Test food preps before building up stock

[nannynick]

Saw Ember Biltong in the shop and thought I would give that a try. It is dried beef, 23g of protein per 45g pack. Quite costly but that’s to be expected with a dried protein source.
As I have not had it before, I am eating a pack as a test. I like it. So something to add to the prep pantry when budget allows.

Do we need to prep for a Hanta pandemic?

Unlikely.

El Niño, fertiliser shortages and oil prices on the other hand...

Agree, absolutely don't prep anything you would not normally eat or you don't enjoy. You need to rotate preps so they don't go off either by eating them or donating to a food bank.

I prefer nuts, beans, lentils, seeds, rice pudding for protein personally. Ds will eat tinned fish. So that's what I stock. I'd probably let the beef go well out of date by accident. Did you like it and are you planning on getting more?

No not for Hanta.

Higher food cost, less food choice.

Crop yeids may be lower for a few years due to reduced fertiliser, weather conditions. Fuel supply may affect planting and harvesting, distribution, and heating (greenhouses).

Yes I will get more of it when on offer. £3 for 45g though is pricy but it had over a year shelf life and no need for refrigeration.

I think corned beef is better for prepping. It is more versatile and it keeps forever.

That said, a good biltong with minimal ingredients really is delicious.

We did that with oat milk when Covid was looking like a distinct possibility - to have some form of longer life milk. We wouldn’t replace cold milk drinking with it - but DH and I like it in coffee, and DD drinks a lot of it with cereal, in smoothies and coffee etc. DD also drinks coconut and almond milks, but is not keen on soy milk (having experimented over time). But we had started with a single bottle before I bought a few.

I also now have Smash equivalent in my pantry in Belgium - long life regular milk is the norm and regular pasteurised is much harder to get. And they use powdered potato for mash a lot - if you prepare it right, it’s as nice and a lot easier. And as I am solo there, it works out well for me. But it’s another good for the pantry in emergencies item as it doesn’t need cooking, only heated milk and water, and a knob of butter (and if I ever find powdered milk again, more hot water with powdered milk would do fine when capacities for cooking are very limited).