How to keep food fresh after power goes down?

[Helioto]

Title says it all. I want to know if theres any way to keep food fresh after the power goes down. With salt or something? I know we do this in real life, put salt to keep it conservated, but its possible in this game?

[Gonzo Max]

Currently, no. Hopefully one day :)

[=🆆ΛУ🆆⋊г∂=]

The game has so many options already, I'm sure that will come as well as long as it is actually practical??? Bury tupperware maybe? ^^

[AMurderOfCrows]

I'm thinking Ice Box

[Helioto]

Originally posted by killkoda:

I'm thinking Ice Box

Some kind of cooler/thermical recipient :v

[PR 36]

There are multiple ways of preserving food, but none of those are in the game. However it will be at some point according to the devs.

The following is just my opinion of what should the game have
Smoking, salting, sugar
Distilled vinegar
"sinking" meat/vegetables into fat or cooking oil (no oxigen)
If its winter and temperature bellow zero you can just put your food on the porch ;)
_______________________

Once those preservations get into the game, I hope it will be very important how you prepare for the winter as we all know - you cannot plant crops during that time and catching fish is more difficult.

[JimZiii]

@killkoda
an ice box wouldn't work, it helps to keep the temperature and you have to put in ice packs (some even have built-in ice packs that can be taken out) and when those ice packs have melted you have to stick them in a freezer to get them to freeze again. and if we had a freezer we wouldn't need an ice box

@PR 36
sinking meat and vegetables into fat and cooking oil is not a good idea, i'm pretty sure it would ruin the food, it'll definitely taste horrible and probably be very very unhealthy. i once did the mistake of trying to deepfry some vegetables thinking it would end up nice and crisp but all i got was soggy vegetables, dripping with fat. it was uneatable. if you don't want any oxygen by the product all you have to do is place it in a plastic bag and remove the air. (which doesn't stop the food from spoiling)
and placing the food on your porch when its bellow zero would also not be a good idea, freezing food is good for long time preservation. once its frozen you can't thaw it and freeze it again without spoiling it, and definitely not thawing and freezing one more time after that.
so freezing something should only be used for long preservation and when you know you can keep the food in that temperature so the food wont thaw one day in the sun and freeze the next. and having the food too cold can damage the food.

the best way of preserving food both during summer and winter would be an earth cellar where it can keep cold with the right temperature and humidity. and building it in-game wouldn't have to be an elaborate walk-in cellar. all it has to be is something like a small wooden hatch where you get access to the storage

[PR 36]

@Jimziii

Actually meat won't spoil if pout into oil/fat (our grandmothers preserved the meat by putting it into animal grease - fat, lasted for whole winter). In fact it will be even better (more tender), ever heard of beef steaks ala argentina? The recipe requires the meat (along with spices, lemon) to be put into oil for more then 14 days. I've done countless times, never have poisoned myself. For vegetables though, it is better to just pickle them (alcoholic vinegar) or rend cabages, salt it and wait for sauerkraft (can last whole winter).

But for your example, deep frying vegetables and expect that crispy "skin", you shouldn't put them into oil just like that, it won't get any cryspy by itself, you need either flour or breadcrumbs. Also make sure you oil is boiling hot (not cold or mild temperature). After you put it out of the pot, don't forget to wrap it into paper towel, so the oil gets into it. I never deep fry my food (terrible food quality for my taste), but trust me, I'm a engineer ;)

Same goes for putting the food on a porch during winter, if its -10 outside for weeks you don't have to worry about anything. I've done it once when I needed to clean my freezer (to much ice) in january. Food did not unfroze or anything, I just put it back 2 days later, still here, no poisoning. It is true though, if food ever unfreezes, you need to cook it otherwise you can get some serious bed time.

[Dysh]

@ Jimzii

Are you just guessing on these things? Argueing just to argue?

I have used animal fat in perserving meat. I live in northern Wisconsin where my family has, on more than one occasion, put food outside during the colder months to keeo food fresh (around the holidays we host our entire family for Thanksgiving and Christmas meals and in the weeks leading up to the occasion our fridge and freezer get full).

Also, around here, deep fried asparagus, broccoli, and cauliflower are all common dishes found in bars and restaraunts (they are not at all soggy; crisp and delicious!). Just because you tried it once and did it poorly doesn't mean it doesn't work.

