Friday, April 1, 2011

Mrs. RW's Survival Cooking Tips - Tip #2 - Cleaning With Fire



In any survival situation or crisis, clean water may be a resource that is in short supply. Using water to clean your cooking utensils may create a further shortage of this most valued of all resources. A simple solution to this problem is often overlooked.

Wiping down your cooking utensils and then using the heat of a fire to cleanse them will help you to save water and avoid any possible illness as a result of using contaminated utensils. The heat of a fire will effectively kill all the germs and bacteria on your utensils. This method only works if you are using metal utensils. 

In a survival situation, it is vitally important to avoid wasting your resources.

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker


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11 comments:

  1. AnonymousApril 1, 2011 at 12:09 PM

    If they are wiped down immediatly after use,it will reduce the need for water,as it won't be baked or dried on yet.A damp sponge dipped in dirt will make a good abrasive also.Use just enough water to cover,boil,and reuse the water for the toilet or such,maybe water the garden.
    Dean in az

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  2. vladApril 1, 2011 at 1:27 PM

    re 410 butt cuff Oct 7 2009
    re RW's truck gun Jan 15 2010
    My old 30-30 butt cuff lost elasticity, and rounds fell out. 30-30 comes in two plastic 10 round "cuffs". I secured the 10 round "cuff" to the butt with two wire ties. Run the wire tie downward behind the upper hole, in front the horizontal spine and out the hole for nose of cartridge.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousApril 2, 2011 at 9:24 AM

    Great suggestion for camping, and a reminder that there are many ways to make sure our utensils are kept clean and germ free.

    Sometimes you can get moisture out of plant stalks as well, and using large leaves squeezed can produce enough moisture as well.

    Penny

    Coffee Makers

    ReplyDelete
  4. riverwalkerApril 2, 2011 at 3:17 PM

    To: Dean in AZ

    Great tip! I've used sand a lot of times to scrub off utensils but usually when I had some water handy.

    If you don't have any water fire will effectively sterilize your utensils.

    Thanks Dean.

    RW

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  5. riverwalkerApril 2, 2011 at 3:20 PM

    To: vlad

    Very innovative!

    Thanks for sharing this fix to what could be a really annoying problem.

    Thanks vlad.

    RW

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  6. riverwalkerApril 2, 2011 at 3:21 PM

    To: Keurig Mini

    Works great for camping or just about anytime you want to make sure there's no harmful bacteria or germs to cause further problems.

    Thanks.

    RW

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  7. JoshApril 9, 2011 at 9:26 PM

    This method only works if you are using metal utensils.

    Now you tell us! I lost a very good wooden stirring spoon and my favorite plastic spatula trying this method.

    ReplyDelete
  8. riverwalkerApril 10, 2011 at 10:42 AM

    To: Josh

    If you're really quick, you might be able to sterilize a wooden spoon before it catches fire but forget the plastic spatula...it ain't gonna happen!lol

    Thanks Josh.

    RW

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  9. JoshApril 10, 2011 at 12:17 PM

    I was, of course, joking, but I don't think that would work. It made me wonder how long something would need to be held in fire to be sterilized. According to the following two articles I found, metal objects need to be heated until they glow red to be sterile. Obviously, in the time it would take something metal to glow red, the wood would have burned.

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  10. JoshApril 10, 2011 at 12:21 PM

    Forgot to include the links:

    http://www.howtodothings.com/how-to-sterilize-something

    http://www.ehow.com/how_4819272_sterilize-things.html

    ReplyDelete
  11. riverwalkerApril 10, 2011 at 5:55 PM

    To: Josh

    You only need to hold small metal objects over a fire for a few minutes to kill bacteria and germs...just as is done in the pasteurization process. A fire with a temperature greater than 200 degrees will accomplish this and most any decent fire will give you those kind of temperatures.

    Heating metal objects till they glow red is known as hard sterilization and isn't required for the purposes mentioned here.

    Thanks Josh.

    RW

    ReplyDelete

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