You live in Tennessee. You should be very used to this. Just as soon as the weatherman mentions a chance of a dusting of snow. The food may not go bad but people think they will starve in a massive blizzard.

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Originally posted by Oz_Shadow:
You live in Tennessee. You should be very used to this. Just as soon as the weatherman mentions a chance of a dusting of snow. The food may not go bad but people think they will starve in a massive blizzard.

I grew up in the Upper Midwest and I've lived in Alaska and Canada. I never saw a run on the grocery store at those places that compares to a run on the grocery store for a hurricane.

Now snow/ice storms in Texas are a different story. Even if it hits, it rarely lasts until noon the next day but that doesn't stop people from panic buying at the grocery store. I had been through that when I lived in Midland and Dallas so when I moved to Houston just as Rita was hitting was surprised how much harder the stores were hit for a hurricane (e.g. even the cat litter shelves are stripped bare).

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[eggs can last ~30 days unrefrigerated]

Surprising. But my eggs get eaten long before they spoil, so I've never put it to the test.

Two questions about these ever-recurring discussions:

Our >one< local grocery store is about three minutes away and they do a lousy job of keeping things stocked, so I go there frequently. But for those who have real jobs and access to good stores (often more than one), how do they know that the shelves are stripped bare before a storm? I would think that’s the time to stay away, and surely those who mock others are so well prepared themselves that there is nothing they would need to buy—no? For example, I have no idea how much toilet paper is on the store shelves because I get it from Amazon and keep a large supply on hand at all times.

And as for “panic” buying, I am continually remined of the people trying to buy ammo during the various scares we’ve had over the years: The “panic” buyer is the guy who got the last box just before I got there looking for the same thing.

More seriously, how are eggs “processed” to reduce their storage life? I have kept and used refrigerated eggs for literally months beyond their “sell by” dates and although their moisture content declines and they’re more reluctant to drop out of the shell, I’ve never had one that was spoiled in any way.

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Originally posted by sigfreund:
Two questions about these ever-recurring discussions:

Our >one< local grocery store is about three minutes away and they do a lousy job of keeping things stocked, so I go there frequently. But for those who have real jobs and access to good stores (often more than one), how do they know that the shelves are stripped bare before a storm? I would think that’s the time to stay away, and surely those who mock others are so well prepared themselves that there is nothing they would need to buy—no? For example, I have no idea how much toilet paper is on the store shelves because I get it from Amazon and keep a large supply on hand at all times.

And as for “panic” buying, I am continually remined of the people trying to buy ammo during the various scares we’ve had over the years: The “panic” buyer is the guy who got the last box just before I got there looking for the same thing.

More seriously, how are eggs “processed” to reduce their storage life? I have kept and used refrigerated eggs for literally months beyond their “sell by” dates and although their moisture content declines and they’re more reluctant to drop out of the shell, I’ve never had one that was spoiled in any way.

They show the stores completely empty on the news, or friends send you pictures of the empty shelves. Sometimes even though you're stocked you may run into the grocery store to buy 1 item for something totally different that people aren't stocking up on, such as ice cream or a pie...or your just bored.....….The 10 items or less line usually isn't so busy because people are buying more items than that.

I’m from Fla, we never did that shit....

We filled a tub with water, and dad made sure he had beer, we ate what was already on scene.

When I grew up and was in my own place, I would fill the freezer with water bottles. It makes the freezer a larger chunk of frozen stuff..and you can drink the water when it melts.

Take your window screens inside before the storm, and put them up afterward to keep the mosquitoes out.

And get to the liquor store at the first sight of a storm..

It’s not rocket science..

You should have enough food at home to go a week or more w/o having to go to the store.

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Originally posted by jimmy123x:
friends send you pictures of the empty shelves.

Thanks for all that explanation, especially the “friends” part.
I don’t have a teevee, wouldn’t watch programs that featured such “news” if I did, and have no friends who would think it was a good idea to send me pictures of grocery store shelves, empty or full.

(Yes, that’s a bit of snobbery or “virtue signaling” in todayspeak, but it’s a slow Saturday and I can’t help myself. )

I am still curious about how eggs are processed to reduce their storage life, though.

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Originally posted by sigfreund:
I am still curious about how eggs are processed to reduce their storage life, though.

Keeping them unrefrigerated in a warehouse for 30 days should do the trick nicely.

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Originally posted by sigfreund:
Two questions about these ever-recurring discussions:

But for those who have real jobs and access to good stores (often more than one), how do they know that the shelves are stripped bare before a storm? I would think that’s the time to stay away, and surely those who mock others are so well prepared themselves that there is nothing they would need to buy—no?

Gasoline is obvious because you drive past stations with no cars, bags over the pump handles, or signs saying they are out. Propane I found out the hard way the first time and corrected that error by making sure the tanks are all filled at the beginning of the season.

As far store shelves at the grocery store go, just because a storm is coming doesn't mean we stop eating fruits and vegetables. I go to the store not to buy hurricane supplies, but rather to buy the normal things. With a wife, three kids, a dog and a home with no basement, we don't have room to keep a weeks worth of perishables like milk, eggs, butter, bread, etc. We stop off at the grocery store twice a week.

