BUCKHORN CLIFFSA preparedness field manual

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Food

Eat-now, cook-from, and long-term bulk

Build in layers: food you can eat with no cooking, staples you cook from, and sealed bulk for the long haul. Store what your household eats, and rotate it.

Start with the full guide

Field guideSurvival Foods Field GuideThe real shelf life of more than 50 foods, how to spot spoilage, how much to store, and how to build a stockpile in phases. 35 pages.Open the field guide GuideThe Food Shopping ListWhat to store, how much per person per month, how long it keeps, and why. Free one-page printable PDF.Open the full page Field guideStockpile Essentials Field GuideThe master checklist: 239 items across 16 categories, the shelf life class of each, and the 20 multi-use items that cover the most jobs. 39 pages.Open the field guide Master pageSalt: The Full Field GuideTypes of salt, curing, brining, daily uses, and long-term storage, all on one page. Members print it as the 10 page field guide.Open the full page

Store what you eat, and eat what you store

A stockpile you rotate through never expires on you. Deep pantry first, sealed bulk and a mill behind it. See the Survival Foods field guide for preservation and recipes.

What I use for this

Gear from my recommended list

Everything I recommend
JasePantry 30-Day Emergency Food SupplyJase MedicalJasePantry 30-Day Emergency Food Supply2,100 calories a day for 30 days, 400 servings, just add water$274.95About, at jase.com, checked todayHarvest Right Home Freeze DryerHarvest RightHarvest Right Home Freeze DryerThe machine I have run for a decade: if your family already eats it, you can store it$1,895$2,495optionsAbout, at harvestright.com, checked todayHarvest Right Pharmaceutical Freeze DryerHarvest RightHarvest Right Pharmaceutical Freeze DryerThe stainless, lower-temperature version$2,495$3,245optionsAbout, at harvestright.com, checked today
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Formulas 25

