Best cooking oils for prepping

best cooking oils for prepping

Cooking oils in the prepper's pantry
Storing fats and oils for long term food storage

What are the best cooking oils for prepping?
With cooking oils you can bake, fry, sauté or use for dipping,
dressings and marinades. They add flavor and vitamins to your
foods. Unfortunately cooking oils have a short shelf life.

Cooking oils and fats are essential item for the prepper's pantry,
but since they go rancid fairly quickly, you may be wondering
which ones to get. Below is our list of which oils are the best for
health and for long term food storage. We also include a list of
which you should avoid.

Best Cooking oils in the Prepper's Pantry
Looking for the best cooking oils for long term food storage?
Here's the skinny on cooking fats...

#1: Bacon fat / lard.
Bacon fat is a good oil for prepping. Bacon fat was likely the
favored cooking oil your ancestors chose. That is if you can trace
your origins to the United States!

Did you know the pioneers brought with them 50-lbs. of lard on
the journey along the Oregon Trail? Native Americans also
rendered fat from hogs. Today the tradition continues with many
homesteaders.

Not everyone is so inclined to raise pigs for cooking oil. In such
cases, you can find pure lard as a premium cooking oil if you look
online.

#2: Butter powder.
Butter powder is a convenient item in the prepper's pantry for
your recipes that call for butter and butter powder can have up to
a ten year shelf life if preserved in a #10 can as is the Augason
Farms butter powder, pictured right. Augason Farms says you can
use the butter powder in soups, sauces and candies-any recipe
that calls for regular butter. Butter powders are easier to handle
and have a shelf life much longer than stick butter.

In case you're wondering, the ingredients of the Augason Farms
are butter (cream, water salt) non-fat milk, tocopherols, and
ascorbyl palmiate. The ingredients beyond the butter help to
stabilize the product for use and long shelf life.

The ingredients of the Hoosier Hill butter powder, pictured right
are butter (sweet cream, salt, annotto color) and nonfat milk
solids. The convenient one-pound jar is good for your everyday
cooking. It's GMO-free and made in the U.S.A. in Ft. Wayne,
Indiana.

#3: Canned butter.
Butter is high in Vitamin A. If you have been looking to add REAL
butter - not powdered or freeze dried - to your long term food
storage program, then look no further. This butter is imported
from New Zealand and tastes better than any gourmet butter.
Very long shelf life - about ten years. No refrigeration necessary.
Another great quality is its list of ingredients: pasteurized cream
and salt. That's it! No preservatives, food colorings, or chemicals
of any kind. Just naturally made wholesome butter from down
under. Best of all, it's hormone free.

#4: Coconut oil.
The ultimate winner of cooking oils with preppers is c oconut oil ,
preferably organic. Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil,
pictured right, has 100% less cholesterol than butter. It's
deliciously healthy cooking oil. Better than butter and are USDA
Organic. Unrefined with no trans fats, rich in lauric acid.

It's important to note that people allergic to tree nuts should
stay away from this potential allergen.

#5: Corn oil (organic only, non-GMO).
It's a well-known fact that 96% of corn on the market is
genetically modified (GMO), but organic corn is the exception!
Corn oil is the prepper go-to ingredient for corn muffin oil, but it's
also very tasty in salad dressing that have pepper or garlic.

#6: Ghee.
Gee, you hadn't really thought about Ghee, a clarified butter that
has a reasonable shelf life, but maybe you should. Ghee is
clarified butter and a flavorful addition to many recipes. It's
prepared by melting and simmering butter until all the water
evaporates and the milk solids settle at the bottom. The
remaining butter oil is very stable, giving it a high smoke point
which makes it an excellent choice to use for frying and sautéing
and it can be stored without refrigeration for up to a year.

