Salt how much to keep?

[gutpile]

Salt........wars fought over it......you have to have it in a post SHTF 1 ton??? 2???? family of 6 and we can and season meat. Prob would start smoking in a smokehouse........I say at minimum 1000 lbs for us at least......

 

[GhostofWinter]

I think the correct answer is 'the more the better'

 

[Icarry2]

Interesting info here..

http://shine.yahoo.com/green/46-smart-uses-for-salt-2270681.html

I would say the more the better, properly stored in small containers so that if one container is compromised the bulk isn't contaminated..

TJ

 

[shibumiseeker]

Interesting info here..

http://shine.yahoo.com/green/46-smart-uses-for-salt-2270681.html

I would say the more the better, properly stored in small containers so that if one container is compromised the bulk isn't contaminated..

TJ

50lb Livestock salt blocks is a cheap and easy way to buy and store it. We use them for our livestock so like all of the consumables we have we keep a year's supply on hand and rotate it through. It doesn't go bad per se as long as it is kept dry but it's just habit to rotate all of our stocks.

We buy several when we find them on sale and pay maybe $4-5@. They stack well and even if they get wet they don't quickly dissolve away like rocksalt does. You can chip it and crush it, or you can make brine solutions with it or you can make salt crystals out of the brine.

 

[NathanJefferson]

non-iodized is ideal to store, correct? I've used iodized for preserving fruits/veggies but from my understanding it doesn't work for curing meats?

 

[Icarry2]

50lb Livestock salt blocks is a cheap and easy way to buy and store it. We use them for our livestock so like all of the consumables we have we keep a year's supply on hand and rotate it through. It doesn't go bad per se as long as it is kept dry but it's just habit to rotate all of our stocks.

We buy several when we find them on sale and pay maybe $4-5@. They stack well and even if they get wet they don't quickly dissolve away like rocksalt does. You can chip it and crush it, or you can make brine solutions with it or you can make salt crystals out of the brine.

Very good idea..

 

[irishfan]

I was unsure about the salt blocks as I know some rock salt has chemicals added to be avoided.

 

[shibumiseeker]

I was unsure about the salt blocks as I know some rock salt has chemicals added to be avoided.

Consider that it's designed for livestock that then goes into the human food chain.

It's mostly pure sodium chloride, though you can get mineral blocks that have other stuff added, still none of it toxic in small quantities. Eat enough salt in one sitting and it will kill you in short order.

 

[irishfan]

Consider that it's designed for livestock that then goes into the human food chain.

It's mostly pure sodium chloride, though you can get mineral blocks that have other stuff added, still none of it toxic in small quantities. Eat enough salt in one sitting and it will kill you in short order.

I figure that if I ever have to resort to my buckets of rice and wheat then I am going to need a LOT of salt. I have enough Sweet Baby Rays BBQ for a long while but it unfortunately will run out

 

[Bazooka Joe]

I know the coop in Bloomington used to sell 50# bags of salt. We would use it to peep deer hides before tanning. Can't remember what it costs. And like water it really doesn't go bad.

 

[Survivalcookie]

Salt would also be a great barter tool.

 

[pudly]

I know the coop in Bloomington used to sell 50# bags of salt. We would use it to peep deer hides before tanning. Can't remember what it costs. And like water it really doesn't go bad.

But my bottle of water has an expiration date.

 

[shibumiseeker]

But my bottle of water has an expiration date.

That's for the bottle.

 

[Car Ramrod]

I get my salt at Sam's Club. $1 for a 4lb box.

 

[jefalatho]

I've considered keeping extra Morton System Saver water softener salt around. It's conveniently packaged in bags from 40 to 80 lbs and goes into my water supply already. It should be safe to use for a SHTF situation. Just use FIFO on your cache of bags when you fill up the water softener and you sholdn't have to worry about it getting too old. They brag that it's 99.5% pure salt. The only other ingredients that show up on the MSDS sheet are citrates at less thean 0.1% and ionic surfactants at less that 0.01%.

 

[jefalatho]

I've considered keeping extra Morton System Saver water softener salt around. It's conveniently packaged in bags from 40 to 80 lbs and goes into my water supply already. It should be safe to use for a SHTF situation. Just use FIFO on your cache of bags when you fill up the water softener and you sholdn't have to worry about it getting too old. They brag that it's 99.5% pure salt. The only other ingredients that show up on the MSDS sheet are citrates at less thean 0.1% and ionic surfactants at less that 0.01%.

Only downside would be having to grind it up.

 

[jefalatho]

But my bottle of water has an expiration date.

That's because they want you to buy more at regular intervals. There is no established standard for a shelf life for bottled water. Most of it is ozonated which disinfect the water and the bottle. It should last for years as long as you don't break the seal.

Don't worry about the ozone. If I recall, the half life is 48 hours and then its all O2. So long as you don't drink it right off the production line where its made it is perfectly safe.