Formula Ascorbic Acid Dip to Keep Cut Fruit and Vegetables from Browning The moment you cut into an apple, pear, or peach, the exposed flesh starts turning brown. Handle with care Formula Baking Soda Leavening and Baking Powder Substitute Fresh: 1 soda : 2 cream of tartar; Jar mix: add 1 part starch; Rises: with acid present Handle with care Formula Citric Acid for Canning and Food Preservation Fresh lemon juice varies in acidity from batch to batch, but citric acid powder delivers precise, repeatable pH reduction every time you measure it. Handle with care Formula Cornstarch Thickener for Emergency Cooking Cornstarch turns thin, watery broth into a hearty, spoon-coating meal. Stirred into a hot liquid it swells and sets into a smooth gel, so a spoonful can stretch a thin soup into something that fills you up. Handle with care Formula Curing a Raw Hide with Salt Salt does not tan a hide. It cures one, which is a different and more urgent job: it stops the rot so the hide keeps until you can tan it properly. Soak a salted hide and it goes off like any other raw meat, because nothing salt does is permanent. Handle with care Formula Food Storage Chili (Canned Beef and Beans) All ingredients in one pot; bring to a boil, then simmer about 15 minutes Formula Fruit Leather with Ascorbic Acid to Prevent Browning Fruit leather turns a short-lived harvest into lightweight, shelf-stable food you can store for months without refrigeration or canning equipment. Handle with care Formula Grain and Dry Food Storage Protectant A single grain moth or weevil infestation can destroy months of stored food in weeks. Handle with care Formula Honey Cough and Throat Syrup A spoonful of honey coats and soothes a raw throat, and it quiets a cough about as well as the common over-the-counter syrups do. The good evidence is in children over a year old, but honey is cheap, usually on hand, and easy to take, which makes it a sensible first thing to reach for. Handle with care Formula Honey for Minor Burns For a small, shallow burn, cooling it well matters far more than whatever you put on afterward. Once it is cooled, a thin layer of honey keeps the skin moist and clean while it heals, which suits a minor burn better than letting it dry and scab. As with any honey on skin, sterile medical honey is best and raw honey is only the fallback. Handle with care Formula Honey Wound Dressing Honey fights microbes several ways at once: the sugar is concentrated enough to pull water out of bacteria, it is naturally acidic, and an enzyme the bees leave behind slowly releases a trace of hydrogen peroxide. It is a real dressing, not just folklore, but the honey that belongs on a wound is not quite the honey in your cupboard. Handle with care Formula Meat Color and Freshness Preservation Freshly cut meat gradually turns brown as oxygen converts the red pigment oxymyoglobin into brown metmyoglobin, a process that becomes noticeable within a day or two under typical conditions. Handle with care Formula Meat Curing with Pink Curing Salt Saltpeter cures meat only after bacteria turn it into nitrite, and it is the nitrite that does the work: it blocks the deadly botulism bacteria, fixes the pink cured color, and holds off rancidity. Hazardous Formula Meat Preservation by Salt Curing (Dry Method) Salt preserves meat by pulling water out until there is too little left for bacteria to live on. It is the oldest method there is and it still works, but it works on a schedule: cold enough, salted long enough, and dried far enough, with a scale to prove it. Handle with care Formula Mold Control for Sprouted Grain Fodder A peroxide soak gives sprouting fodder grain a cleaner start by knocking back the mold spores it arrives carrying. It reduces the surface load; it does not prevent mold. A cool room, moving air, and full drainage are what actually keep mold out, and no chemical substitutes for them. Handle with care Formula Oatmeal Packets for Long-Term Food Storage (3 Recipes) 1 cup oats, 3 Tbsp dry milk powder per packet; cook with 2 cups water Formula Preserving Dry Foods in Honey Honey holds so little free water that microbes struggle to grow in it, so dry food tucked under the surface keeps without a fridge. Jars of honey have turned up sealed in ancient tombs, which is the same idea at work: sealed and dry, honey does not spoil. Handle with care Formula Quick-Pickle & Fermentation Brine Two brines, two methods: a vinegar brine for fast refrigerator pickles, and a salt brine that lets vegetables ferment themselves into tangy, long-keeping food. Handle with care Formula Reduce Acidity in Canned or Preserved Foods (Baking Soda) Years-old canned tomatoes, aging preserves, and vinegar-heavy stews can taste sharp, sour, or metallic, and a pinch of baking soda fixes that at the bowl when fresh ingredients aren't an option. Handle with care Formula Reusable Beeswax Food Wraps A cotton cloth soaked in beeswax becomes a washable, moldable wrap that clings to bowls and food, replacing single-use plastic for months. Hazardous Formula Traditional Meat Curing Salt Blend Sodium nitrate is the slow half of a cure: bacteria turn it into nitrite over weeks, and it is the nitrite that guards the meat, which is why nitrate suits long dry-aged hams and salami rather than quick cures. Hazardous Formula Turkey Shepherd's Pie with Keystone Canned Turkey One 28 oz can Keystone turkey; bake at 400°F for 25 minutes Formula Vinegar Shrub (Drinking Vinegar) Before refrigeration, a shrub was how you caught a fruit harvest before it spoiled: steeping fruit in sugar and vinegar draws its juice out into a tangy syrup that keeps for months. A spoonful in a glass of water or soda makes a bright, refreshing drink, and the acid does the preserving, so it needs no canning. Handle with care Formula Wash and Disinfect Produce (Baking Soda or Vinegar) Residue wash: 2 tsp soda / quart; Soak: up to 15 min; Bacteria: 1:3 vinegar soak Handle with care Formula Water Glassing Eggs with Hydrated Lime (Long-Term Egg Storage) Ratio: 1 oz lime / quart; Per gallon: 4 oz (≈28-32 eggs); Submerge: 2 in on top Hazardous

Compounds 3

Compound Honey Shelf life: Indefinite if sealed, dry. Storage: Sealed glass or HDPE. INDEFINITE IF SEALED, DRYMULTI-USE Compound Salt Shelf life: indefinite. Use non-iodized salt for every brine. Weigh curing salt. INDEFINITEMULTI-USE Compound Sodium Nitrate Shelf life: Indefinite. Storage: Sealed glass or plastic. INDEFINITEHazardous

