Food but no Fridge

[helenjp]

So far we've avoided the rolling blackouts that are taking place in other parts of Japan (perhaps because we live down the road from a major chunk of local infrastructure), but we are slated for up to 6 hours of rolling blackouts per day some time in the future. I fear that "future" = "summer".

I know that eGulleteers have dealt with rolling blackouts lasting for days or weeks, so I'd like to figure out now how I can deal with it. Now that I work away from home most of the week, I usually buy groceries on my way home around 7 pm, and cook 3 or 4 meals at the same time. Cooked food needs to last 24 hours.

Sounds like time for canned or retort pouch "heat and eat" foods or rice-bran pickled vegetables to me, and I'm clearing out my small freezer so that I can freeze water to help keep the fridge cool, but please tell me what else I'm missing!

How can this work without refrigeration in 35 deg C (95 deg F) temperatures? Power could be off until 10 pm, and then go off again around 6 am.

[lesliec]

A baby petrol-powered generator? Although they've probably been in high demand ...

[natasha1270]

Maybe this is a good time to experiment with dried seafood and preserved/dried meats?

Not sure if this is at all helpful but pot-in-pot refrigeration seems like an interesting cold storage concept. http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Pot-in-a-Pot-Refrigerator

[Lisa Shock]

Do you have access to ice? If so, prepare cold meals and place them into different coolers with ice -each designated to opened at a particular time. So, for example, the small blue cooler gets opened for breakfast and another, maybe red, is opened for lunch.

I'd also try to stock up on breads, crackers, nuts, etc. that do not need refrigeration.

[HungryC]

A cooler (like these) is essential, I think. You can put the frequently used items in it, eliminating the need for opening/closing your main fridge/freezer. Do you have an automatic ice maker? If so, keep the bin empty (put the ice into a cooler or plastic bags in your freezer) so it will generate ice at its maximum output. Flat, shallow containers will freeze faster than deeper ones, and cooked/frozen liquid foods work as well as ice in keeping the whole shebang frozen.

RE: coolers, the marine grade used by boaters & fishermen is superior to the ordinary picnic kind. Boating supply stores sell the "5-day" versions, and the catering hot/cold chests (Yeti is a common US brand) sold at restaurant supply houses are quite good, too.

Sure wish I could loan you one of the many coolers hanging around in my garage. I "kitchened" out of a 100-quart Igloo after H Katrina et al...it wasn't too bad as long as I could replenish the ice every 4-5 days. Learned it was better NOT to have leftovers, as cooling down even room temp foods melted too much ice. Cooked as much as possible outside, too, to avoid heating the house (we had gas service, but no electricity).

[helenjp]

Ice...convenience stores will likely close during power cuts, so I'm not counting on that. The idea of box-in-box sounds useful even within the refrigerator. I'm going to take a look at some of the insulated lunch bags around too, as they might be less bulky inside the fridge.

Also thanks for the tip on marine grade coolers - I'll check our local fishing store while son2 has a (yet another) music lesson next door. I'm hoping that if I keep the fridge load down, I will be able to refreeze cooling pads overnight (in really hot weather, I notice that the ice-maker produces very little, so the easier I make its job, the better).

[DanM]

I agree that coolers are the way to go. If you can, fill empty water bottles 2/3 full and freeze those. The larger mass of ice will melt slower than small ice cubes.

Dan