# Cooking spices for bartering



## budgetprepp-n (Apr 7, 2013)

I was in the shop and save and they have sugar $4 for two 4 pound bags. $.50 a pound.
I already have enough sugar put back for me and maybe even a little extra.
But .50 a pound? so for $50 I can get 100 lb of sugar for bartering? I think that sugar is
going to be hard to find. But it got me thinking ,, What other spices would be good to put back
for bartering? If it's going to be in demand after shtf and it's cheap now might as well get some. 

what other spices should I get?


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## Deebo (Oct 27, 2012)

Salt, bullion cubes, and pepper are an easy add.


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## Deebo (Oct 27, 2012)

How long would cooking oil be ok for, if unopened?


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## MaterielGeneral (Jan 27, 2015)

Garlic and lots of salt.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

Deebo said:


> How long would cooking oil be ok for, if unopened?


From what I've experienced and read, 1 year is pretty much the shelf life for vegetable oil unopened. There is a rancid taste and smell that happens when it gets old. In a SHTF situation, I might use it well after a year.

Recently, we had some vegetable oil that was old and evidently rancid because as soon as it hit the hot skillet, the smell was overwhelming.


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

1. Salt
2. Sugar

Neither goes bad, both have countless uses. Their granular nature allows for precise measure for trading.
They are the only two I stock.


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## Camel923 (Aug 13, 2014)

Question: would olive oil last longer?

http://www.amazon.com/Medicinal-Herb-Garden-Patriot-Seeds/dp/B01537K6TO and http://www.amazon.com/Culinary-Herb..._UL160_SR160,160_&refRID=058GTBZSZG8QEKC12K40 Grow your own. If you have a green house, it can be done year round. Medicinal as well as cooking.


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## Deebo (Oct 27, 2012)

Wow, royal Crystal iodized salt is 26 ounces for .50 each, must order 24, from dollar tree website.


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## gambit (Sep 14, 2015)

beside bartering you can always cant go with natures medicine 
mint
sage
rosemary
turmeric
ginger 
chile pepper
Cinnamon
Saffron --if you can afford it ( very healthy for women at that time )
Parsley
I know some are herbs but beside garlic and what not these herbs / spices are good for illnesses 
for bartering I would only use cinnamon chile pepper because they can boost metabolism which I think 'key words I think' might not be a good idea if you working hard and you will burn more calories and if you add a high metabolism that can turn deadly 
we need a doctor or a some one who is like smart or something 'not me' to tell me if I am wrong of not


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## SOCOM42 (Nov 9, 2012)

Camel923 said:


> Question: would olive oil last longer?
> 
> Amazon.com : Medicinal Herb Garden by Patriot Seeds : Sports & Outdoors and Amazon.com: Culinary Herb Garden by Patriot Seeds: Sports & Outdoors Grow your own. If you have a green house, it can be done year round. Medicinal as well as cooking.


NO on the olive, Had 10 one gallon cans of Bertoli olive oil, age from one to three years .

Opened one three years old, it was bad, took one from two years, bad.

returned all the oil to the ground.

Last night I opened a gallon jug of Wesson veggi oil that was bought Dec. 2014, it was good, used it to make potato pancakes.

Herbox bullion cubes have a shelf life max of two years, at four they smell like rotting meat.

You can extend the life if you keep in freezer.

I buy one gallon of Canola and one of vegetable oil a year because of the above reason.

The canola at about 10 years will blow out, found out the hard way. that happened about 20 years ago, five gallon commercial carboy.

There was no best by dating then.

I made an adaptor to convert one hydraulic pump and cylinder into a veggi press to make my own if needed.


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## budgetprepp-n (Apr 7, 2013)

I found a can of lard unopened the cheap stuff (dollar store clover valley) It was still good and had expiration date of 2012


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## Maine-Marine (Mar 7, 2014)

budgetprepp-n said:


> I was in the shop and save and they have sugar $4 for two 4 pound bags. $.50 a pound.
> I already have enough sugar put back for me and maybe even a little extra.
> But .50 a pound? so for $50 I can get 100 lb of sugar for bartering? I think that sugar is
> going to be hard to find. But it got me thinking ,, What other spices would be good to put back
> ...


http://www.penncouponing.com/smartsource.htm

Save 75¢ on TWO (2) Domino® Sugar Products 2 lbs. or Larger ..it doubles to $1.50

I have so much sugar, my wife will not let me buy any more


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## Medic33 (Mar 29, 2015)

let's put it this way without spice food tastes blan -so for a barter item -yeah it will be more valuable than gold.