Supplies 62

Supply Alcohol (Spirits) Real shelf life: indefinite for distilled spirits of 80 proof and up, sealed or open; liqueurs and cream spirits fade. At 40 percent a spirit cleans but does not disinfect like 70 percent alcohol INDEFINITETINCTURE BASE Supply Beef Jerky Real shelf life: 2 years sealed for commercial jerky, 2 to 3 months once opened; homemade jerky 1 to 2 months unless you freeze it 2 YR SEALEDNO COOKING Supply Beef Tallow: Uses, Calories and How to Store It About 4,100 calories a pound; keeps 1 to 2 years airtight in a cool, dark spot, 2 to 3 years frozen Supply Bottled Water Real shelf life: Indefinite if sealed. Label says 2 years INDEFINITE IF SEALEDMULTI-USE Supply Bread and Baked Goods Store bread keeps about 2 weeks on the counter and 3 to 5 months frozen; the fridge makes it stale faster; hardtack and crackers are the shelf versions 2 WEEKSFREEZE IT Supply Butter and Margarine Butter keeps 1 to 3 months in the fridge and 6 to 9 in the freezer; ghee and canned butter are the pantry versions 6 TO 9 MO FROZENGHEE KEEPS Supply Canned Beans Real shelf life: 5 to 10 years stored cool; label says 2 to 5. Cooked, ready to eat cold, no water and no fuel 5-10 YRNO SOAK Supply Canned Beef Real shelf life: 5 to 10 years stored cool; label says 2 to 5. Fully cooked; a can of beef and a pot of rice or beans is a meal 5-10 YRCOOKED Supply Canned Fruit Real shelf life: 2 to 5 years stored cool; label says 1 to 2. The acid slowly works on the can, so fruit rotates faster than vegetables 2-5 YRHIGH ACID Supply Canned Goods Low-acid cans (meat, fish, soup, vegetables) keep 5 to 10 years stored cool; high-acid cans (fruit, tomatoes) 2 to 5; a bulging can is never opened 5-10 YR LOW ACID2-5 YR HIGH ACID Supply Canned Meat and Fish Real shelf life: 5 to 10 years stored cool for all of it; label says 2 to 5. Cooked, ready cold, no water and no fuel 5-10 YRREADY COLD Supply Canned Pumpkin Real shelf life: 2 to 5 years stored cool; label says 1 to 2. Pure pumpkin, not pie filling, is the one to stock 2-5 YRVITAMIN A Supply Canned Sardines Real shelf life: 5 to 10 years stored cool; label says 3 to 5. Protein, calcium from the bones, omega-3 from the fat, no cooking 5-10 YRBONES = CALCIUM Supply Canned Soups Real shelf life: 5 to 10 years stored cool; label says 2 to 5. Condensed soup needs a can of water per can; ready-to-eat needs none 5-10 YRWATER MATH Supply Canned Tomato Sauce Real shelf life: 2 to 5 years stored cool; label says 18 to 24 months. Tomatoes are high acid and the first can on the shelf to show age 2-5 YRHIGH ACID Supply Canned Tuna Real shelf life: 5 to 10 years stored cool; label says 3 to 5. Oil-packed carries more calories; pouches keep less long than cans 5-10 YRPROTEIN Supply Canned Vegetables Real shelf life: 3 to 5 years at full quality stored cool; label says 1 to 2. Safe longer in a sound can 3-5 YRLOW ACID Supply Canned Vegetables and Fruit Canned vegetables keep 3 to 5 years and canned fruit 2 to 5 stored cool; the acid in fruit and tomatoes is what shortens the clock 3-5 YR VEG2-5 YR FRUIT Supply CARDNL Essential Electrolytes Real shelf life: 7 to 10 years sealed, cool and dry; label says about 2. One 6 gram scoop in 16 ounces of cold water, for the days of sweat, heat, hard work or illness 7-10 YR6 G IN 16 OZ Supply Cereal and Granola Boxed cereal keeps 6 to 12 months sealed and 2 to 3 opened; granola with nuts and oil goes rancid sooner. Both are fine stale and done when they smell of paint 6-12 MOSTALE IS SAFE Supply Cheese Hard cheese keeps 6 months unopened and 3 to 4 weeks cut; soft cheese 1 to 2 weeks; mold on hard cheese can be cut away, on soft cheese it cannot HARD KEEPSSOFT 2 WEEKS Supply Chocolate Dark chocolate keeps 2 years by the label and 4 to 5 stored