# Uh oh, Sugar



## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Prices to rise because the Gov. wants to make it harded to get-for Health purposes of course. Buy up, for canning,preserving season.


----------



## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

I'd be afraid to stock up.. they'd think I was making a few batches...

Everything is getting over the top expensive any more 

Got a story about this?


----------



## doodlemom (Apr 4, 2006)

U.S. Department of Agriculture is considering buying 400,000 tons of sugar to help sugar processing companies avoid defaulting on $862 million in government loans, according to The Wall Street Journal. 
http://www.cnbc.com/id/100549948

Collapse leads to lower prices...hmmm.


----------



## haley1 (Aug 15, 2012)

well how about just stick it to them and don't buy sugar products, terrible for your body anyway


----------



## secretcreek (Jan 24, 2010)

Sugar, like honey and salt... may harden, but it won't go bad/spoil..just keep it well stored.


----------



## naturelover (Jun 6, 2006)

haley1 said:


> well how about just stick it to them and don't buy sugar products, terrible for your body anyway


Real sugar (not sugar substitutes), like salt, is an "essential must have" preservative, medicinal and energy food source for preppers, livestock keepers and anyone who puts up their own food preserves and beverages in bulk. So boycotting and not buying sugar is not really an option for serious preppers and homesteaders.

If the price of sugar is going to start going up higher I would stock up now on a LOT extra while the prices are still at today's prices.

.


----------



## NamasteMama (Jul 24, 2009)

Actually sugar is not nessicary and we haven't bough any in 3 years.


----------



## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Yes we can use other sweetners for preserving, but for many it's not a reality.


----------



## KrisD (May 26, 2011)

If you have livestock you need sugar. If they prolapse you can use sugar to shrink the tissue so you can put the prolapse back in. If they get cut bad sugar will help keep scar tissue down, somebody's sick sugar and salt can be used to make an electrolyte mix. Doe weak after kidding some sugar or molasses water will give her an energy boost. Diabetic and having a hypoglycemic episode sugar may just save your live! You never know when you're going to need it. I always keep sugar on hand and BTW I'm very slim and have completely low normal blood sugar. Sugar is not evil it's how much people eat that's the problem! Everything in moderation.


----------



## naturelover (Jun 6, 2006)

NamasteMama said:


> Actually sugar is not nessicary and we haven't bough any in 3 years.


Just out of curiosity, what do you use to make a syrup when you're putting up fruit preserves or if you're making jams and jellies or crystallized foods, or herbal medicines or baked goods or electrolyte mixes that call for sugar, or food/beverage items that need sugar to feed yeast? Do you use honey, maple syrup or HFCS or some other such thing like that ..... or do you just not make any of the things that would require sugar in their preparation?

.


----------



## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

You can make jams and jellies without sugar. Check out the grocery store on the same shelf they have pectin. I'm sorry, I can't remember the name of it.


----------



## Txsteader (Aug 22, 2005)

Thanks for the heads-up, 7thSwan!


----------



## flowergurl (Feb 27, 2007)

I have over 40 lbs, bought it cheap on sale. As I get quart jars or larger I vacuum seal it up.


----------



## Usingmyrights (Jan 10, 2011)

Honey prices will go up if sugar prices do. That's what a lot of beekeepers feed the bees in the winter if there's not enough honey stores left over after harvest. That's what would effect me the most, that and sugar for my sweet tea.


----------



## MJsLady (Aug 16, 2006)

I will begin stocking up. I have a 10lb can of honey flakes now but my sugar supply is really low. Though I do not can i can not use other things other than real maple syrup, brown sugar , real sugar or honey to sweeten with as i am sensitive to all the artificial ones as well as corn syrup.


----------



## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Just for compaison, this is 50 lbs. The blue jar is one quart. You should be able to easly store 50 lbs.


----------



## Ambereyes (Sep 6, 2004)

Got to go do some re-stocking after our move, will be picking up at least 50lbs to go along with the sugar already stored.. Thanks for the warning.


----------



## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

I better stock up for wine making and holiday baking.


----------



## Txsteader (Aug 22, 2005)

Usingmyrights said:


> That's what would effect me the most, that and *sugar for my sweet tea*.


That was the first thing that popped into my mind. I can always use the no-sugar-needed pectin for jelly-making. But there just ain't no (acceptable) substitute for sweet tea. And we drink a LOT of sweet tea.


----------



## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

thanks for the heads up!
Like it wasn't expensive already- greeeeattt


----------



## Guest (Mar 15, 2013)

Thanks for the heads up...I have over 200# stored now....will add another 150 # to my stock.


