Get Your Pantry Ready for Winter — 15 Things My Mother Always Bought (The Old Farmhouse Way)

Every winter on the farm there came a week when the roads drifted shut, the milk truck could not get up the lane, and town might as well have been on the moon. I never once saw my mother worried about what we would eat that week. Every September and October, a little at a time, she filled the pantry on the cellar stairs with the things that carried eight people to spring. Here are the 15 she never went without: cheap, simple, long-keeping, and still the smartest way to get ready for winter. Number one is not a thing at all; it is the rule that filled the shelves without ever making a big grocery bill. Timestamps 0:00 The week the roads drifted shut 0:40 The weekly list vs the winter list 1:53 15. Popcorn 2:42 14. Saltine crackers 3:24 13. Cocoa and tea 4:14 12. A pail of lard 4:53 11. Molasses 5:22 10. The big bag of sugar 5:59 Not one of these is expensive 6:22 9. Fresh baking powder and soda 7:11 8. Yeast 7:38 7. Milk that keeps 8:26 6. Canned salmon 9:06 5. Peanut butter 9:32 4. Dried fruit 10:14 3. Tomatoes by the case 11:12 2. Salt and the winter spices 11:58 1. One extra every trip 12:46 Keeping it good: jars, weevils, bulging cans 14:08 The line at the store before the storm 14:44 Start the list tonight General information only. Throw out any can that is bulging, leaking or spurting. Home canning should follow a tested method.