# Cooking Oil Prep



## Sasquatch (Dec 12, 2014)

While fixing my dinner tonight I realized I didn't have very much cooking oil on hand. Lot's of food stores but not enough oil. 

Out of curiosity what types of cooking oil and how much do most of you store?


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## A Watchman (Sep 14, 2015)

Peanut oil and I keep 10 gallons.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

If SHTF to the point we are forced to go all on our own we go back to using lard. We stock some olive and vegetable oil.


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## Illini Warrior (Jan 24, 2015)

coconut, olive and palm stores the best long term - but at the price point savings rotating corn and/or soy oil only makes sense .... someone mentioned lard - drop a 2 gallon bucket in the freezer bottom and you have a fat cache - it cans well also ....


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## TG (Jul 28, 2014)

I learned to cook without oil..


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## Illini Warrior (Jan 24, 2015)

TG said:


> I learned to cook without oil..


I cook alot with margarine vs oil - freezes well - gets down dirt cheap for the 1lb packs of 1/4 sticks during the summer .....


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

We keep very little cooking oil but a number of #10 cans of powdered butter.



Sasquatch said:


> While fixing my dinner tonight I realized I didn't have very much cooking oil on hand. Lot's of food stores but not enough oil.
> 
> Out of curiosity what types of cooking oil and how much do most of you store?


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## TG (Jul 28, 2014)

Illini Warrior said:


> I cook alot with margarine vs oil - freezes well - gets down dirt cheap for the 1lb packs of 1/4 sticks during the summer .....


I meant to say I learned to cook with no oil, no margarine, no butter of any kind..etc


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

TG said:


> I learned to cook without oil..


Oil would also be needed to make soap.

I store two 56oz jugs of coconut oil in my prepper chest freezer. I also keep two of the Sam's Club 35 lb. jugs of peanut oil in my prepper room, which stays dark & 60 degrees. That will be rotated out as we use a fair amount of peanut oil at work having multiple fish fries each year. For longer term, I store both oilseed sunflower seed & oilseed pumpkin seed. Never used it before, but have a Piteba oil press on the shelf. Also would eventually start a dairy operation, to provide milk & butter. Real close to getting a Dexter calf.


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## 8301 (Nov 29, 2014)

Cooking oil tends to go rancid after about 2-4 years no matter how carefully it's stored although cooler storage will help it last a little longer. Because of this we keep 3 gallons and using a sharpie write the purchase date on each. 

We also keep some powdered shortening with a 15 yr shelf life but I've never tried it.


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

John Galt said:


> Cooking oil tends to go rancid after about 2-4 years no matter how carefully it's stored although cooler storage will help it last a little longer. Because of this we keep 3 gallons and using a sharpie write the purchase date on each.


Yep, so either rotate your oil stocks every 2 years or simply throw it out & purchase more. Point being, 35 lbs of oil only costs $31 and is not a big expense compared to other prepper items. In my situation, I'll just donate the 2 year old oil to the local Catholic church that provides meals to the poor. Our church assists every few weeks. These folks cook great meals & manage by taking in foods from the local stores that is past their sell by date. Last week when we helped, they served over 100 folks beef ribs, pork BBQ, mashed potatoes & gravy, green beans, bread & dessert. They trust me to wash the pots & pans.


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## RJAMES (Dec 23, 2016)

I have a couple pails of hog lard in the freezer just to make it last longer. I do not seem to get it used up very fast so I end up sharing a lot of it I suppose I get two 5 pound buckets every 18 months or so depending on when I have a hog butchered. Just use a marker and date the container I could keep more but it takes up space so any more than 4 I share or sell it. I do not seem to get more than a couple pounds used in a year. 

I buy vegetable oil when on sale as the wife will not let me use lard all the time I rotate it and use about 1/2 gallon a year. 

I think post SHTF it is a lot of putting water on to boil and throwing in whatever you got to make a soup. Fried foods are nice but not necessary boiled or baked potato is most likely better for me.


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## azrancher (Dec 14, 2014)

Illini Warrior said:


> it cans well also ....


 @Illini Warrior I know people can butter, does it work well with oils, how about lard?

*Rancher*


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## azrancher (Dec 14, 2014)

TG said:


> I learned to cook without oil..


So did I, it's called being a bachelor, so I cooked everything on the BBQ.

*Rancher *


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## TG (Jul 28, 2014)

azrancher said:


> So did I, it's called being a bachelor, so I cooked everything on the BBQ.
> 
> *Rancher *


Or on camp fire


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

You can cook with out oil or lard . But sure the heck will not make good corn bread.


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## Illini Warrior (Jan 24, 2015)

azrancher said:


> @Illini Warrior I know people can butter, does it work well with oils, how about lard?
> 
> *Rancher*


the experts say you shouldn't can lard - they say the same about butter .... you supposedly can't heat penetrate thru the lard fat for safe canning - butter is ruined by the heat necessary to make that safe ....

but the cans of crisco are good on the store shelves for months on end - last years in the frig once you open it - a lifetime if you freeze it ....

all kinds of success talk about pressure canning it - same same using a foodsaver jar vacuum .... using factory rendered lard seems a whole lot safer than trying to long term DIY rendered lard - the impurities you leave could come back on you ...


