Extend the shelf life of emergency food by soaking in vinegar, oil, alcohol or brine
Created: 12/22/2022, 6:30 p.m
By: Janine Napirca
Have you stocked up on groceries?
Pickling allows you to extend the shelf life of your emergency supplies.
Who doesn't enjoy eating antipasti in oil, sheep's cheese made in brine or pickled gherkins?
Pickled food is part of everyday life, not only because of the taste: In times of crisis, an emergency stock of food that has been preserved for a longer period of time is extremely advisable.
You can pickle and thus preserve various foods either in vinegar or oil, but also in brine or in alcohol.
Pickling food in vinegar, oil, brine or alcohol will extend its shelf life.
© Lester120/Imago
Other popular methods of making food last longer for emergency supplies include fermenting, smoking, adding sugar, cooling, salting, preserving or vacuuming.
Which foods can be preserved by pickling to extend their shelf life?
vegetables | fruit | Miscellaneous |
|---|---|---|
cucumbers | cherries | eggs |
onions | strawberries | herring |
Beetroot | quinces | sardines |
Corn | figs | tuna |
pumpkin | plums | sheep cheese |
olives | apricots | goat cheese |
garlic | peaches | Mushrooms |
paprika | apples | |
eggplant | pears | |
tomatoes | ||
Peas | ||
carrots | ||
beans | ||
zucchini | ||
cauliflower | ||
Chinese cabbage | ||
chili peppers |
When putting in food for the emergency supply, you should definitely make sure that the vegetables, fruit and co. do not show any bruises or discolouration.
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Instructions: Make food last longer by pickling it in vinegar
The best-known preservation method of pickling is probably in vinegar.
Since the acid kills bacteria, at least five percent apple, wine or fruit vinegar is ideal for making food in emergency supplies last longer.
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Mix half a liter of water with 250 milliliters of vinegar and add two teaspoons of salt, two teaspoons of raw sugar and spices such as bay leaves, mustard seeds, pepper, juniper berries or coriander seeds.
Bring the broth to the boil while you fill the clean jars with the foods you want to preserve by pickling them in vinegar.
Pour the hot liquid into the jars and seal them.
Make sure the food is completely covered by the liquid.
After about six weeks you can eat the pickles.
Opened jars should be refrigerated and used within two weeks.
Food preserved in vinegar will keep for several months unopened if you store the jars in a cool and dark place, for example in the cellar.
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Instructions: Make food last longer by preserving it in oil
If you want to preserve food in oil, you should dry, boil or fry it beforehand, as the oil is not as effective as vinegar and only prevents microorganisms from growing by depriving them of oxygen.
Food such as cream, goat or sheep cheese and mozzarella, but also Mediterranean vegetables such as peppers, aubergines, artichokes, zucchini and tomatoes, and mushrooms are often marinated in rapeseed, sunflower or olive oil.
Depending on your taste, enrich the oil with spices such as fresh or dried herbs or pepper.
Again, use clean mason jars and completely cover the desired foods in the seasoned oil.
Seal the jars and store them in a cool, dark place, so the food preserved in oil will keep for about three months.
Instructions: Make food last longer by soaking it in brine
Food can also be preserved in brine and thus preserved for longer.
Cut the foods you want to pickle in brine into small pieces that you layer in the clean jars.
Boil one liter of water in a saucepan and add three tablespoons of salt and one tablespoon of lemon juice.
When the brine has cooled, you can pour it into the jars so that the food is completely covered.
What foods should you not refreeze after defrosting?
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Instructions: Make food last longer by soaking it in alcohol
You can also use alcohol to preserve food and make it last longer for emergency supplies, especially (dried) fruit, but nuts are also often preserved in alcohol.
Fill the clean preserving jars with the washed and, if necessary, cut fruit.
In a bowl, mix the alcohol with sugar and spices of your choice, such as basil, cinnamon or vanilla.
Baste the fruit in the jars completely and seal them.
With an alcohol content of around 50 percent, the pickled food will keep for around three months.
To preserve food by steeping it in alcohol, you can use rum, gin, vodka, double grain, brandy, or red wine, depending on your taste.
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