----------



## sdnapier (Aug 13, 2010)

NamasteMama said:


> Actually sugar is not nessicary and we haven't bough any in 3 years.


I was curious about your 3 year hiatus on sugar. How do you make your jams and jellies? oops, never mind. I see the thread


----------



## wes917 (Sep 26, 2011)

Thanks for the heads up. I stocked up on peanut butter and saved a bundle from warning on the forum. Will do same for sugar.


----------



## haley1 (Aug 15, 2012)

Anyone stocking up on insulin?


----------



## WV Farm girl (Nov 26, 2011)

Domino sugar is on sale at my local grocery. The 5# bags are like bricks so that is probably why. It doesn't bother me, I've bought 20# and hope to get more.


----------



## NamasteMama (Jul 24, 2009)

naturelover said:


> Just out of curiosity, what do you use to make a syrup when you're putting up fruit preserves or if you're making jams and jellies or crystallized foods, or herbal medicines or baked goods or electrolyte mixes that call for sugar, or food/beverage items that need sugar to feed yeast? Do you use honey, maple syrup or HFCS or some other such thing like that ..... or do you just not make any of the things that would require sugar in their preparation?
> 
> .


I do not can fruit with syrup, I use water or fruit juice, dry or freeze.i don't have a single herbal medicine that calls for sugar, that would be counter productive as sugar reduces your immune systems ability to fight disease by as much as 50% when you consume it. Electrolyte we use half juice and water with a tiny bit or salt and salt substitute. Or better yet coconut water. Anything else we use honey, stevia or xylitol.


----------



## Cheryl in SD (Apr 22, 2005)

Been stocking up on sugar, even though dh says that they just had the best sugar beet crop in a long time last year. (He hauls out of a sugar plant.) Just in case though, I bought sugar beet seed this year, heirloom too! We are going to see how they do here.


----------



## backwoods (Sep 12, 2004)

Thanks for OP, just bought another 40 lbs.


----------



## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

I just wanted to thank the OP for posting this. I try to keep stocked up ahead of price increases, so this information helps a lot.


----------



## shannsmom (Jul 28, 2009)

Guess I will go ahead and grab a big bag when I'm at Sams on Monday, gonna need it soon with strawberry season coming anyways. Thanks for the post!


----------



## Sparkie (Aug 16, 2012)

Gotta say I completely agree with NamasteMama. Sugar is horrible for you, and not "necessary" for anything. It's terribly inflammatory in our bodies and inflammation is at the the root of most disease including heart disease. We don't use it either, for anything.

Oh! I lied.... we use it with equal parts of acv and water to make fruit fly traps in the summer....


----------



## belladulcinea (Jun 21, 2006)

Sugar, is sugar, is sugar, whether it is honey, fruit sugar or regular sugar. Sugar does not cause diabetes.


----------



## Peggy (Feb 14, 2010)

thanks for the heads up! I need extra to feed my 2 beehives. will pick up some tomorrow!


----------



## unregistered65598 (Oct 4, 2010)

Well a 25lb bag of sugar at the store I work at just went down by $4.00 . I bought 50lbs just because I was down to about 30.


----------



## Wendy (May 10, 2002)

Sorry, but I like to bake a pie once in awhile, or some cookies, cupcakes, etc. Hard to do without sugar. I picked up 50 more pounds today.


----------



## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

We also went to WM this evening and purchased 50lbs of sugar. It was the same price as it has been for a few months now. It's $2 higher than it was last year though, so it was a good idea to buy it. I don't use a lot of sugar, but it is good to buy things up just in case. And it lasts forever as long as you keep the ants out.


----------



## kudzuvine (Aug 11, 2011)

don't have as much as I want, but I keep my sugar in a clear, closeable file box holds about 50#. Oven can/foodrsaver flour and meal. I pour all my salt into gallon plastic jugs I get from restaurant. I don't have all those small salt boxes stored. Have 3 gallon jugs of salt so far. Anyway, I'll get another file box for more sugar.


----------



## backwoods (Sep 12, 2004)

Got sugar for $1.99 for 4 lbs, and bought 180lbs to add to my store. Another one of those things I'd been meaning to pick up more of, so got it covered pretty well now.


----------



## ladybug (Aug 18, 2002)

Just a storage idea for sugar- We can usually get the 25 LB bags of sugar from Wal-Mart for 13.94 a bag here in Georgia, we take icing buckets from a local grocery chain and are able to store 25 lbs of sugar in one bucket. The other store chains locally are 17.96/25 lbs. so Wal-Mart has the best deal going  They also have a great deal on 20 lb bags of Mahatma white rice, we go through a ton of rice around here  The future price increase must be why the shelves had NO sugar on them Friday when we went to pick some up. Thank goodness we still had some!


