Winter 2020...

[Uptheclarets]

Been lingering for a while now. Thanks everyone for all the tips. Out of curiosity, if covid19 is going the way the Spanish flu did, what are you putting into place re food to get you through the winter months especially with shortages.

*buy an instantpot. It's my fave kitchen thing. It's an electric pressure cooker & great for risotto, macaroni & cheese, stock, soup & other things I've not ventured into yet

To show how easy for Yogurt - boil kettle & run the water round the pot. Put in 2L milk, seal lid & click yogurt button to boil. It will beep when done, check temperature with digi thermometer, (about£5), should be 180-185F, then cool to 95-110F. Mix in about a tablespoon of plain yogurt, put back on yogurt setting for 8 hours & then strain. Yum.

We use the yogurt to mix with SR flour for flatbreads a lot too.

There is a new instantpot that has a sous vide function too. I'd upgrade if funds allowed but have saved enough on yogurt alone to warrant mine. Bought do one when they were £70

Op, Sorry to derail slightly but @buckeejit - I don't know if it depends on model or using uht milk, but there's a slightly easier method too.
Put all in together,
1L carton milk but UHT, (i use semi skimmed)
2Tblsp of yoghurt, (usually Fage 0% or some left from previous made stuff),
2Tsp of Sainsbury's half fat coffee whitener.
.
Set it on yoghurt function then just strain to preferred thickness when done. The coffee whitener adds a nice creamyness and you cannot tell it was uht milk at all. Saves so much time.

I've got the Instant Pot Duo V2 8 Litre

Yes @AngusThermopyle if you want to use uht milk (and can get it!) I prefer fresh but easier with uht-not sure if uht keeps any longer or not.

Our breadmaker arrived today & first test loaf looks & smells great. Am delighted!

Your bread looks fab @buckeejit I tend to use my bread maker to make dough and then make rolls/loaves as required. I've managed to get bread flour delivered from a flour mill - I've got enough to last a couple of months of normal usage and I'll order more when I can.

I'm really tempted to get an instant pot. I use my slow cooker at least once a week - more in the autumn and winter.

lexloofah building up a stock of lightbulbs (and maybe batteries) is a good idea. If only buying lightbulbs didn't require a PhD to understand the various types.

I started making yoghurt a couple of months ago - more to do with reducing the amount of plastic packaging than anything else. It is so easy I wish I'd done it long ago.

My oven has a proving programme, which as well as proving bread is great for making yoghurt. We played around with how long to leave it in, found 10 hours gave the best flavour/texture. And two pints makes eight jam-jar portions. The jars aren't full, this leaves room for fruit etc to be added.

I was on the Brexit prep threads under different nn.
Thank you all so much for your advice/help...it's made the covid-19 lockdown and madness easier to bear.
Can I ask what I should be stockpiling again? (My brain has turned to mush!)
I've still got a fair bit of stash but with 4 of us home for 2 months its depleted!!
Meds are ok but I'll def start picking up more paracetamol etc
I've got a camping stove, solar light,wind up radio, wind up torches and candles.
I guess I'll need loo roll, pasta, flour, uht milk...
It feels so sad to be doing this again :(

We have a bread maker too - makes decent bread and pizza dough

@buckeejit which brand of breadmaker did you get? I'm thinking of buying one next pay day. I asked on a thread a while ago & loads of people recommended the Panasonic.

I attempted yoghurt yesterday and I haven’t checked it yet because I’m too scared! Pretty certain it won’t have worked as I used Greek yoghurt, not live/bio yoghurt but I did make more labneh as well so I’m not too disappointed!

Today’s task is to research bread makers and search for sewing machines!

@yoikes instead of actual stuff this time round, would it be useful to look at setting up supply chains? For example, I don’t have enough freezer space to store milk so I signed up to a local milk man. It’s noticeably more expensive than buying from a shop at 67p a pint, but so worth it for peace of mind!

Boo, yoghurt didn’t work! It’s just like thick milk.

I'm glad I've found this thread, so many good ideas! My DP thought I was being ridiculous in January when I ramped up my prepping but so glad I did. It's always been the way I shopped as I grew up in a very rural area. I really didn't think about clothes etc so my DS has only one pair of shoes that fit properly and his trackie bottoms are all halfway up his shins...when shops are back I'm going to buy bigger sizes. I'm also getting a new shed and making sure it has room for a decent sized freezer so I can get Christmas sorted, I've even started a bit of Christmas shopping!

