Self sufficient on Sugar and Salt- how to?

We took up beekeeping this year for two reasons: bees are having a tough time now, and honey can be used in place of sugar.

It doesn't have to be an expensive hobby either. You can retrieve honey from comb without using a fancy extractor. It is also a hobby that can be done almost anywhere. A single hive (although it is best to keep at least two) will create between 50 and 200 lbs of honey a season, depending on your location.

First of all, thank you for the great input guys.
If I was to chose my crew for a "survival situation" I would seriously consider bringing one of ya!

Now to my feedback;

Seaweed
Yes, nice idea! I remember that in the great survivalist reality show "Reel Wars", they ate lots of kelp. And in the Japanese kitchen, seaweed is common.
Still the resources of it at this location is unknown. I have to look into that, but in the meantime, let's say there is no kelp or anything.
Some major lakes are in the area though, such as Vänern. I would prefer to have a stream rather than a lake at my location, but I could move it closer to the lake. But it is all sweet water and I don't know if any type of seaweed thrives in it. If they did, where would they get the salt from?
I've been thinking like a lunatic over this issue! Can't believe it would be this hard to figure it out! Maybe if I grow some sort of crop that are high in salt? What the hell would that be?

Bee keeping
Been thinking about that too and it would surely be a great thing to have! Don't forget that bee's wax contains Propolis that is an irreplaceable asset to your medical supplies!
But still, if it was only the sugar I was after, I would settle with the beets. Maybe I can find a hive living in the wild with some luck.

Maple Syrup
No, no maple trees here. You can do something similar with birch though. You can make great moonshine with that!

Foxfire
You guys are my Foxfire!

I dont know how many here have tried rendering sugar from a sugar beet, but it is no simple task. Very labor intensive and takes a good deal of time. Cane wont grow where I am, so I am working with beets to try and make the process easier.

As far as salt. If you dont have any natural deposits, seawater would be your best bet. Evaporate the salt out of it, not sure if a still would hasten this process, but it might work. I dont have either of those available to me, so I just stock up on it. 50 lbs for $4.50 USD isnt that bad.

Since you are going with sugar and salt, add yeast to your list. With those three items you have the basis for bread.

reply to post by salchanra


Well, there is no such thing as a free lunch, is there? Let me know how the beet process is doing, maybe you can post some nice tips?
Still prefer that instead of the canes. Beets are pretty sturdy as well and can handle the climate up here better.

Which brings me to the salt issue again; look at the map man! There is no sea for miles and miles!
Gosh, it can't be that hard!
I tried looking for some salt mines in the area, but the closest one is in bloody Denmark! Always the Danish...

I mean, before trade was common, man must have needed salt. Otherwise we can't live properly. Where the hell did they get it from?

Originally posted by Raud
reply to post by salchanra

 

I mean, before trade was common, man must have needed salt. Otherwise we can't live properly. Where the hell did they get it from?

The Ocean... you can't just plop yourself in the middle of no where and expect to find everything you need, trading routes were set to transport items to inland settlements. That's how they got it

reply to post by Th0r


But I am not expecting everything I need.
Just some lousy grains of salt!

Gee, I guess I do have to bulk up on that anyway.
Whaevva...

Thanks anyway everybody, you've been great!

Maaah!
Do I need to deliver all answers to my own thread?

The answer to the salt issue is so fjorking simple, I've had it infront of me all the time:
Vegetable salt or herbal salt!!!
Ever heard of "Herbamare" or "Trocamare"? I've been flavouring my lunch with that stuff all the time, sometimes even during the process of thinking "how to be self sufficient on salt...hmmm" *epic facepalm*

Great link:
Gardenweb forums
Another way to do it:
Home Cooking


"Lick on a rock", get outta here...

Originally posted by prevenge
how is that escaping if you're telling the world where it is you're going.

and why the hell do you want to stock up on sugar???

salt.. i understand.

sugar??


do you mean as a basic sustenance.. like if you're completely out of everything.. sugar for basic carbs?

or do you just like sugar alot.

it's really bad for you, you know... leeches minerals from your system.. calcium especially.
why not create underground greenhouses and just grow tons of spinach broccoli and other vegetables high in vitamins and minerals and screw the sugar hording.

-

You do realise that the whole point of a greenhouse is that it uses the "Sun". Underground Greenhouse's....... You've gone mad !

as already mentioned, sugar beets, sugar cane, maple syrup

don't forget honey it is the healthiest of the four.

sea water can be evaporated for salt and is safer than untested mined salt which can contain dangerous minerals and chemicals as well as radioactive minerals.

Salt in abundance is a blessing if you are living primitivly and need to preserve meat or fish.

Honey is anti bacterial, has many healthy uses and is a great substitute for sugars in cooking.

Another form of 'sugar' as in simple calories, is alcohol. Many primitive cultures couldn't save their produce and created wines, beers ales and distilled liquors to preserve these calorie sources. They also helped in preserving some other foodstuffs by converting the alcohol to vinegar for pickling.

There is a great wealth of knowledge when it comes to living without refrigerators, freezers and supermarkets.

Knowing sources of salt and sugars are a great way to understand the first steps in preserving food and surviving.

Good thread.

Originally posted by 1.618
You do realise that the whole point of a greenhouse is that it uses the "Sun". Underground Greenhouse's....... You've gone mad !

Err, there are these kinds of lamps for indoor growing, so it's fully possible.
I won't write more on that since there could be misinterpretations.

Stay safe, ya'll