Honestly we used to stock up on food and now we don't as most of the time we just eat out when the power is out in our homes after a storm. God Bless

Beyond the answers already given here, some of us who live in "hurricane country" are more prepared than others. There are many ways in which to be able to sustain fresh foods during a situation in which there is no electrical power service. This is the best way for us...



Besides the ability to refrigerate those fresh foods, the ability to MAKE ice for use in coolers makes this thing perfect for the occasion. Add to that the ability to be self sustaining for long periods while overlanding and this is worth the $$.

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Originally posted by sigfreund:
I am still curious about how eggs are processed to reduce their storage life, though.

I was at my buddy's house for a week and decided to help with the chores. He has a small chicken run/coop with about 8 hens.

I went out in the morning and collected about ten eggs. Some were big and colorful, some were speckled, others small and plain off white. All of them had chicken poop stains on them because, well, they got sat on by chickens.

I took the eggs in and proceeded to wash the poop off because, thinking like the hobbyist chef that I am, when you crack the eggs, you touch the shells. Thus cross-contamination becomes possible. And you've never seen chicken-authored-racing-stripes on store-bought eggs, right?

When my friend's wife saw the super-clean eggs, she said, "Thanks, but now we have to eat these eggs right away." Turns out that washing the eggs causes an anti-bacterial layer on the shells to break down? I never knew this. To get rid of the poop, my buddy and his wife dry-brush the eggs, though I don't think this would comply with code if they wanted to re-sell the eggs commercially so the big egg-houses must do something different (maybe they professionally wash the eggs before sending them to market, trading shelf-life for marketability).

Something is happening to reduce shelf-life on commercial eggs though, because, if eggs went bad as fast as people think they do, chicks would never hatch from eggs. It takes about 21 days for a chicken to hatch from a new egg--so an unfertilized egg should last at least 21 days without refrigeration.

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The most shocking thing to me during Rita was the run on cat litter. I never would’ve guessed that one in a million years.

That actually kind of makes sense. It might not be for cats either. I've heard of folks making shitters out of 5 gal buckets and cat litter. If the electricity goes, the municipal water pumps and sewage might go too. And when you have to go, where will you go?

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Originally posted by sigfreund:
I am still curious about how eggs are processed to reduce their storage life, though.

They are washed at the egg packing place. The wash removes a protective membrane.

If you have farm-fresh eggs, they will stay good for a long, long time. Months, if kept at room temp or a little lower.

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Originally posted by jcsabolt2:
Actually, eggs don't need refrigeration. They are good for around 30 days unrefrigerated for raw farm eggs. Once they are "processed" for stores, maybe less, but will still last a few weeks.

I read an article about that just a few days ago. I had not known that eggs would last that long, so it is good to know.

flashguy

I keep 2 generators, 2 window AC units, and enough batteries and flashlights and food to last months.

Gnerator will keep the fridge running, and the window AC unit running too. Pretty comfortable chilling in the bedroom, surfing the internet, watching TV...

You've never enjoyed a good bread and milk sandwich, have you?

Things people don't think about are water to flush the toilets (fill up an unused bathtub or empty milk jugs, etc.) and a chain saw for fallen trees, if you want to drive somewhere. I did have a friend who rode his bike around after a hurricane, because he could go around fallen trees, yet was still insulated to a degree from fallen power lines.

I grew up 50 miles from the gulf, remember lots of hurricanes, a few tips for First timers. We had two freezers a chest and a upright, one time when a storm was close we emptied the chest put it in dads pickup filled it with food and drove it a hour north to my aunts house and left it in the truck plugged in to their house . Water may not be safe to drink, we washed out milk jugs, filled them with water and kept them in the freezer, they kept food cold when the power went out, and if the outage was longer they gave us cold water to drink. Water supply may be interrupted which means no water to flush the toilet, that some Saran Wrap close the drain in the tub, seal with Saran Wrap then fill the tub, now you have water to flush the toilet, don’t flush for #1, only #2. Find a source for block ice, it lasts longer than crushed, fill a clean ice chest with blocks of ice in plastic bags, this will keep sandwich meats, mayo, etc cold and the plastic bags will allow you to drink the water later. Eggs don’t need refrigeration and will keep at room temp for a week or two, a Coleman stove or charcoal grill and you can cook a bunch of stuff with out power.during hurricane season keep your vehicles fuel tanks as full as possible in case evacuation is needed. As for food, think of it like a camp out.

The man remembers the disaster, which is only described as “a long shear of light and then a series of low concussions.” The clocks then stopped and the power went out. The man immediately started filling up the bathtub with water, and his wife, who was pregnant, asked why he was taking a bath.

- The Road, Cormac McCarthy

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Originally posted by bubbatime:
I keep 2 generators, 2 window AC units, and enough batteries and flashlights and food to last months.

Gnerator will keep the fridge running, and the window AC unit running too. Pretty comfortable chilling in the bedroom, surfing the internet, watching TV...

Only if the cell towers are not down will you be surfing the innerwebs...