Pure grass-fed Organic Ghee, pictured right, is rich in nutrients,
including healthy fat soluble vitamins which aid in the absorption
of nutrients in the foods. Ghee contains naturally occurring CLA,
Vitamins A, D & K. Per Ayurveda, cow ghee is one of the most
sacred foods. During the clarification process, milk solids are
removed, leaving the healthy butter fats behind. Small, trace
amounts of casein and lactose can possibly remain in the ghee,
but unless a person is extremely sensitive, consuming ghee will
be fine, even if dairy is not. Ghee does not contain milk solids,
which gives it a very high smoke point (~485 °F). Because it is
very stable at high heat, it is considered one of the best oils for
baking, sautéing and deep fat frying. When you sauté or fry with
butter, milk solids can burn causing an unpleasant odor,
appearance and taste. Also, there is no hissing, popping or
splattering when you use ghee. It also has a sweet aroma and
actually becomes richer in flavor as well. Ghee does not contain
harmful trans-fats which can cause heart disease and many other
serious health problems. Well-prepared ghee is very shelf-stable
because it has low moisture content. Keep in an airtight container
at room temperature for 2-3 months. In the refrigerator, it can
last up to a year.

#7: Palm Oil.
Palm oil is a heart-healthy cooking oil that's loaded with Vitamin
E and antioxidants. A sacred food for thousands of years,
Americans are now getting up to speed with the health benefits
of this amazing oil. Dr. Josh Axe highlights palm oil benefits. It
can help reduce the risk of many diseases, such as Alzheimer's
and cancer, he says. The powerful antioxidants like beta-carotene
and lycopene, help give it some of the anti-cancer acclaim.

While palm oil has a one-year shelf life, which is just half that of
olive oil, it's good to have on hand. If you store popcorn, then
you'll want to have this oil for popping.

Preppers will also appreciate how cheap it is, and guess what?
You can also use it as a carrier oil for use with essential oils.

#8: Olive oil.
A staple of Italian cooking, olive oil won't last more than a few
years, but if you buy olive oil in a can, like the Pam Organic olive
oil spray, right, it will last longer. The goal keeping olive oil as
fresh as possible is keeping it away from light.

#9: Pam Olive oil spray (Organic).
Pam Organic olive oil spray, pictured immediate right, is an
updated no-stick prepper favorite oil. This is U.S.D.A. organic and
made with 100% extra virgin olive oil for fat-free cooking. It has
a shelf-life of two years.

#10: Peanut oil.
You may be surprised to read the recommendation of peanut oil o
the list of emergency cooking oils to stockpile. Why is peanut oil
so good for preppers? The answer is two-fold:

Peanut oil has a long shelf life. Generally, oils don't have
long shelf life, but peanut oil is the exception in that it can
last 18-24 months unopened, or 6 months if the container
has been Opened. The great thing is that you can re-use
peanut oil several times within the six-month storage period
Peanut oil is among the best oils for frying, light sautéing
and making stir-fries.

Another wonderful thing about peanut oil is that it is made of
mono-unsaturated fatty acids, which lower your risk of heart
disease.

Be cautious as you may have preppers in your group who have an
allergy to peanuts. New research indicates that exposure to
peanuts at an earlier age is beneficial to lowering the risk of
peanut allergies.

#11 Sesame oil.
It may not be top on the list of prepper cooking oils, but you'll
find sesame oil has its place in the pantry because enhances
Asian-cuisine. Another bonus is that it's high in its antioxidant
content. You can easily pack a small bottle in your preps for stir
fry cooking. Sesame oil is also effective for oil pulling teeth. As
well sesame oil makes a great carrier oil for use with essential
oils.

#12: Sunflower seed oil.
Sunflower seed oil is a healthy choice and it has a long shelf life,
making it an ideal pantry item for food storage. While sunflower
seed oil is ideal for the preppers pantry, it's also a versatile
supply to have on hand for the prepper's medicine cabinet.

Now you can reach for the sunflower oil as a carrier oil too as it's
loaded with Vitamin E, which is well known for improving skin
conditions. Applying sunflower oil directly to skin is beneficial for
poorly healing wounds, psoriasis and even arthritis. As well,
sunflower oil is a remedy for constipation and can also lower
"bad" LDL cholesterol, according to WebMD.com.