 

[CountryBoy19]

I've considered keeping extra Morton System Saver water softener salt around. It's conveniently packaged in bags from 40 to 80 lbs and goes into my water supply already. It should be safe to use for a SHTF situation. Just use FIFO on your cache of bags when you fill up the water softener and you sholdn't have to worry about it getting too old. They brag that it's 99.5% pure salt. The only other ingredients that show up on the MSDS sheet are citrates at less thean 0.1% and ionic surfactants at less that 0.01%.

The salt does not go into your water, it's only used to back-flush the minerals out of your water softener. Just be careful that it is sodium-chloride. "Salt" scientifically is any compound formed by bonding and positive ion to a negative ion or something like that. Sodium chloride is table salt, cyanide (another salt) is extremely poisonous. So just because it is "salt" does not mean it is safe to consume. Check to be sure the ACTUAL chemical composition is a salt that is safe for consumption.

Really, to be honest, salt never goes back unless it gets wet so there is no need to rotate it. Seeing no need to rotate it, there is no reason not to just buy bulk sodium-chloride and store it.

Regarding how much to store, I don't typically go through more than about 3-5 lbs/yr. If I had to start curing meat I could see that going up to 30-40 lbs/yr but not much more. I am currently curing 10 lbs of pork bellies into bacon and the total cure amount is less than 1/2 lb of salt.


While we're talking about salt, lets do a bit of education on curing meats. Most people think to cure meats you just pour a bunch of salt on and it's GTG. Not so. There is a special salt (sodium-nitrate) that is used to cure meats. This is what actually prevents spoilage until the moisture level is decreased below that where bacteria grow. If you're curing any cut of meat that is very thick at all, you must use this salt to prevent spoilage. And it's not a guessing game. There are very specific "dosages" to use and very specific ways to use it depending on what you're curing. Use too much and it could kill you. Use too little and the meat may spoil. If you're looking for this curing salt you want "Instacure #1", Prague Powder #1, or one of the many other names it's known as. Considering that you typically only use 1 tsp/lb of meat, you don't need much. I keep 5 lbs on hand. It will spoil quickly if exposed to moisture so I keep it vacuumed in an airtight container.

 

[jefalatho]

The salt does not go into your water, it's only used to back-flush the minerals out of your water softener. Just be careful that it is sodium-chloride. "Salt" scientifically is any compound formed by bonding and positive ion to a negative ion or something like that. Sodium chloride is table salt, cyanide (another salt) is extremely poisonous. So just because it is "salt" does not mean it is safe to consume. Check to be sure the ACTUAL chemical composition is a salt that is safe for consumption.

Really, to be honest, salt never goes back unless it gets wet so there is no need to rotate it. Seeing no need to rotate it, there is no reason not to just buy bulk sodium-chloride and store it.

Regarding how much to store, I don't typically go through more than about 3-5 lbs/yr. If I had to start curing meat I could see that going up to 30-40 lbs/yr but not much more. I am currently curing 10 lbs of pork bellies into bacon and the total cure amount is less than 1/2 lb of salt.


While we're talking about salt, lets do a bit of education on curing meats. Most people think to cure meats you just pour a bunch of salt on and it's GTG. Not so. There is a special salt (sodium-nitrate) that is used to cure meats. This is what actually prevents spoilage until the moisture level is decreased below that where bacteria grow. If you're curing any cut of meat that is very thick at all, you must use this salt to prevent spoilage. And it's not a guessing game. There are very specific "dosages" to use and very specific ways to use it depending on what you're curing. Use too much and it could kill you. Use too little and the meat may spoil. If you're looking for this curing salt you want "Instacure #1", Prague Powder #1, or one of the many other names it's known as. Considering that you typically only use 1 tsp/lb of meat, you don't need much. I keep 5 lbs on hand. It will spoil quickly if exposed to moisture so I keep it vacuumed in an airtight container.

Chemical Engineer here. The salt most definitely goes into your water. It is sodium chloride unless you pay extra and get potassium chloride. A lot of the salt ends up going down the drain during the backflush. There is so much sodium (or potassium) in the backflush water that it causes the water softener resin to let go of the calcium and magnesium and take on the sodium ions. Then during normal use, whenever the resin bed latches onto the minerals of the hard water, it gives up a sodium ion to do so.

 

[CountryBoy19]

Chemical Engineer here. The salt most definitely goes into your water. It is sodium chloride unless you pay extra and get potassium chloride. A lot of the salt ends up going down the drain during the backflush. There is so much sodium (or potassium) in the backflush water that it causes the water softener resin to let go of the calcium and magnesium and take on the sodium ions. Then during normal use, whenever the resin bed latches onto the minerals of the hard water, it gives up a sodium ion to do so.

You may get trace amounts of sodium ions but it is a very negligible amount compared to the salt that goes into your brine tank. Your first post implied that all of the salt goes into your water supply. If that was the case your water would be extremely salty.