Brand Loyalty

Some folks are extremely brand loyal especially when it comes to food.  I have to admit that we are as brand loyal to actual food but we are with respect to certain food prep items.  For example, our cast iron must be Lodge, and I absolutely love Corsori, American Pan, Oster, All American (pressure canner) and Logastina.  As far as food goes though, not so much so.  We spend about 1/3 of the year in the US.  Some brands we get here in Canada are not available in the US and visa versa.  We also spend time in the Caribbean where brands are very different.  At home (Canada) we shop directly from growers and producers.   Over the years, we found reducing out dependency on grocery stores, greatly reduced any brand loyalty too. We also don't buy much in the way of commercially processed foods.  We also boycott certain companies for ethical reason.  So we simply aren't brand loyal.

Inflation and food shortages are creating a climate where brand loyalty is not always the best policy if you want to keep a well stocked pantry.  One secret the food industry hides is the fact that one processing plant can run different lines of the same product but with different labels.  For example tomatoes - brand name, store brand.  Same tomatoes, from the same group of farmers just different labels.  Ergo, same product but different labels and price points.  This applies to all commercially canned fruits and vegetables.  What does differ is propriety products.  So, a processing plant runs 2 lines of soup - one for company A and one for company B.  Company A is a brand name, company B is store brand so 2 price points.  In this case, the processing plant will use Company A's recipe for that line and company B's recipe for their line.  The products will differ but sometimes you might actually prefer the store brand to the brand name while saving a bit of money.  Case in point, Kellogg's had a labour dispute so Kellogg's products were not available for awhile.  We buy a large box of Rice Crispies once a year specifically to make squares.  This time, hubby came home with the store brand rice equivalent.  It was not only less expensive but crispier, nicer flavour.  Brand names simply don't matter for some foods like rice, whole grains (ei. wheat berries, kamut kernels), dried beans, dried lentils, some salts, white sugar, baking soda and white vinegar.  What does matter is whether organic or not if that is important to you and country of origin.

So if you are brand loyal but looking for ways to keep rising food costs in check, you might want to buy store brand commercially canned fruits and vegetables as well a trying out store or lesser known brand for other commercially processed foods.  If you are looking for foods where brands don't matter, switch to the cheapest option which may even be a dollar store so be sure to check unit prices.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2022

FIFO Rotation

Any pantry regardless of size should work on the FIFO (first in, first out) method.  What this really means is the oldest food is used first.  This applies to all aspects of your pantry including refrigerator and freezer.  This requires organization but reduces food wastage.  If you are a home canner, this method ensures you will find any false seals before they become a problem.  It also ensures that any problems with commercially processed foods are caught before they are a problem.  There are many ways to do the FIFO method. 

Some folks use colour coded dots and others write the date with a marker.  My method doesn't include colour coding but it is visual.  We rely heavily on home canned foods so what I do is store filled jars in rows on a shelf, front to back.  The number of jars per row depends on the size of the jar - 6 for L (qt) and 7 for 500 ml (pt), more for the 250 ml (1/2 pt).  Underneath the row running the length of the shelf is painters tape.  I write the contents, year and number of filled jars.  As I use a jar, I move the remaining jars forward the put the empty clean jar to the back of the row for storage.  Once the entire row is filled with empty jars, I have a clear visual of what needs to be canned again.  For commercially canned foods, I use a similar method always moving old stock to the front, new stock to the back.  I also use the FIFO method for dried foods and long term storage. 

For commercially processed foods, I know how much we will use in a given time frame.  So if we use 4 cans/boxes/bags of something, I start with 5 then watch the sales and buy enough to get me back to that 5 then repeat the process for the next month.  Some foods technically don't need to be rotated (ei. sugars, salts, baking soda, cornstarch, vinegars, low methoxy pectins, instant coffee, and other forever foods).  I rotate these foods as well because that's what I'm used to.   

Garden Gnome
©2006-2022

Low Cost Stocking the Pantry

I think one of the biggest problems folks have with their pantry is not having the money to stock it.  That is more so for those on a low or fixed income.  Some folks rely on food pantries and church meals so it is hard to squirrel away a bit of extra food.  Notice I said hard, not impossible.  The best way to save money when stocking the pantry is DIY (home canning, dehydrating, freezing, curing)

First rule of thumb is to shop sales.  I absolutely refuse to pay full price for anything wherever possible.  We don't have BOGOs or coupons here but I know many places in the US does so if you are in an area that does have them take advantage.  I have heard of people who get food baskets or use a food pantry putting up some of what they can't use right then.  For example, they get a bag of dried beans so part of the bag is canned for future use.  

Second rule of thumb is buy from the source.  Buying directly from the grower or producer is almost always less expensive than in the grocery stores.  You can usually get in bulk sizes (bring your own boxes or bins) and the farmer usually give you a baker's dozen or always a bit extra.  We buy most foods this way.  

Grow whatever you can then learn to preserve it.  At this point, an indoor and outdoor garden is highly recommended.  Part of you pantry should include an ample supply of seeds.  Buying seed packs can be expensive so to reduce the cost:  learn how to save seeds from your gardens, join a seed exchange and get to know other gardeners in your area for trading seeds.