cool; milk and white about a year; cocoa powder indefinitely. White bloom is harmless DARK 4-5 YRBLOOM IS SAFE Supply Coconut Oil Real shelf life: 5 years sealed, cool; label says 2 years. Solid below 76°F, liquid above, and the same oil either way 5 YRSOLID UNDER 76°F Supply Condiments Mustard, hot sauce, soy sauce and vinegar keep for years; mayonnaise and dressings are months; all of them are what make stored food taste like dinner FLAVOR BUDGETMUSTARD FOREVER Supply Cooking Oil Real shelf life: 1 to 2 years sealed, cool and dark; months once opened. Coconut oil keeps 5, ghee and shortening longer, and the fat is the hardest calorie to store 1-2 YRFAT CALORIES Supply Corn Syrup Real shelf life: indefinite, sealed or opened; label says 2 to 3 years. It darkens with age and does not spoil INDEFINITECANDY + GLAZE Supply Cream of Tartar Real shelf life: indefinite, dry; label says 3 to 4 years. Half a teaspoon with a quarter teaspoon of baking soda is a teaspoon of baking powder INDEFINITEBAKING POWDER Supply Creatine Monohydrate Real shelf life: 10 or more years sealed with a desiccant; label says 2 to 3. About 5 grams a day with water; the powder is stable as long as it stays dry 10+ YR5 G A DAY Supply Cured Meats A whole dry salami keeps 6 weeks unopened on the shelf and an uncut country ham up to a year; sliced cured meat is 2 to 3 weeks in the fridge; bacon is a week SALT KEEPSWHOLE NOT SLICED Supply Dark Chocolate Real shelf life: 4 to 5 years stored cool and dark; label says 2 years. The white bloom is harmless 4-5 YRBLOOM IS SAFE Supply Dried Beans Real shelf life: up to 10 years airtight and cool; 20 to 30 in Mylar with an absorber. Old beans stay edible but take longer to soften 10-30 YRPROTEIN BASE Supply Dried Beans and Legumes The whole legume family keeps up to 10 years airtight and 20 to 30 in Mylar; lentils and split peas cook without soaking, beans need the overnight soak 10-30 YRNO-SOAK LENTILS Supply Dried Herbs and Spices Whole spices keep 3 to 4 years at full strength, ground 2 to 3, dried herbs 1 to 2; all stay safe for years past that and only fade WHOLE 3-4 YRFADES, NOT SPOILS Supply Eggs Store eggs keep 3 to 5 weeks refrigerated; beaten eggs freeze for a year; unwashed eggs with the bloom intact keep for weeks without a fridge 3-5 WEEKSFLOAT TEST Supply Fish and Seafood Fresh fish keeps 1 to 3 days refrigerated; fatty fish freezes 2 to 3 months, lean fish 4 to 8; canned fish keeps 5 to 10 years 1-3 DAYS FRESHCAN IT Supply Freeze-Dried Foods Real shelf life: 25 to 30 years in a sealed #10 can; label says 10 to 25. The number to read is calories per can, not servings 25-30 YRADD WATER Supply Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Potatoes, onions, winter squash, cabbage, carrots and apples keep for months in a cool, dark room; leafy greens and berries are days ROOT CELLARWEEKS TO MONTHS Supply Fresh Meats Steaks and roasts keep 3 to 5 days refrigerated, ground meat 1 to 2; frozen at 0°F it is safe indefinitely and at best quality for 4 to 12 months 1-5 DAYS FRESHFREEZE AT 0°F Supply Frozen Foods Frozen food held at 0°F is safe indefinitely; quality lasts 3 months for meals, 8 for vegetables, 4 to 12 for meat. A full freezer holds 48 hours without power 0°F48 HOURS Supply Grains and Flours Whole grains sealed with an absorber keep 20 to 30 years; white flour a year on the shelf and several sealed; whole wheat flour and cornmeal months, because the oil in the germ turns WHOLE GRAIN 30 YRFLOUR 1 YR Supply Hard Cheese Real shelf life: 6 to 12 months refrigerated for a well-wrapped wheel; label says 3 to 6 months. Mold on the surface is cut away, not thrown out 6-12 MOWAX IT Supply Instant Coffee Real shelf life: indefinite sealed and dry; label says about 2 years. Beans and ground