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Small Cabin Forum / Off-Grid Living / Winter time Food storage
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justincasei812
Member
# Posted: 17 Jan 2012 15:10
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Not sure if this is out there or not but....

When packing things up for the winter months when you will not be back to the cabin until spring what types of food are safe and that you would normally leave with freezing temps? I am sure all boxed food as long as it was kept in a tote or something that the critters can't get into. Anyone leave anything else so they are not repacking it and bring it back in the spring??

MtnDon
Member
# Posted: 17 Jan 2012 15:24
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We have our cabin at 8800 feet in northern NM. Temperatures can dip to -20 F but don't usually stay there long (day or so, not weeks/months.) My experiments have shown that cooking oils just solidify but thaw okay. Ketchup in a plastic bottle that is not full like a new one is okay. We leave those foil/plastic aseptic containers of milk and juice over the winter. Actually we stock pile those in fall because we snow shoe up to the cabin in winter. We leave peanut and almond butters in glass; no issues.

Canned goods are generally a no=no unless the tempers only go slightly below freezing as the salt content keeps them from freezing right at 32 F.

Spaghetti sauce in foil packs freeze okay, although the texture may change.

wakeslayer
Member
# Posted: 17 Jan 2012 15:39
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As I mentioned in another thread, we do not worry much about this stuff. We don't leave much for canned goods or full, jarred stuff in the winter, anything else is fine. No critters really as we are tight and leave hedgeballs out.
I have left beer with marginal success. Sometimes they explode, sometimes they don't. Round bottomed cans just mean you have to drink them, not set them down.

justincasei812
Member
# Posted: 17 Jan 2012 16:21
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This is the first winter with a cabin and just not sure what to keep up there and what not. My thought process is that you stop bringing things in at deer season and eat what is there. This way less to take back home. There are just some things that I would think would be easier to leave if at all possible without destroying it.

Thanks all.

MtnDon
Member
# Posted: 17 Jan 2012 17:26
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Got interrupted before....

We leave all sorts of dry foods from dried fruits, through rice, pasta, potato flakes, bread and pancake mixes... Maple syrup just solidifies but thaws good. I've had wine get slushy, but it still tasted fine.


I did a lot of testing in the home freezer.

justincasei812
Member
# Posted: 18 Jan 2012 21:58
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Good to know that most things can be left there other than things that can freeze and burst. Slushy wine sounds good.

trollbridge
Member
# Posted: 18 Jan 2012 22:07
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We left wine that froze and the bottles broke open...the cabin smelled good though.

wakeslayer
Member
# Posted: 18 Jan 2012 22:48
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In vino veritas !!

Bevis
Member
# Posted: 18 Jan 2012 23:12
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Mtn Don...was it you that made a post about a in ground storage container ?

CabinBuilder
Admin
# Posted: 18 Jan 2012 23:23
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Older related thread about winter food storage.

justincasei812
Member
# Posted: 19 Jan 2012 15:37
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Thanks. I just read that a few hours ago. Looks pretty interesting.

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