[JimZiii]

thats true, just because it didnt work for me doesnt mean it doesnt work, it was just a stupid idea i got, try putting it in the deepfryer. i've never heard about putting food in oil before so my first reaction was that its probably a bad idea. but it seems like i was wrong :)
and for putting food on the porch, i was thinking more of the weather you have in zomboid. sure you can put things outside when its really cold, i've done it myself with alcohol and even beer for shorter periods of course, while drinking it.
but i dont think its that cold in zomboid that you have to have thick winter clothes and can have the food outside all day. thats all i meant

[Helioto]

I just wonder if the devs is watching this topic.
Some usefull information here.

[RalphRoberts]

Originally posted by Potion da Taverna Helio:

I just wonder if the devs is watching this topic.
Some usefull information here.

I'm pretty sure at least one of the devs will see this topic, they are pretty active on the forums.

[Animal]

I eat people. Theyre pretty fresh if theyre alive. A lil fatty but I need all the fatty tissue I can get. Brains are very fatty. What Im trying to say is just lay down and let me bite you. Then youll have all the fresh food you want.

[Tommy W]

There is several ways of preserving food, which were used in medieval times often, and still using while survivalist/ camping trips:
- scalding meat is easiest way to preserve meat and other food for years - fully filing jar with meat (or boiled vegetables), closing the jar and slowly boiling it for couple hours will pasteurize the food. Most of common "long term" food is pasteurized this way-> boxed milk, canned food, premade food etc.
- digging hole in the ground (50 cm covered hole have about 5C degrees less than air temperature, while 1m-1,5m underground keeps temperature from 4C degrees durgning coldest winter to 15C degrees in hottest summer). This method is still used f.e. for wine storaging which requires 12-14C (basements just below surface).Digging deeper will go toward static 6-7C temperature, which will be no longer dependant on atmospheric temperature, but rather underground pressure.
- cured and than smoked meat can hold over 3 months in standard house temperature, and cured and smoked lard can hold even 6 month, giving strong energy boost after eating.Most common method of preserving food in medieval times.
- Dried meat can hold up to 2 years. Everybody knows beef jerky :P.
- Ancient Chineese and Japaneese were using rice to dry and preserve food (rice seeds absorbe water)
- Pemmican meat (dried in temperature around 70C after covering with fat) can hold couple years. This method was used mostly by native americans, and trappers.
- Durning medieval times ice blocks gathered from lakes durning winter were used to keep cold and preserve food durning summer. Durning Crusades (XI-XII century) ice was gathered in Tibet mountains, transported and distributed to armies besieging Jerusalem to break defenders morale durning hottest days.
- Mix of water, salt snd potassium nitrate used to cure meat, is stopping growth of 92-98% bacterias (depending on proportions) - meat held in such brine can hold even half a year.
ETC ETC.. a lot of possibilities, none implemented :P

[Helioto]

Originally posted by Tommy W:

There is several ways of preserving food, which were used in medieval times often, and still using while survivalist/ camping trips:
- scalding meat is easiest way to preserve meat and other food for years - fully filing jar with meat (or boiled vegetables), closing the jar and slowly boiling it for couple hours will pasteurize the food. Most of common "long term" food is pasteurized this way-> boxed milk, canned food, premade food etc.
- digging hole in the ground (50 cm covered hole have about 5C degrees less than air temperature, while 1m-1,5m underground keeps temperature from 4C degrees durgning coldest winter to 15C degrees in hottest summer). This method is still used f.e. for wine storaging which requires 12-14C (basements just below surface).Digging deeper will go toward static 6-7C temperature, which will be no longer dependant on atmospheric temperature, but rather underground pressure.
- cured and than smoked meat can hold over 3 months in standard house temperature, and cured and smoked lard can hold even 6 month, giving strong energy boost after eating.Most common method of preserving food in medieval times.
- Dried meat can hold up to 2 years. Everybody knows beef jerky :P.
- Ancient Chineese and Japaneese were using rice to dry and preserve food (rice seeds absorbe water)
- Pemmican meat (dried in temperature around 70C after covering with fat) can hold couple years. This method was used mostly by native americans, and trappers.
- Durning medieval times ice blocks gathered from lakes durning winter were used to keep cold and preserve food durning summer. Durning Crusades (XI-XII century) ice was gathered in Tibet mountains, transported and distributed to armies besieging Jerusalem to break defenders morale durning hottest days.
- Mix of water, salt snd potassium nitrate used to cure meat, is stopping growth of 92-98% bacterias (depending on proportions) - meat held in such brine can hold even half a year.
ETC ETC.. a lot of possibilities, none implemented :P

Wow, I didnt knew that.
Again, some usefull information here.