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## Targetshooter (Dec 4, 2015)

I have read all the post on this thread ,,,, no one has said anything about yeast ? You will need it for making bread and baking ,.


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## SOCOM42 (Nov 9, 2012)

Targetshooter said:


> I have read all the post on this thread ,,,, no one has said anything about yeast ? You will need it for making bread and baking ,.


When the yeast runs out, sourdough.


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## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

Have been putting up homegrown when possible.

Garlic onion leeks sage rosemary thyme basil parsley oregano celery various peppers . For sugars maple syrup and honey. 

Will need to stock up on black pepper. Need lots more salt for food and other uses.

Other things are tea and coffee. Can do teas with local wild stuff but no caffeine in those.

What of these spices not mentioned above can be grown in zones 5 or less?


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

Targetshooter said:


> I have read all the post on this thread ,,,, no one has said anything about yeast ? You will need it for making bread and baking ,.


Yeast is from a naturally occurring bacteria in the wild. It's everywhere. You can acquire it from various natural sources. Stockpiling it is not really all that necessary.
Once you have a good "mother", you just have to feed it water and sugar, and you'll have all the yeast you'll ever need.


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## DadofTheFamily (Feb 19, 2015)

Don't forget to have a good supply for yourself as well. You can prepare beans, lentils, oatmeal and rice a gazillion ways with lots of spice combos. A good place to shop for spices is Asian or Indian grocery stores. They typically use much more spice in their food than most Americans and are generally thrifty. They won't pay $5.00 for some little jar in the grocery store. I found you can get 5-10x the spice for the same price at Indian/Asian stores. Also Amazon is good too. Storing spices is another good reason to have a vacuum sealer.


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## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

Kauboy said:


> Yeast is from a naturally occurring bacteria in the wild. It's everywhere. You can acquire it from various natural sources. Stockpiling it is not really all that necessary.
> Once you have a good "mother", you just have to feed it water and sugar, and you'll have all the yeast you'll ever need.


Don't forget various types of yeast too. Baking is a bit different than brewing but both are important in my preps.

I have done good home brew cider with natural yeast but it dies off/gets pickeled if you add sugars to increase alcohol content. For that I use champagne yeast and can get to 16-17%. I use the mother of that. Have access to orchards berry and other crops.

I need to look into building a still for brandies and grain for "medicinal" purposes. Have a good chemistry background so just need to settle on a design that uses inexpensive readily available materials.

For baking you keep some dough working in the frig and refresh it with each new batch.

P.S. yeast is not a bacterium, it's a eucaryote, the un-coli! They have a nucleus and higher genetics than procaryotic bacteria.

"God made yeast, as well as dough, and loves fermentation just as dearly as he loves vegetation. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson"


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

Mad Trapper said:


> P.S. yeast is not a bacterium, it's a eucaryote, the un-coli! They have a nucleus and higher genetics than procaryotic bacteria.


Oh, so more like a fungus then.
Never knew that. Thanks!


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## Urinal Cake (Oct 19, 2013)

Vanilla ~ easy to make
I have 2 hellmans jars of it and when I refill my little McCormick bottle I add more cheap vodka to the Mother jar!


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## 8301 (Nov 29, 2014)

Deebo said:


> How long would cooking oil be ok for, if unopened?


12 to 24 months, olive oil is about the same.

About once a year I buy a 1 gallon bottle of oil and consider it the price of maintaining preps. I then toss out the 3 yr old bottle.


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## 8301 (Nov 29, 2014)

Targetshooter said:


> I have read all the post on this thread ,,,, no one has said anything about yeast ? You will need it for making bread and baking ,.


Yeast in small airtight packets is good for 2-3 years at room temperature. If kept frozen in sealed package it's good for 5-7 years.


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