I tidied up my longer term stores in the wardrobe over the weekend, and used the opportunity of collecting a parcel last night to go to a different supermarket and get a couple of bags of fresh stuff (we go through fruit and veg and milk like there's no tomorrow) and also a few bags to restock the stash. Like coffee, tins, washing tablets, cleaning stuff. And tonic. Things that were difficult to get at all at different periods, and that we have used up most of our stocks. I'll bring those in later when the other 2 are busy elsewhere....

@Ineedabreak19 I got a Panasonic as people raves about them. It's massive mind you but dc are so delighted. We got it refurbished on eBay for £110 - same one used went for £200+ last night! Keep an eye. I can see us using it a lot. Especially if the dc can do it themselves. This one you can add seeds & fruit etc too

I agree about making connections with local suppliers/farm shops etc. We're pretty fussy for some stuff otherwise I would have ordered a regular veg box.

I plan to go to a little cash & carry outlet later to stock up new freezer - am ridiculously excited about it. Will also try to freeze other things that I might not have thought of

If I get a big bag of flour, then milk, butter & eggs will be my main regular requirements. I'm aiming to have 1 month of food in the house

@buckeejit thank you so much, you've made up my mind re panasonic breadmaker. The only issue is that my kitchen is tiny and counter space is minimal. I'll have to find a discreet corner in the living room for it.

We don't really use enough milk to warrant a fresh milk delivery, sadly.

Hi all. I've just seen the announcement from Rishi Sunak about the fact that we're facing a massive recession "the likes of which we've never seen before". Obviously we all knew recession was likely but to see such a stark announcement when generally the aim is to try to downplay recessions is actually quite scary. I think we could be facing a really bleak winter.

My stocks are still ok (mainly because I carried crazy levels in anticipation of brexit and lockdown) but I have run low on certain things and will definitely need to replenish treat foods. Christmas hasn't featured in my planning at all yet but I do already have a large turkey crown in the freezer which I picked up in the sales after Christmas 19. For the pp asking about meat, I regularly freeze meat for up to about 18 months with no detrimental effects at all.

Crikey that is scary. I agree with you on the freezing though...in my experience you can freeze for months or years with no ill effects other than maybe freezer burn if not covered well enough

I too have uncovered meat that had been frozen for 2/3 years that was fine!

I feel a bit sick reading the post above about the recession. DP is self employed in the tourism business and I work in tourism. I don’t earn enough to stock up as much as I would like... but I could try and go back to teaching. What a choice

I also felt a bit sick. It’s one thing expecting recession but another to have it stated so bleakly. Dh and I are also both self employed. Very worrying.

I just came on here to talk about recession and glad I am not the only one.
How do you prep for recession?! Serious question. Especially one so serious we haven't seen it's like before.
I get the gov are trying to manage expectations but can't help but think things must be pretty bad behinds the scenes in terms of the economy for them to speak so bluntly.

I suppose we are lucky in a way, to have a little time to reflect and prepare before winter. I just have no idea how to prep for that. I suppose by getting used to being more economical with everything, saving money now and also getting my head round being super frugal? Although that's been how my whole life has been until a few months ago when my business suddenly boomed because of the pandemic. Ironically. It won't last though so I probably need to save as much as I can.

Recession prepping involves going through your budget & cutting down unnecessary expenditure. Switch all utilities to better deals & use money saved to pay off debts. Get rid of luxuries like gym memberships unless you actually use it regularly. Make sure all expenses are affordable & can be covered if one of you becomes redundant. Basically redundancy prepping is tightening your belt & protecting your finances.

Is it still recommended to have 6 months salary in savings??
(Hysterical laughter...)
If dh is made redundant he gets 6 months salary.
Our only debts are mortgage and a year left on my car.
No idea where to start tbh.
Feel quite overwhelmed

Hmm, that's probably why the concept is so alien to me - until the end of March we were living on the smallest possible amount of money and pretty much in poverty, and I was wondering when we'd end up at the foodbank. So I don't have loads of financial commitments really. So, I will just save what I can while I can now things are less scary financially.