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## JustAnotherNut (Feb 27, 2017)

As mentioned elsewhere, when canning beef broth I no longer skim off the fat first, but leave it & can it all together (broth & fat). Once it's cooled in the pantry, the fat raises to the top & solidifies. This way you don't have to worry about a large amount going rancid before it's used....just what's in the jar. Usually 1-3 tablespoons. 

Right now we have about 2 gallons of vegetable oil, 2 gallons of extra virgin olive oil, and a couple canisters of shortening/lard. I also have a small canister of bacon grease on the counter to be used or added to as needed. Along with the fat in the jars. Also lots of butter in the freezer.

I use different types of oil or fats for different stuff and that way it all lasts longer. It's also possible to cook using a little water or broth instead of fat/oil......depending on what you're cooking.


Another thing I've tried, is to cut off any extra fat from meat & heat till it melts as much as it will & use that to cook with. If there isn't enough for what I need, I will add some type of oil or whatever, but I don't use as much.


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## Annie (Dec 5, 2015)

I like olive oil and coconut oil, and realize shortening isn't the healthiest by any means but if we're talking about a super serious long term shtf (more than a year), I know I'll need something, because we're not going to be blessed with any livestock to slaughter here.

From Wendy DeWitt's wonderful blog
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2011
Everything Under The Sun: February 2011
Fats and oils are difficult to store in a long term supply, but your body needs them to stay healthy. I've exchanged oil with shortening in my storage because shortening has a much longer shelf life.
In January of 2006 (5 years ago) I bought vegetable shortening in 3 types of containers;
1) a hard metal can with a metal lid that had to be taken off with a can opener (which I don't think they make anymore)
2) a soft cardboard type container with an aluminum lining inside and an aluminum peel off lid protecting the product
3) a soft plastic container with a soft, white peel off lid protecting the product.
The shortening in containers 1 and 2 were still fresh but the shortening in 3 (the plastic container with the white peel off lid) was rancid.
(I was told quite a few years ago that shortening in the metal cans would last pretty much forever...so I'm going to wait at least another 5 years before I open another one of those.)
I can re-seal the good shortening that I've opened (and greatly extend it's shelf life) by melting it on the stove and carefully pouring it into quart canning jars while it's still hot and immediately placing the lids and rings on them. (I had 9 pounds of shortening and it filled 5 quart jars) Make sure the rims are free of any oil. As it cools, the lids should make that great "plink" sound and seal. If it doesn't seal, you can re-heat the shortening in the jar until it's quite hot and then replace the lid and ring. You can also vacuum seal the jars that don't seal after they cool. With the shortening in quart jars, you can see if they start to discolor and go rancid.
The Crisco brand shortening had the aluminum lined containers with metal bottoms and aluminum peel back lids. The WalMart house brand had the aluminum peel back lid but the container was made from the white plastic and was not aluminum lined inside.

From youtuber "horticultureandhomes"
The shortening experiment:








And Katzcradul who is a food storage queen, imo.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

We freeze lard keeps a long time.


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## JustAnotherNut (Feb 27, 2017)

Annie said:


> I like olive oil and coconut oil, and realize shortening isn't the healthiest by any means but if we're talking about a super serious long term shtf (more than a year), I know I'll need something, because we're not going to be blessed with any livestock to slaughter here.
> 
> From Wendy DeWitt's wonderful blog
> SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2011
> ...


That is a great idea, but I'm not sure I'd use regular canning jars......just to save them for other stuffs. But using saved store jars from pasta sauces, pickles, salsa, etc with the rubber seal undamaged, simmer them a few minutes before putting on the jars and then use the vacuum sealer if they didn't seal.

I have used saved store jars for canning things like pickles, jams & salsas with no problem, so using them for fat would make sense too.


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

We keep 4-5 cans of Crisco around. But I never thought of it as a "prep" since it does go rancid after a while. I am just so cheap that I stock up when I find on sale.


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## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

I get 18-L metal cans of oil oil from Greece. I use that for special cooking and keep as my reserve.

Stored in the cool cellar I see no difference in quality even with 3-4 years of storage. I only open the can to tap off 4- 5-L at a time so minimal expose to air. The tapped off goes into 1-L glass bottles that stay in the cellar until what I have in the kitchen gets used up.


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## azrancher (Dec 14, 2014)

Illini Warrior said:


> the experts say you shouldn't can lard - they say the same about butter .... you supposedly can't heat penetrate thru the lard fat for safe canning - butter is ruined by the heat necessary to make that safe ....


Butter is not necessarily ruined, it's made into gee, with the milk solids at the bottom. Some people can just the gee, some can with the solids at the bottom, some shake it up so it's lumpy butter :tango_face_grin:

*Rancher*


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## Prepared One (Nov 5, 2014)

I had no idea you could freeze lard and shortening. Thanks for the tip. We don't cook with oil much but it's something want on hand.


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