying in bulk is storing all the food so it doesn’t spoil. It does nothing for your home’s finances if you buy food only for it to spoil before you can eat it.
There are three main ways to preserve food, including meat: Freezing, drying, and canning. All of them are part of creating the strongest pantry possible for your home with variety that keeps you from facing boredom.
Canning
When talking about food preservation to recession-proof your pantry, canning is often the first thing that pops to mind. While the number of homes that are using canning as a preservation method had been in decline coming out of the 1970’s, in recent years Millenials have found discovered a real interest in food preservation, and canning in particular. Why? Because canning can be fun!
Canning is a great way to preserve fruits, vegetables, and meats. It helps to take the strain off your freezer while providing a wide variety of prepared foods that just need to be reheated. Homesteaders should definitely be looking at canning as a way to supplement their survival or emergency rations. You absolutely can create canned soups and stews that are easily heated over an open flame if the power is out.
An important note about canning – I do not recommend using recipes that aren’t approved by the USDA or that do not come from an official canning resource. The exception is if you are pressure canning – small adjustments can be made to pressure canning recipes but always check the USDA Guide to Canning, your local university extension, or pick up a copy of the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. It’s my number one go-to for canning and pressure canning recipes.
Freezing
A recession proof pantry recognizes the limitations of safe food preservation with canning. There are just some recipes that you should not can at home because they cannot be canned safely. For these, your freezer is the next best choice.
Most vegetables can be frozen after being blanched. The next time you take a trip to the grocery store stop in the freezer aisles. Take a look at all the different vegetables that can be successfully frozen. You can even make your own zoodles!
Freezer preservation allows you to create one-dish dinners. You just pop that dish into your oven for a delicious dinner. Frozen foods have a totally different mouthfeel and give a wider variety of choices for meals than focusing solely on canning your goods. Frozen vegetables tend to be a little crisper than canned. Both, however, are very important for building a recession-proof pantry.
FreezEasy is our go-to for make-ahead freezer meals. You can join here: FreezEasy Monthly Plans and get fresh, new freezer meal ideas every month! Or, check out their shop here: FreezEasy Shop, for amazing products, kits, and individual meal plans! This has been a lifesaver for us. Chronic pain often means relying on these freezer meals to avoid fast-food or eating out.
Dehydrating
Dehydrating helps to round out your food preservation skills. It also bulks up your pantry with more fun foods like dried fruit and jerky. You can also use dehydrating to create your own emergency foods that can be rehydrated with hot water. Powdered milk, egg powder, and fruit leather are all made with dehydration.
The goal of dehydration is to remove all the moisture from foods so that they do not mold or mildew. If you live in a dry area you can dehydrate with sun or a solar dryer. If your oven can get lower than 200 degrees you can dry with your oven. Otherwise, you can purchase a dehydrator. Dehydration is done by providing air circulation and low-temperature heat to remove the moisture.
We use a Nesco dehydrator like this one here at Tractor Supply. We’ve used it to create oil-packed dried tomatoes, tomato powder, and lots and lots of delicious dried fruit for oatmeal!
The Recession-Proof Homestead Pantry
Using these food preservation methods, you can create a delicious range of recipes. It is entirely possible to build a pantry and food supply that can last six months with careful planning. By knowing how to preserve your food, you can stock up whenever you see good prices on food products. You can do a small batch of canning any time – you don’t have to set aside an entire weekend! Creating a recession proof pantry isn’t difficult, it just requires a little bit of learning and having the right tools at your disposal.