----------



## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

ladybug said:


> Just a storage idea for sugar- We can usually get the 25 LB bags of sugar from Wal-Mart for 13.94 a bag here in Georgia, we take icing buckets from a local grocery chain and are able to store 25 lbs of sugar in one bucket. The other store chains locally are 17.96/25 lbs. so Wal-Mart has the best deal going  They also have a great deal on 20 lb bags of Mahatma white rice, we go through a ton of rice around here  The future price increase must be why the shelves had NO sugar on them Friday when we went to pick some up. Thank goodness we still had some!



Omgosh - we do the same thing- I picked up 2 bags tonight at Sam's- we don't do much jam- main reason I would get the sugar -but I only have 25 lb in storage- maybe 35 lb- so I grabbed 2 bags- 13.29 each.. I store them in the grocery store buckets....


----------



## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Checked my sugar stores and still have 225# in 25# bags, along with what's in gallon jars and canisters, so I think I'm good.


----------



## mpennington (Dec 15, 2012)

Thanks for the heads up. I'm getting 40# from Sam's tomorrow. They have the best price around here at $0.46 a pound. Going to try one of the sugar mills and see if we can buy from them.


----------



## Aohtee (Aug 26, 2003)

Blame the sucrose lobby in Washington, not Mother Nature.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2013-03-13/that-sickening-sugar-subsidy.html

"Because of a plunge in U.S. sugar prices amid a hefty crop of sugar beets and cane, the Agriculture Department estimates that it may have to buy 400,000 tons of sugar from processors who might default on $862 million in government loans. Sugar producers have the option of repaying the loans either with cash or with their harvests if prices fall below a certain level. "


"Whatâs more, consumers end up paying twice -- first as taxpayers, and then at the supermarket, where inflated sugar prices cost shoppers an extra $3.5 billion a year, according to an Iowa State University study. Meanwhile, the U.S. sugar market remains protected from the lower prices that prevail around the world: Because of import restrictions, U.S. prices are higher than the world market price of about 18.8 cents a pound."


----------



## mpennington (Dec 15, 2012)

Got the sugar from Sam's. They had 50 pound bags, but was only $0.70 cheaper per 50 pounds than the 10 pound bags so loaded up on 10 pound bags.


----------



## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

mpennington said:


> Got the sugar from Sam's. They had 50 pound bags, but was only $0.70 cheaper per 50 pounds than the 10 pound bags so loaded up on 10 pound bags.


I would have done the same thing. Carrying smaller bags is just easier for me. That's what I do with dogfood and kitty litter now too. I would rather pay a little more and carry less.


----------



## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

One of HT's members graciously gave me 100lbs a few years back, just after I'd bought a couple hundred pounds. It's all stored in galvanized trash cans. Sometimes gets 'hard'... a coupla whacks on the cement floor cures 'that'.

Unless it were on a fantastic sale, I'd not bulk up anymore.

Now, if I lived in a Nanny State, especially with a pol like grand nanny Bloomberg, I'd be nervous.


----------



## BlackWillowFarm (Mar 24, 2008)

I've never stocked up on sugar before, but think I'll get started. If I were to buy the small bags, would they store okay if I vacuum sealed them right in their own bag? Seems like it would be a lot easier for me than transferring to jars or buckets.


----------



## countryfied2011 (Jul 5, 2011)

I keep at least 50 to 100lbs stored all the time(4 and 5lb bags), i dont vacuum seal them i just store them on the shelf in my closet. I have 40lbs sitting on the dining room floor right now...lol Never had a problem with them getting hard. Guess it depends on where you store the sugar and where you live. I still have sugar from last year thats nice and soft.


----------



## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

We don't use tons of sugar, but I always buy the 25 or 50 lb bags from Costco. It's cheaper per pound than the grocery store, and more efficient when hauling it home. I store it in 5 gallon buckets, although I have some smaller bags vac sealed from a couple of years ago. I have one bucket with a gamma lid and that's the bucket I use to refill my kitchen container. I don't rotate my sugar since it's good forever - if it gets hard I just use a hammer or screw driver to break up the chunks.

I've got more salt stored than sugar.


----------



## margoC (Jul 26, 2007)

Sugar isn't very good for us now but when food becomes more scarce and physical work increases deserts will become more important.


