Reviews of Long-Term Storage Foods

[Reasonable Rascal]

Re: Reviews of Long-Term Storage Foods

They are similar but actually a bit larger and flatter. MH's are also pre-cooked while these are uncooked. Truth be told, as much of a fan of MH foods as I am vs. cheaper and far more bland dehydrated foods, I liked these chicken breasts better than I did MH's. And for all I know they (MH) did the original canning. Not impossible since they do a lot of contract work for military and .gov contracts.

RR

[Papadoc]

Re: Auguson Farms Asian Style Teriyaki Kit w/Freeze-Dried Beef

Thanks for the reviews RR. The chicken breasts sound like the same ones that Mountain House sells as a two pack with mashed potato's in there backpacking line of freeze dried foods. I would love to find these bulk packed.

[Reasonable Rascal]

Auguson Farms Asian Style Teriyaki Kit w/Freeze-Dried Beef

Hint: when a product is listed as with something it is a quaint way of saying 'flavored with' rather than it being a significant ingredient.

Wal-Mart sells Auguson Farms products as their primary storage food product line. Compared to other brands the prices seem to be attractive. However, they sell very little in the way of complete dishes, but rather mainly base items that must be combined with others to make even a basic casserole or stew.

We bought a can of the Teriyaki with beef to see how it compared to similar offerings from another major brand. To say that we are glad we were able to purchase a single can rather than a case or three would be an understatement.

At a labeled weight of 2 lbs 9.92 ounces you are getting at least 2 lbs of quick-cooking rice, with a packet of freeze-dried beef chunks, vegetables, spices and whatever else. For this we paid about $23 at the time.

I am no gourmand but I can eat a lot of things other people turn their collective noses up at. But in this case the leftovers were tossed rather than reheat them for another meal. We have 3/4 of the can remaining and after 8 months we cannot bring ourselves to cooking up the rest.

They claim 10 grams of protein per serving (20 servings in a #10 can), to which you must also add 45 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of which are sugars.

Carbs are cheap to store while protein is not. When I add storable casserole dishes to my stores I expect more proteins than what this dish contains, and I expect it to have a flavor greater than soy-like mush. Yes, it is edible, but it wouldn't take me but a week to seriously contemplate going vegan vs. continuing to eat this product.

RR

Edited to add: We finally tossed the remainder of the can in July 2014. The product wasn't even worth using as a basis for something larger.

[Reasonable Rascal]

Yoders Canned Cooked Bacon

Another product we have sampled extensively and found worthy of stocking in quantity is Yoders cooked bacon, which comes in a 9 ounce can ready to eat.

Each can contains approximately 2-3/4 to 3-1/4 pounds pre-cooked weight of bacon, which comes out to between 40-50 slices per can. We have tried this product as a stand-alone for munching cold, heated and served as traditional breakfast fair, as an add-on for burgers, and crumbled in salads. We prefer it to some of the 'fresh' bacon from the store, though truthfully our preference is for the thick cut variety that comes in at about 12 slices/pound.

Current pricing can be had for about $12.65/can with shipping included. Some retailers are of course much higher. Assuming a low pre-cooked weight that makes it about $4.60/lb, or right about what we are paying in my neck of the woods for the non-premium brands off sale. it won't take much of a rise in the price of pork to make the canned stuff cheaper than fresh in the future, assuming you can stock up now rather than at inflated prices later.

RR

[Reasonable Rascal]

Disclaimer: I have no financial interest in any product I review here. Nor am I a member of the LDS faith.

My interest in stockpiling food is for economic survival, pure and simple. I do not foresee a time when food will be totally unavailable, but I do foresee a time when it is so expensive that health will suffer from lack of suitable diet.

By expensive I mean as in too costly to purchase with whatever funds/trade goods are available to the would-be purchaser, or the transportation to simply access the food is too costly when coupled with the cost of the food itself. Remember, during the Alaskan gold rush eggs were selling for $1 each, back when that was a day's wages in the mining fields.

Freeze-Dried Chicken Breasts

Very recently we purchased a case of uncooked freeze-dried chicken breasts, purportedly packed as 3-4 pieces per # 2-1/2 can. As these are a very rare find we decided to try them for taste, etc, should we find them offered again in the future. No point wasting money on something we'd rather not eat unless we were literally starving.

Upon opening the can we found 5 pieces, all of approximately uniform size, and each large enough for a chicken breast sandwich. So, 5 sandwiches worth, or two meals worth of meat for a couple.

Rather than the quick 15-20 minute rehydration plan we filled the can with water to measure it, then dumped the entire thing in a ziplock bag to soak overnight.

The breasts were prepared as we would the regular item out of the fridge, with garlic, butter and mushrooms on them. I admit we were impressed. Enough so that I ate two pieces. The 2nd wasn't quite as moist as the first, possibly because the way the bag was laying some were totally immersed while others might have been only partially so. It was still quite edible.

There is no brand listed on the label, only that it was sourced by the regular military commissary service, which uses the crescent as their trademark (goes back to the late 1800's). The packing date is listed as 02/16/14 and the shelf life is purported to be 25 years by one company who sells them as overproduction stock.

They are not particularly cost effective currently, but weighed against rising prices they represent a hedge against inflation.

RR