coffee fade in months; instant waits for years INDEFINITEMORALE Supply Jarred Items Sealed jars keep 1 to 2 years at full quality and longer in a cool dark cupboard; a lid that has popped up or lost its seal means the jar is done LID RULEGLASS KEEPS Supply Lentils Real shelf life: up to 5 years airtight and cool; longer in Mylar. No soaking, 20 to 30 minutes to cook, the fastest protein in the bucket 5 YR+NO SOAK Supply Maple Syrup Real shelf life: indefinite unopened; label says 1 year. Opened, refrigerate; it keeps a year or more cold and molds in weeks on the counter INDEFINITE SEALEDFRIDGE OPEN Supply MREs (Meals, Ready-to-Eat): Contents, Heating, Shelf Life Shelf life is set by heat: about 11 years at 60°F, 8 at 70°F, 3 to 6 at 80°F, under 2 at 100°F, a month at 120°F Supply Nuts and Seeds Real shelf life: 6 to 12 months at full quality, longer in the freezer; the oil goes rancid. In-shell nuts keep longest; the freezer doubles everything 6-12 MOFREEZE THEM Supply Oats Real shelf life: 2 to 3 years in the container; sealed in Mylar with an oxygen absorber, many years. The oil in the oat is the clock 2-3 YRMYLAR READY Supply Packaged Snacks Crackers keep 8 months, chips about 2 months, bars about a year sealed; all go stale before they go bad, and the oily ones go rancid first MONTHS, NOT YEARSROTATE Supply Pasta Real shelf life: 2 to 3 years in the box; sealed in Mylar with an oxygen absorber it keeps for many years longer. Egg noodles are the exception 2-3 YRMYLAR READY Supply Peanut Butter Real shelf life: 2 to 3 years sealed, cool; label says 6 to 9 months past best-by. Opened, 2 to 3 months at full quality. Powdered keeps longest 2-3 YR170 CAL/OZ Supply Powdered Milk for Food Storage: Nonfat Keeps 20 Years, and How to Mix It so It Tastes Right Nonfat dry milk: 20+ years in Mylar with oxygen absorbers; 1 1/3 cups instant powder makes a quart Supply Rice Vinegar Real shelf life: indefinite; label says 2 years. Most rice vinegar is 4 to 4.5 percent acid, under the 5 percent that tested canning recipes require INDEFINITECHECK THE ACID Supply Soy Sauce Real shelf life: indefinite sealed; label says 2 to 3 years. Opened, a year or more; it darkens and loses aroma but does not spoil INDEFINITESALT + UMAMI Supply Spices to Stock: The Ten That Keep, How Long They Last, and Why a Pantry Without Them Fails Salt keeps forever, whole spices 3 to 5 years, ground spices 1 to 3; buy whole where you can and grind as you go Supply Sugar Real shelf life: indefinite, white and brown alike. It hardens, it never spoils. Store it airtight and dry with no oxygen absorber INDEFINITENO ABSORBER Supply Sweeteners That Keep: Honey, Sugar, Syrups, and How Much to Store White sugar and honey keep forever in a sealed container kept dry; store about 60 pounds of sugar per adult per year and rotate the syrups Supply Tea Bags Real shelf life: 2 to 3 years at full flavor, sealed and dry; label says 18 to 24 months. Tea fades, it does not spoil 2-3 YRWEIGHS NOTHING Supply Vanilla Extract Real shelf life: indefinite for pure vanilla extract, which is 35 percent alcohol; imitation vanilla keeps 2 to 4 years. Homemade extract keeps the same INDEFINITE35% ALCOHOL Supply Wheat Berries Real shelf life: up to 30 years sealed in Mylar with an absorber; label says 6 to 8 months. A hand mill is what makes the bucket into bread 30 YRMILL IT Supply White Rice for Preparedness: How to Store It for 30 Years Sealed in Mylar with an oxygen absorber and kept cool, white rice keeps 20 to 30 years. On the shelf in its bag, 4 to 5 years. Brown rice, a year. 10 TO 30 YRCALORIE BASE Supply Yogurt and Sour Cream Yogurt keeps 1 to 2 weeks in the fridge and sour cream 1 to 3; both hold past the date if they stay cold and the lid stays on 1 TO 3 WEEKSFRIDGE

