stored fat

STORED FAT
In regards to yesterday’s article, let us please keep one other thing in mind. If a certain activity has been continually practiced through the ages, it is stupid to think it doesn’t have a survival value. Slavery was always practiced until carbon fuels were put to use. Obviously, slavery produces an energy surplus. Warfare has always been with us. To think that we would be producing more through peaceful interaction ( perhaps singing “We Are The World” in a circle around the campfire after the days harvest ) is to ignore thousands of years of history. All you asparagus worshipers need to keep in mind that large scale organized warfare has been around since the beginning of the Agricultural Revolution. Herding societies are by necessity low scale warfare, due to the lack of a dedicated tool/manufacturing class. Grain surplus allows armies, kings and weapons makers to practice their brutal brand of conflict. So please don’t confuse your wishful thinking for reality.
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Rawles brought up stored fat today so I thought I would ride on his coattails again. Not only am I the preparedness communities gadfly, I always liberate any and all ideas like a scavenger carrion eater. When you are part of the mainstream, you attract a large parasitic hoard. They not only want something for nothing and their chicks for free, they also want to sue you and take all your money. Never mind that you spent years or decades losing money and working enough hours to qualify the hobby as a second job until you actually got paid for your effort. We encourage the victim mentality and everyone thinks they deserve other peoples treasure. So not only can you not say anything that will hack off your advertisers ( which is why I like Google ads- you don’t have to kiss anyone’s ass ) but you are also forced to only give the most inoffensive advice. Whatever you say, it can’t have the slightest change of doing any harm. So only canned or frozen fats are recommended. You are only allowed to keep fat for a year. You must treat all fat as if it is an evil demon waiting in the shadows to kill you after hours of projectile blood expulsions. Myself, I could give a crap less if you try to sue me. Well, I do care because it would be a big pain. But you can’t get diddly out of me so you would be wasting your time. Uncle Sam and the ex have squeezed every drop of blood out of this stone. And not only do I have nothing to offer, but at this point in my life I’m so friggin tired of the asshats of the world messing with me, I might just go postal on you. So, while I won’t give you any bad advice on purpose, I certain won’t pussyfoot around and be so cautious that I give you advice that is far more expensive than necessary.
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I treat all fats with the same caution that I do any stored food. More than likely, it will be good for years after its expiration date. I store lard, and it only has a one year life as stated on the bucket ( perhaps it’s a year and a half- whatever ). I feel confident it will last at least five years. I have used liquid oil three years after its expiration date and suffered no ill effects. Hell, I keep grease in the cast iron frying pan during summer days and days after use. Fry up some pork ( I cook everything except beef extra well done to the consistency of shoe leather ), leave the grease and fry something up in it the next night. Those two portions of grease left mix together, night after night. About once a week I fry up potatoes and then have to boil out the pan because they stick. No ill effects. I used to have a cast iron stomach, but in recent years I can’t handle as much pure fat as I used to. I used to be able to buy a pack of pork fat ( from the butcher trimming ) and eat a pound of it. Now, I have to strictly limit my fat to what I need to keep food from sticking in the pan. So if I don’t get ill eating out of a greasy pan with a more sensitive stomach, I think most folks could do the same.
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I asked our soup kitchen cook about stored fat. She has had a lot of experience with really old Y2K food being donated. Which, by the by, included freeze dried ham and margarine powder. The ham never resembled real meat in taste or texture. Guys living in tents during the winter with one meal a day wouldn’t eat the slop. The powder never reconstituted properly and had the same problem with taste. Anyway, as far as the oil went, she said that in her experience, spoiled oil has a very distinct smell that you can’t fail to miss. It is very apparent. I took that to mean that I shouldn’t worry too much about the oil. If it was bad, I’d know about it. Now, of course, never abandon common sense. If you don’t feel comfortable keeping lard five to ten years or liquid oil for five, don’t. If you have a more sensitive stomach than most, beware all of the above. But if you are a normal person with a decent temperature range storage area, I think you can safely say that the caution over stored oil is way overblown. For now, that’s all I got to say about that.
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