Three tools I think everyone should have as a means to preserve food

Pressure cooker: canning is fun! I have a presto and it came with a little booklet of instructions for all different types of food Edit: im specifically talking about a pressure canner (sorry I’ve literally never called it that in my life). Please do not use your instapot/rice cooker to can unless it can get up to 15 psi safely. Most instant pots only get up to 12 psi or so. I like Presto- link in comments

Vacuum sealer: I honestly use this SO much. I vacuum seal my meats before I freeze them to keep them fresher. I’ve been stocking up on dried fruit and nuts from the Sprouts bulk section and vacuum sealing those. It’s a great way to store anything that shouldn’t be exposed to air. Things like gas filters for your respirator or medications.

Dehydrator: Make your own dried fruits or jerky. It’s also a good way to preserve fresh herbs. Maybe even make your own powdered eggs? Idk, could be fun.

I had an idea to make my own “ready rice”: prepare some rice, vacuum seal it into a high heat resistant plastic pouch, and pressure cook the pouches (15 psi for about 60 mins) in order to kill bacteria and make it shelf stable. This way I can have already cooked rice to go with my canned beans. Would be good for camping/backpacking too!

Another tidbit: I think everyone should learn how to ferment vegetables. It’s soo incredibly easy and it’s fun to play around with different veggies and flavors. And probiotics are so good for you! I’ll include a link in the comments to a little blog article about lacto-fermentation.

More rambles: Since I’m a baker, I’ve also been stocking up on evaporated milk and yeast (as well as other baking staples like flour and sugar, etc.). I just ordered some powdered eggs which I’m excited to have in my food cache so I can still bake if eggs just straight up disappear.

Honorable mentions for other important items I think people should have: solar powered power bank or battery, solar powered lights, gas camping stove. If you’re a camper you already probably have this stuff. I just hate batteries so most everything I have is rechargeable and bonus points if it can be charged with the sun.

Many of these things are probably old news to people who have been prepping for awhile but I thought I would still get it out there for anyone who is new to preserving food.

I hope everyone is hanging in there 💜

Don’t forget to keep calling your senators and representatives.

Eta: A freeze dryer I think would be better than a dehydrator but I don’t have one so I don’t have experience with it. You could probably make your own MRE’s with a freeze dryer and vacuum sealer