There's more good news about sunflower seed oil. An abstract
published by the U.S National Library of Medicine National
Institutes of Health says that "Ozonized sunflower oil, Oleozon,
has a remarkable germicidal action."

If you like cooking with sunflower seed oil, then be sure add
some sunbutter in your prepper's pantry as well.

Now that you have a list of some of the best cooking oils and
fats for prepping, you may be wondering about some other oils.
The ones to avoid are below...

Cooking oils preppers should avoid
If you're looking in your pantry at some of the oils currently in
stock and comparing it to our list above, you may find some other
oils not mentioned. Below are some of those oils.

Here is a list of oils that preppers should avoid either because of
health concerns or because they have a short shelf life and will
go rancid too quickly...

#1: Avoid avocado oil ~ short lifespan.
Avocado oil is yummy and healthy, but a prepper won't want to
keep it on hand because it has an extremely short shelf life.
Avocado oil will last only around six months.

#2: Avoid soybean oil ~ unhealthy.
Steer clear of all soybean oil, as 96% of soybean oil is genetically
modified (GMO). The only way you can get a non-gmo soybean oil
is to buy organic. Besides, you eat way too much soybean oil.
Unfortunately, you'll find soybean oil lurking in just about
everything from mayonnaise to chips.

#3: Avoid Crisco and generic shortening ~ unhealthy.
Don't sell yourself short and add shortening to your pantry for
cooking. While the primary benefit of hydrogenated products like
shortening is an increased shelf life, for you it could mean a
shorter human life! They contain components of bad cholesterol
and ingesting them could put you at higher risk for heart attack.

Crisco and shortening are trans fats, which cause not only
increased risk for heart disease, but also cancer, diabetes and
stroke. For these reasons you should avoid Crisco for cooking, but
if you have some in your pantry don't toss it out just yet. You
may consider making a candle from it.

#4: Avoid Canola Oil ~ unhealthy.
Canola oil used to be touted as a light and healthy oil, but this
cheap oil invented in Canada has many health hazards. Dr. Josh
Axe says to "Stop using canola oil immediately."

Why? First and foremost, he claims that it's more than 90%
genetically modified. Moreover, it is also a refined oil that's
partially hydrogenated. He goes on to say that canola oil can
cause kidney and liver problems, heart trouble, hypertension and
strokes, and may even retard infant growth. Believe it or not,
canola oil is in some baby formula! Even if you can find organic
canola oil, there are so many better options. Try sunflower seed
oil, for example.

#5: Avoid Cottonseed oil ~ unhealthy.
Again cottonseed oil is a Monsanto-controlled commodity.
Cottonseed oil is nearly 100% genetically modified and has many
associated health hazards.

#6: Avoid Margarine ~ unhealthy.
Country Crock is a crock and they tell you! Can't Believe It's Not
Butter? You don't really fall for that do you? Smoldering good
looks may sell butter substitutes, but you're better with butter!

What if the cooking oil reaches its expiration date?
Cooking oils don't last forever, but just because it expires doesn't
mean you need to throw it away! Here's what should you do if
you have bad cooking oils in your pantry (either because they are
rancid or because they are on the list of fats to avoid): use them
as fuel!

There are many ways to use cooking oil as prepping fuel:

H ow to make a c ooking oil lamp.
Cooking oil heater
Cooking oil cook stove
Cooking oil as biodiesel. This 13-step guide shows you ho to
use the fuel in any vehicle that has a compression ignition
engine.

How to Prepare Used Cooking Oil for Biodiesel

Happy endings...
Storing fats and oils for long term food storage is a concern
because oils have a short shelf life, but now you have a running
list of which oils are the best for health and for long term food
storage. With so many good choices of cooking oils you're sure to
find a few suitable options to fit your personal needs.

Remember, if your oils go rancid you can use them for fuel. Oil
can generate heat for warmth or cooking, light the night in an oil
lamp or candle and you might even learn to use the bio-fuel to
run a car! You may even be able to lubricate something. Cooking
oil is a multi-use survival item.

Related articles...

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Grassfed Organic Ghee 7.8 Oz - Pure Indian Foods(R) Brand

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