The Brexit Cupboard Part 2

[PerverseConverse]

Following on from the fantastic thread of the weekend, I thought we'd continue discussing our brexit cupboards and boxes here. Here's to all the preppers and their cupboards, no matter what they contain. (Keep quiet about your stash in real life).

I'm probably not the best help with popping corn Graphista as I don't measure quantities. But my method is roughly the same as bluechameleon - note that you need way fewer corn kernels than you think, they expand to very much larger volume and very vigorously, this is also the reason why a pan with a lid is a good idea. I suppose if you don't have a pan lid, a sturdy heatproof plate would do the job...

Aveeno hand cream and body lotion. I've discovered today it's made in Greece.

I MIGHT have a lid for one pan I'm not sure (will check when doing "kitchen audit" on wed)

Couple handfuls unpopped corn about right? For 2 people?

Yes @Graphista. And get lids. I've discovered a pan will simmer on the lowest possible heat with a lid in place. I'm a lid convert these days.

Graphista start off with a small amount, single layer as suggested. I once chucked too much into a too small pan and watched wide eyed with the DC as the lid rose up on a column of popped corn 🤦‍♀️😁

The best thing for popcorn is a pan with a clear lid, then you can watch it pop which is great fun.

Definitely do less rather than more, I wouldn't cover the whole of the bottom of the pan with kernels, more like 2/3. Also, when it seems like it's done and the popping has stopped, give the pan a good shake (with the lid on) and a few more will pop. That said, there always seem to be a few kernels which don't pop at all for some reason.

You barely need any corn for a good amount of popcorn. The packet says 50g, I think. We still have half a bag, but I might get another one.

My mind is boggled by those people not using lids! It's much more fuel-efficient to use lids as you get to the boil more quickly and can use a lower heat (and less fuel) for cooking. Learn to love your lids! 😂

(Autocorrect changed that to kids! )

Feverfew tonic water is made in the Netherlands

There's an AIBU thread just now about having a "survival kit" in the car in winter. Not seen a single post saying either "don't go out in snow" or "of course it won't be needed, are you mad?".
And the difference between that and getting a 3 day buffer (or more) of food in the house is .....

Obviously no one has a crystal ball, but do you reckon (if you have the money, space and ability), 1 month supply of general foods (obviously limited variety), would be sufficient? Also a bit of cash? Not sure about going any further re water/ power supplies?

I think being able to feed your family fully for a month (not on rations) is a good level to have achieved.

I also think if you can go further then you will probably have given yourself a good financial buffer.

I'm personally not specifically prepping for fuel or water issues related to Brexit (but in general always have water purification tablets in the house plus a bottle of bleach and some bottled water just in case - plus we have wood for the wood burner)

Sorry if it has already been discussed, but what to do about elderly relatives at other end of the country who think prepping is silly and unicorns are coming. I surreptitiously checked their cupboards and they are pretty bare. I am so worried about them.

@ElenadeClermont I'd suggest they do as Bellini suggests and have enough for 3 days. My mum was a bit to start with (she's 79 and only has her state pension) but is now on board with prepping and has decent supplies. Can you take anything for them on a visit?

I'd make a mini stash for them, say milk (powdered/uht/whichever), favourite cereal (my late mum was told by a nutritionist that at least these had vitamins), Couple of tins of potatoes, couple of tins of fave veg, couple of tinned pies, couple of tins of fave fruit, little box of custard. Loo roll.
Or shelf stable equivalents if what they like.
I am pretty confident that vulnerable people will take priority but make sure you have emergency numbers for them.
Not sure how willing they are but my stubborn mum lived her emergency pendant thing. The council helped her install it (the council were fab). It is set up specifically to focus on older people. And any mistaken calls too. They were cool about that.

How about doing relatives an internet delivery. My DParents keep saying I'm fussing but have a small stash to humour me. I am also sending them an internet delivery. They'll raise their eyebrows but they will accept it.

The waving things through ... Sorry I'm going to come back to that. Adulterated and counterfeit food is a nightmare when it becomes commonplace. It's not grano padano being substituted for your parmeggiano. It's unsafe, unnourishing, bad things to put in your body. You pay extra in order to not have your food fried in transformer oil as far as you know. It will increase the divide in food quality between rich and poor exponentially.

HMRC is not saying the waiving through will be a permanent state of affairs. Its just to keep things moving on 29th March and for a few weeks/months after that since they have no customs systems set up. The customs duty still has to be paid and the paperwork submitted but this will be done remotely.

I agree that things coming in without checks is asking for trouble but its the lesser of two evils IMO. I don't think we should be in this place but I'd rather have some crappier products coming in and removing the risk of those on low incomes struggling with no food.

The reality is that some will take advantage of the short term lax customs controls to try bring in things that shouldn't come in or to under declare which will have an impact on customs revenue. I'm sure its also worth the risk for some to try to bring guns, drugs, people in whilst things are disorganised. But the vast majority of what comes in is normal stock ordered by the large retailers and there will still be the ability to do all the normal checking that is done now, its just that the extra customs checks required due to the fact that we won't be part of the EU won't be done for a while.

I'm pleased on balance. If this happens the risk of severe problems is lower.

Thanks. They are fussy eaters, so maybe closer to the time I shall make a care pack for them and DH will take it to them at the end of March. They might accept it from him.
They have the emergency pendant thing, but they only really use it to be very rude to the staff.

'Guess your own customs duty' will probably mean price rises - again it's all about market uncertainty.

How the Bank of England is planning to keep inflation down and exports competitive, well that I'd really like to know.

Wiltshire Farms ready meals helped my mum. Freezable. Good range and service. My fussy/patchy eater mum found ones that suited

Thank you @bellinisurge

I wonder whether people will stop prepping now after news story about lorries being waived through?

I have been thinking about this. I was very relieved at the announcement, though it's what I expected anyway and we don't know if it will be a permanent state of affairs. But it seems to me the upsides outweigh the considerable downsides.

Myself I hadn't yet got to the stage of buying things I don't normally buy. Few more tins than normal when we don't eat that much tinned food and stuff like tinned ham and fruit had only ever really been in as a back up/emergency, but other than that, it was things we buy normally. Just a couple of months worth of them! So we have enough dry pasta to last until well into summer, for example. Squash and cookies of a particular brand because the kids love those and the use by date isn't until the end of the year.

So I don't think I will now get things that we don't really want but that would be long life. For example, my household goes through quite a bit of milk but none of us like UHT much. And milk would take up a lot of space in the freezer. There would have been a decision to make by maybe mid to late March about whether to get any UHT, and now hopefully there won't be.

I do however expect prices to increase and also quality to potentially decline if checks will be reduced, so I think what I will do is continue to stock up on things that are more expensive. Probably try and get a good amount of meat in for the chest freezer, and maybe frozen fruit and veg too. That will be the focus more than thinking longer life and shelf stable, as I had thought I would need to do.

Exactly what I am now going to be doing wax.

Fewer tins of vegetables on the list now but I will still be stocking up on things we use a lot of like diet coke, orange juice, meat and cheese

Also still doubling the size of the vegetable garden and planting extra soft fruit.

Top up shop in Morrisons revealed shelves empty of tinned mandarins and tinned steamed puddings. Everything else seemed well stocked up though.

Just got a few bits (was on foot) but need to go out shopping in the car later so will see if B&M has long life supplies in.