Guides 9

Guide Beef Tallow and Cayenne Pepper: Uses and Storage Tallow keeps 1 to 2 years at room temp, 2 to 3 years frozen, vacuum-sealed or in airtight glass Guide Carnivore Food Storage: Keeping a Meat Household Fed Without a Freezer A full freezer holds 48 hours without power; everything past that is cans, rendered fat, dried meat and freeze-dried meat. Fat is the hard part: 4 ounces of tallow a day is 1,000 calories. Guide Harvest Right Freeze Dryer: Sizes, Prices, and My Experience I bought my Harvest Right in 2016 and it has been worth every penny: home freeze-dried food keeps 25 years or more, and prices change often, so check the current list. Guide Mylar Bags: Which Foods Gain the Most Shelf Life (Ranked) Best for dry, low fat foods at 10 percent moisture or lower; 300 to 500 cc per gallon Guide Pickled Eggs: The Half Gallon Jar Recipe, and the One Rule That Keeps Them Safe 1 1/2 cups white vinegar to 1/2 cup water; fridge only, 3 to 4 months; never on the counter Guide Spoilage Cheat Sheet A one-page recap. When something looks off, run these in order and trust the result. Guide Spotting Spoilage Most spoiled food fails one of a few sensory checks. Learn these signs once and you can judge almost any item, no expiration date required. When a food shows any red flag below, do not taste it to confirm. Guide The Preparedness Food Shopping List: What to Buy, How Much, and How Long It Keeps About 48 pounds of dry goods, 45 cans, a quart of oil, and 30 gallons of water covers one person for one month at 2,000 calories a day; multiply by people and months. FREE PDFPER PERSON-MONTH Guide When the Power Goes Out Cold food is safe only while it stays cold. Keep the doors shut, know your timelines, and eat down the fridge before you open the freezer.

The checklist

Tick what you already have. Checks are saved on this device.

Food and Pantry Eat-now, cook-from, and long-term bulk

Eat now, little or no cooking

Cook from staples

Long-term bulk

Protein & boosters

Flavor, morale & fresh

Audit questions

From the walk-around audit. Tap a question for what a good answer looks like.

How many days of food do you actually have?

Count calories, not cans: about 2,000 a day per adult, more in cold weather or hard work, and add it up for the whole household. Good is a month of shelf-stable food you already eat, with a deeper base of rice, beans and wheat sealed for the long haul. Start with the preparedness food shopping list and the master stocking list.

Is it calorie dense or filler?

A pantry of pasta, crackers and canned vegetables looks full and starves you. Good means fat and protein in the stack: oils, peanut butter, canned meat and fish, beans, whole grains, and the supplies that carry real calories per pound. Which foods gain the most in Mylar tells you what to seal deep.

Do you know how to prepare it without modern appliances?

Dry beans and wheat berries are useless without fuel, water and time, so the pantry has to match the stove. Good means you have cooked a full meal from storage on the backup stove, you own two manual can openers, and you know the soak and simmer times. Cooking, Fuel and Fire is the page.

What food spoils first if power fails?

The refrigerator is safe about four hours closed; a full freezer about 48 hours, half full about 24. Good means an appliance thermometer in each, and an eating order you already know: refrigerator first, freezer next, shelf-stable last. The spoilage cheat sheet tells you what to trust.

Do you have a plan to cook or preserve it quickly?

A freezer full of meat is a two-day problem. Good means a way to can, dry, cure or cook it before it turns: a pressure canner and jars, a smoker or dehydrator, salt, and the fuel to run them. The Survival Foods field guide has the methods and the freeze dryer is the long answer.

Can you realistically consume it in time?

If the plan is to eat 60 pounds of thawing beef in 48 hours, the plan is to lose most of it. Good means the freezer holds no more than you can cook, preserve or share in two days, and the rest of the food supply does not need cold at all.

Score this in the audit

Common mistake

Storing food nobody will eat, or with no way to cook it off-grid.

Storing bulk grain and beans with no fat, salt, or way to make them worth eating.

Skills to learn

seal mylar with oxygen absorbers · rotate stock · cook from scratch · cook dried beans and grain · build balanced meals · preserve a harvest

When it matters

BlackoutWildfire and EvacuationRising Prices and ShortagesNo Doctor Available