Using dehydrated basics - eggs, butter, etc.


dalepres
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I have had a food storage program for many, many years. We have always stored large quantities of the basics - wheat, beans, rice, sugar, salt, etc. We have always stored a lesser quantity of canned foods and other foods for shorter-term emergencies. What we have never tried is things like powdered eggs, powdered butter, powdered cheese, powdered shortening, etc.

I see these items available for sale on Walton Feed's site but there is no information about the products, their use, their shelf life, etc. Some of these things would go a long way toward making the basics more interesting and palatable. Who has used them? And how? Are there links you can share that have more information about these products?

I've emailed Walton Feed a couple times since they've redone their site and stripped it of most of the useful information but they seem to be busy enough and without competition enough that they just don't really need to respond.

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Here is a recipe to make your own dry pancake and waffle mix for your food storage. This is what I used the dehydrated products for. My family loves it.

Pancake and Waffle Mix - Dry - Food Storage

INGREDIENTS

8 cups White Flour

¾ cup Butter Powder

¾ cup Powdered Milk

¾ cup White Sugar

2/3 cup Dehydrated Whole Eggs

1/3 cup Baking Powder

1 scant Tablespoon Salt

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Mix this, in order, in your mixer until blended. Then pour into a 4 quart container.

To use, add enough water to get the consistency you like.

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Thanks, Phoenix. That's a great start. We have made cakes and breads with our whole wheat flour for years but I'm starting to worry a little about how we're going to use it without some of those great ingredients such as eggs, shortening, etc. Your recipe sounds like a good start.

What has been your experience with the shelf life of powdered butter and eggs?

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The shelf life of Dehydrated Milk is about 4 years, stored at 70 degrees or colder. (This was from an actual Utah State University study done.

The shelf life of Powdered Eggs is 15 years.

The shelf life of Butter/Margarine is 15 years.

The shelf life of peanut butter powder is 4 years (I am about to add this to my food storage).

The following web site has lots of information:

Survival Acres has over 1700+ Emergency Food Items, Dehydrated, Freeze Dried, we are the largest supplier in America.

I would LOVE to hear others' dry recipes! ; )

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I started using the dehydrated items several months ago. I have had really good results so far. The dehydrated eggs last 15 years, but once open they should be refridgerated and will last one year. I learned that one the hard way, as I had ordered them in #10 cans. Too much for me.

I have now ordered them in the 2.5 can, which is much more manageable. Much smaller also so it fits in the fridge better:)

I have also used powdered shortening, butter etc. to make mixes-like the one above, with great results. I got mine from Walton Feed, or from a little store that carries Walton's products.

I think you will really like this addition to your storage. Have fun experimenting!

Blake0808

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  • 1 month later...

I use them for all my baking and as often as I can in simple meals. I started using them for practice but they are so good I now use them all the time.

My favorites that I stock are Cheese Blend Powder, Whole Egg Powder, Butter Powder and Mozzarela Cheese for pizza.

As for the #10 cans; what I do is when I need to open the can I then transfer the contents to 1 quart canning jars (takes about 3 per #10 can) with one oxygen absorber in each. This way I can work out of one jar and the rest stays fresh and safe in the pantry. I've been doing this for five years now and it works fine for me.

Posted Image

Mac & Cheese

This is better than the boxed stuff.

Makes 2 cups

1 cup elbow macaroni

½ cup instant dry milk

4 tbs butter powder

4 tbs cheese blend powder

1 cup water (saved from cooked pasta)

In about 2 quarts of water and 1 tsp salt boil the pasta until just cooked. This should take about 8 minutes then drain but reserve one cup for sauce. Do not rinse pasta.

Return the pasta and the one cup of pasta water to the pot and all the other ingredients. Bring to a simmer while stirring until the sauce is blended smooth, about 3-5 minutes.

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I started using the dehydrated items several months ago. I have had really good results so far. The dehydrated eggs last 15 years, but once open they should be refridgerated and will last one year. I learned that one the hard way, as I had ordered them in #10 cans. Too much for me.

