Food and Pantry

Food Storage Bags – The Complete Guide for Every Job on the Homestead

I have a drawer in my kitchen that used to be a junk drawer, and now it is entirely dedicated to bags. Freezer bags, vacuum bags, paper bags, mesh...

Canning Carrots – The Complete Guide

Carrots store well in a root cellar for months on their own, so why can them at all? Because canned carrots are ready to dump straight into a soup...

Deer Jerky Recipe – The Safe Way to Turn Venison Into Trail-Ready Jerky

A good deer season leaves you with more venison than your freezer really wants to hold, and jerky is one of the best ways to turn that surplus into...

Homemade Kefir – A Complete Beginner’s Guide

The first jar of kefir grains I ever got came in a small ziplock bag from a woman at my local farmers market, handed over like she was passing along...

Homemade Almond Milk Recipe – How to Make It From Scratch

I switched to making my own almond milk years ago, after doing the math on how much a carton of the store bought stuff was costing me every week for...

Fermented Pickles – The Complete Guide

There are pickles, and then there are fermented pickles, and once you have made a real batch of the second kind, the jarred stuff from the grocery...

The Right Way to Preserve Vegetables in Oil

You probably saw a recipe online for garlic in olive oil. Maybe it was on Pinterest or on some pretty-looking blog with beautiful photos. The recipe...

How Long Does Ground Beef Last in the Fridge?

Raw ground beef holds up in the fridge for 1 to 2 days after purchase, according to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. Cooked ground beef...

How to Make Homemade Greek Yogurt

Yogurt is good food. In fact, it’s ranked as one of the superfoods. It’s an excellent source of protein, calcium, phosphorus, Vitamin B12, and B2....

Sauerkraut Soup – The Best Way to Use Up a Homestead Kraut Harvest

Every fall, homesteaders end up with the same happy problem: a crock, a bucket, or a shelf full of jars packed with sauerkraut and no plan for using...

This Unusual Trick Preserves Soup for 6+ Months

If you’re like me and you put up enough food to feed a small army, then you might be struggling with this problem: your pantry, root cellar, and...

10 Fermentation Mistakes That Will Ruin the Whole Batch

The first time I made sauerkraut, I was so proud of myself, right up until I lifted the lid a week later. The whole crock was slimy and gray and...

Lactic Acid Fermentation – A Complete Guide for the Home Homesteader

Before refrigerators, before canning, before any of the modern food preservation systems we take for granted, people kept vegetables safe and...

How to Make Sour Cream at Home – Simple, Reliable, and Better Than Store-Bought

Store-bought sour cream is fine when you need it in a pinch, but once you start making it yourself, the difference is hard to ignore. Homemade sour...

Bulk Fermentation: The Complete Homesteader’s Guide to Getting It Right Every Time

If you have ever pulled a sourdough loaf out of the oven and found it flat, dense, sticky, or gummy in the middle, the problem almost certainly...

This Is Why You Should Add Cinnamon to Your Lard

I keep two jars of lard in my kitchen. One is plain white, neutral, and good for everything. Frying eggs, making gravy, seasoning pans, you name it....

Stop Washing Fresh Eggs! (Do This Instead)

If you are raising your own chickens, or thinking about it, this is something to learn early on. Fresh eggs are not store eggs, and they should not...