Third rule of thumb is to forage.  There is a surprising amount of edible food right in your own yard and even in cities growing in the cracks of pavement.  Last year I made dandelion honey from dandelions in our yard.  Dandelion greens are good in salads and the roots can be dried for a liver tonic tea.  I didn't have quite enough wild violets to do the same but this year looks promising.  Stinging nettle is another edible that makes a lovely spring tonic tea.  Wild grape leaves (keeps pickles crisp, stuffed), wild grapes and other wild berries make wonder low cost jams and jellies.  Purslane for salads, and the list goes on.  Be sure to identify any plant before consuming and don't forage on private land without permission.

Hunting and fishing are both low costs ways to stock the pantry.  I don't hunt but I fish.  Hubby goes to hunt camp so we usually have a nice supply of venison as well as other wild game.  Wild game can be froze, canned (plain, soups, stews, chili), dehydrated (jerky), cured (sausages etc) and really are one of the ultimate ways to fill your pantry quickly for very little cost.  If you don't hunt or fish get to know someone who does.  Quite often they will gift you with a small amount or trade for something like homemade bread.

Equipment needed (most can be found used):

1. vacuum sealer (regular, chamber)
2. dehydrator (estimate $20 - $400)
   
3. waterbath canner (about $20) or steam canner (about $70) [high acid foods]
   
4. pressure canner (estimate $100 - $500) [low acid foods]
5. mason jars/lids
6. vacuum sealer bags (don't buy brand name, chamber sealer bags are cheaper)
   

Before you rush out to buy this equipment, check your local resale shops.  Quite often you can find them for very good prices.  Check Facebook Marketplace too especially after Christmas and Mother's Day.  Here Canadian Tire generally runs some very nice sales too.  Put the word out to family and friends that you are looking for these items.  Sometimes family will even lend you theirs for a short period of time. 

Now, some will say they can't afford the equipment.  But consider the savings.  A can of beans at No Frills costs me $1.89.  A bag of dry beans costs me $3.79 (sometimes less) but I get 5 c of dried beans out of a 900 g package.  At a 1/2 c of dried beans per 500 ml jar to can that works out to 10 jars of canned beans or $0.37 each but in reality the beans are soaked overnight so really closer to 1/4 c (soaked) per 500 ml jar giving me about 20 jars of beans for $0.185 each plus the cost of the snap lid.  The same savings can be seen for canned meats, fish and poultry as well as most fruits and vegetables.

You also don't need all of the equipment at once.  Start with what you can afford and build from there.  A $20 dehydrator can process a lot of food for your pantry shelves for very little money!  It is one of the best ways to reduce food wastage, create delicious homemade snacks and fill your pantry one jar at a time. You can even create your own dehydrated instant meals and seasoning blends for a fraction of the cost of store bought.  My dehydrator is running pretty much every day right now.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2022

Prepping on the Down Low

For all intents and purposes only you and members of your household should know you are stockpiling food and other supplies.  First and foremost do not talk about your stocks and stress to other members of your household to do the same.  That means your neighbours should not be seeing you bring in 50 bags of groceries.  Your pantry stocks should be kept away from the eyes of anyone visiting your home including friends, extended family, utility servicemen and repairmen.  

I personally prefer to call it staying under the wire.  Don't draw attention to yourself.  Don't draw attention to what you are doing.  

Yesterday, I went to the grocery store specifically for a few items for the pantry and yet no one would have suspected that.  I spent $67.  Items were: miso broth, a bag of dried beans, bag of arborio rice, bag of sticky rice, can of sliced olive, 2 cans flaked turkey, baking powder, rice paper, 2 pk spaghetti, sm tub flavoured cream cheese, sm block of cheese, bag of apples, 1 zucchini, 1 tomato, pk mini cucumbers, romaine lettuce, radishes, and cilantro.  Rather than using credit card (normal for points), I used cash something I've been doing a lot more of.  Nothing was glaring obvious.  That's the way it should be.  The neighbours would have seen me bring in 2 bags of presumably groceries but really could be anything since the purchase was in reusable cloth bags.  Most times I pull into our attached garage, close the garage door then unload so no one sees anything other than me going into the garage.  This time I didn't.

Ordering online is very convenient especially for items we would otherwise have to drive to a larger community for.  One thing that is a concern is ordering online because neighbours and passerbys can see how many deliveries you have.  Amazon has taken to splitting orders which doesn't help.  If I order flour, seafood, cheeses etc directly from the company and have an Amazon order on the way, it is quite possible that there two delivery trucks in a day.  Not every day, but still noticeable.  The other concern is the cardboard boxes.  We don't want them at the curb for recycle pickup to draw further attention.  Instead, we crush the boxes and hubby takes them to the waste transfer station.

Speaking of recycling.  We no longer put our recycle bins out on a regular basis due to our extensive waste reduction attempts.  At best our bins go to the curb twice a year and usually about 15 minutes before the scheduled pickup.  While this is not normal for our neighbourhood, folks likely just figure that we don't recyle.  We generate a kitchen catcher of waste that goes out weekly on schedule except during the winter months.  Technically it takes us over a month to fill a regular garbage bag.  Now while this seems to not fit in with our neighbourhood, it has been our normal pattern for over 10 years so by now, the neighbours or passerbys wouldn't think anything of it.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2022