Economic or societal collapses have happened repeatedly throughout history and will continue to happen in the future. When these events occur, people are often forced to revert to preparing and eating foods that we would have eaten in pioneer times.
The reason being that these foods are simple to prepare and meant for a time when we did not have a power grid available to us.
I have compiled a list of some of these foods that you need to become aware of before we are faced with a grid down event.
Hard Tack
Hard tack is a biscuit made from three ingredients, flour, water, and salt.
It was used throughout the civil war and aboard ships during long voyages.
The great thing about hard tack is that it will last for many years if stored correctly and is easy to make.
To make hard tack, simply mix two cups of flour with about half a cup of water in which you have dissolved ½ teaspoon of salt. The dough should be stiff but not too dry.
Roll out the dough to about ½” thick and cut into 2” x 2” squares. Poke holes in the dough with a fork to prevent bubbling and allow for even cooking then bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 or so minutes.
The hard tack is done when it is hard and dry.
Store in a cool dry place in an airtight container.
Pemmican
Pemmican was used by the indigenous populations of North America well before European contact. It is nutritionally dense, portable, and shelf-stable, which made it ideal for use by explorers and the military.
The makeup of pemmican is dried meat ground into a powder which is mixed with animal fat and berries.
To make pemmican, dry one pound of lean red meat which has all the fat trimmed off. Grind this meat into a powder. If you are adding dried berries, grind half a cup of berries into a powder as well.
You can use almost any type of dried berries in your pemmican. Personally, I like to add this special type of berry that’s illegal to cultivate but perfectly fine to forage.
Mix these two ingredients together along with any seasonings you want to include. Add a cup of rendered fat to the powder and mix well. Press the mixture into a pan to a uniform thickness and allow it to cool.
Cut the pemmican into bars and store in a cool dry place in an airtight container.
Jerky and Smoked Meats
Without power to refrigerate our food we need off-grid methods of meat preservation.
Two such methods are smoking or drying the meat into jerky. Smoking meat dries it while also adding compounds like aldehydes and phenols which have properties which are antimicrobial and antioxidant.
The combination of drying and these compounds inhibit microbial growth which increases the shelf life.
Cold smoking is done at lower temperatures and is paired with salting or curing because the meat is not cooked, while hot smoking cooks the meat to a safe temperature.
Jerky is made by simply drying the meat without smoke which creates an environment within the meat that is hostile to the survival of bacteria.
Humans have smoked and dried meat in order to preserve it for thousands of years and it still remains an effective and easy method of meat preservation.
Honey
Honey has an indefinite shelf life and is available in nature. It is a great natural source of sugar that our bodies will crave when our easy access to sugars is cut off.
Keeping several jars of honey in your food preps is a great way to guarantee that you will have access to the best form of sugar possible after a collapse.
You can also take up beekeeping getting an almost unlimited supply of honey!
Like many items on this list, honey has been in use by humans for thousands of years. Not only is it a natural sweetener with antioxidants, but it is also effective for sore throats and coughs as well as being effective in promoting healing of wounds.
Salted Meats
For thousands of years, we have been salting meat to preserve it in the absence of refrigeration. Salting meat through dry salting, brining, or using curing salts, draws out moisture and creates an environment which is hostile to the growth of bacteria.
Related: How to Make Your Own Salt for SHTF
This is a time-tested meat preservation method and one that we should all be familiar with in case we end up in a grid down situation.
Root Vegetables
Root vegetables have a low moisture content which makes them last longer than other vegetables or fruits without refrigeration.
Potatoes, carrots, beets, turnips, radishes, yams, and sweet potatoes are all examples of common root vegetables. Throughout history, these were stored in underground cellars called root cellars.
By storing these vegetables below the ground, they stay cool and out of sunlight which means they will last throughout the winter.
If you want to keep the root vegetables from your garden fresh for months, learn here how to build a cheap root cellar in your backyard. In times of crisis, you will be thankful to have this on your property.
Sourdough
Access to yeast is going to be a problem in an off-grid environment. If you want to bake bread after the collapse, you will need a leaven for the bread. The good news is that a sourdough starter is easy to make and the leaven for making sourdough bread. Sourdough bread has been around for centuries, and the practice of baking sourdough bread is still being practiced today.
All you need is a sourdough starter, flour, salt, and water to bake sourdough bread, and it will be a welcome source of carbs after the collapse of civilization.
When the grid fails, we are going to need to adjust our expectations around the foods we eat. Looking back to what the pioneers ate is an effective way to prepare mentally and physically to survive in a grid down environment.
If for nothing else, the pioneer diet is actually a lot healthier than most of what we commonly eat today, and embarking on it will help prove to you that you can prepare meals totally self-sufficiently.
If you’re intrigued by the idea of living off the land like a true pioneer, then you’ll want to get your hands on the this book. This isn’t your typical survival manual; it’s a comprehensive guide that dives into the forgotten wisdom of our ancestors who didn’t just survive in the wild – they thrived there.
Much like my 100-day pioneer diet experiment, this book teaches you how to prepare for uncertain times and learn from those who made the wilderness their home.
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Painkiller in a Jar
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