Blake (or anyone else who knows):

I haven't opened any #10 cans yet. Are you saying that once items like butter and eggs are opened, they must be refrigerated?

If that is true, then what other products need refrigeration after being opened?

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That is a problem with canning things. Once opened, you are exposing them to the elements. Oxygen breaks perishables down quickly. So, you either have to reseal the unused items in an oxygen-free environment, using oxygen absorbers or dry ice, or you have to begin storing it as you would normal perishables.

Still, most people would go through a #10 can within a year, even if refrigerated.

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Guest DeborahC

Hahahaha Rameumptom, I love your photo!

I wonder if things like butter and eggs could be resealed with a sealer machine and kept in the freezer in smaller packages once they've been opened?

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As for the #10 cans; what I do is when I need to open the can I then transfer the contents to 1 quart canning jars (takes about 3 per #10 can) with one oxygen absorber in each. This way I can work out of one jar and the rest stays fresh and safe in the pantry. I've been doing this for five years now and it works fine for me.

Yukon, thanks for that tip. I assume you put a 150 cc oxy absorber in each jar, right? (I'm not sure how low the cc's can go.)

And Rameumpton, I am so relieved to hear that you're not Tammy herself! I thought sure she'd gotten into the preparedness business. There are few things worse than opening a #10 can only to find fake eyelashes on top of the butter powder.

(Now that I've made everyone sick....) LOL

Edited by chitchat
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I just had a weird situation. Microsoft Hotmail said that the notice I got about the last post here was unsafe. Here's the content of the help message related to the warning. I'm sure it's just a technical issue with the site or maybe even a but in Hotmail.

About Sender ID, spoofing, and phishing

Sender ID is a technical solution started by Microsoft and other industry leaders to help fight spoofing (Sending messages with fake or stolen account information.) and phishing (Falsely claiming to be a legitimate business to send you to a fake website or scam you into giving out private information.) , which are the two primary deceptive practices used by senders of junk e-mail (Unwanted, unsolicited, or illicit e-mail or other electronic messages, including spam.) . For more information, visit the Sender ID Framework Overview webpage.

Notes

* Windows Live Hotmail treats all messages that fail Sender ID and phishing tests as fraudulent and warns the user about opening these messages. For information about how to read blocked e-mail messages, see Block or allow messages from specific senders and domains.

* If you experience difficulties when you use another mail service to send your mail, but you use your Windows Live Hotmail address as the sending address, contact the network administrator of the other service for help.

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After opening a #10 can, could I put my dehydrated eggs in canning jars and then use my foodsaver jar sealer to seal the bottles, and then just put on my pantry shelves?

Thanks,

Debi

I would imagine you could, but I would ensure putting an oxygen absorber in the jar first, to ensure that the food content wouldn't be affected by any air still left inside.

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I just wanted to give you all a heads up. I don't think I have posted this here yet^_^ I sometimes forget what I am doing:D

But, Honeyville is having a great sale on these products. The butter, eggs, shortening are all a great price to begin with at the Honeyville site, but they are having a sale and it is only $4.49 to ship anywhere in the US. If you want the 10% discount you have to put in HOLIDAY80 in the promo box. Their prices are great.

I have a commercial vacuum sealer and a bunch of friends are going together on a 50# bag of the dehydrated eggs. I will seal them up in whatever sizes everyone needs. Fun!! I love getting a great deal.

Happy Holidays to all!!

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Yukon, thanks for that tip. I assume you put a 150 cc oxy absorber in each jar, right? (I'm not sure how low the cc's can go.)

A 150cc absorber will be fine for quart jars.

A quart jar has 950cc's of volume, of that volume there is only 20.5% of oxygen, the rest is nitrogen. Actually you only have to deal with 194cc's of oxygen but remember the food you put in the jar displaces almost all the air inside so you are dealing with far less oxygen than that. So again the 150cc absorber will be fine.

As for what I use I like to make my life simple and I only stock and use one size absorber for all my food storage needs be it quarts, gallons or 5 gallon buckets. The size I stock is 500cc's. This may seem like overkill for quarts but using a larger absorber will not hurt anything.

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  • 4 weeks later...

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