----------



## wannabechef (Nov 20, 2012)

I buy Domino sugar at SAMs by the 50lb bag...been buying it that way for months now...I hate buying 4lb bags at the grocery store. We go through about 25lbs a month.


----------



## wannabechef (Nov 20, 2012)

Txsteader said:


> That was the first thing that popped into my mind. I can always use the no-sugar-needed pectin for jelly-making. But there just ain't no (acceptable) substitute for sweet tea. And we drink a LOT of sweet tea.


Sweet tea, check...about 2 gallons per day at our house! I even buy the 1 gallon lipton tea bags at SAMs...no strings and no ---- tea leaves in my sweet tea!


----------



## wannabechef (Nov 20, 2012)

NamasteMama said:


> I do not can fruit with syrup, I use water or fruit juice, dry or freeze.i don't have a single herbal medicine that calls for sugar, that would be counter productive as sugar reduces your immune systems ability to fight disease by as much as 50% when you consume it. Electrolyte we use half juice and water with a tiny bit or salt and salt substitute. Or better yet coconut water. Anything else we use honey, stevia or xylitol.


Sorry, but you need to research sugar...your info is wrong.


----------



## edjewcollins (Jun 20, 2003)

I bought 100lbs last month at Restaurant Depot, $19.99 per 50lb bag. I also pack it in 4 & 5 gal frosting buckets from Meijer. Couldn't pass up .25/lb.


----------



## wannabechef (Nov 20, 2012)

ladybug said:


> Just a storage idea for sugar- We can usually get the 25 LB bags of sugar from Wal-Mart for 13.94 a bag here in Georgia, we take icing buckets from a local grocery chain and are able to store 25 lbs of sugar in one bucket. The other store chains locally are 17.96/25 lbs. so Wal-Mart has the best deal going  They also have a great deal on 20 lb bags of Mahatma white rice, we go through a ton of rice around here  The future price increase must be why the shelves had NO sugar on them Friday when we went to pick some up. Thank goodness we still had some!


SAMs is a bit cheaper for 50lbs...$25 and some change...we too get 5 gallon bakery icing buckets at Ingles for storage...one bucket will almost hold 50lbs.


----------



## NamasteMama (Jul 24, 2009)

belladulcinea said:


> Sugar, is sugar, is sugar, whether it is honey, fruit sugar or regular sugar. Sugar does not cause diabetes.


:cute::hammer::thumb: Right, diabetes is this enigmatic disease that no one knows what causes it. Thats why is totally fine for diabetics to eat as much sugar as they want, just take your insulin shot! :hand:


----------



## Pearl B (Sep 27, 2008)

belladulcinea said:


> Sugar, is sugar, is sugar, whether it is honey, fruit sugar or regular sugar. Sugar does not cause diabetes.


That is very wrong. All sugar is not the same.
Your body reacts very differently to natural sugar such as in fruit, than it does to processed white sugar.
Your brain runs on glucose-sugar. You can get all the sugar your body needs from basic foods, and honey.
You can easily live without processed sugar, and will be much healthier as a result.
Processed sugar is what causes so many diseases in the body.


----------



## belladulcinea (Jun 21, 2006)

Get over yourselves! I was not overweight when I became insulin resistant which led to type 2. Sugar, fruit sugar and honey all spike your glucose levels. Women with PCOS are not all overweight but all most all of them become insulin resistant. Sugar, is sugar, is sugar. Even your diabetic doctors will tell you that.


----------



## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

Types of sugar aside, American diets have way too much salt and sugar in them. We limit sweets and desserts but still want to have the ability to make them. I store white sugar, honey, maple syrup and stevia and use them all for different things. They all store well, and that's what's important to our family.


----------



## blooba (Feb 9, 2010)

Pearl B said:


> That is very wrong. All sugar is not the same.
> Your body reacts very differently to natural sugar such as in fruit, than it does to processed white sugar.
> Your brain runs on glucose-sugar. You can get all the sugar your body needs from basic foods, and honey.
> You can easily live without processed sugar, and will be much healthier as a result.
> Processed sugar is what causes so many diseases in the body.


Natural sugar? Last I knew white sugar is from a plant also......

Now the bleaching and extraction agents maybe bad for you but the actual sugar isn't. Sugar is Sugar.

Most commercial honey is just sugar water that has been processed by a bee. 

And what kind of sugar do you think they add to that loaf of bread you buy from the store? If it's not HFCS its probably plain white sugar.Whether you are addding it to your food or paying someone else to add it to your food, your eating sugar....


----------



## blooba (Feb 9, 2010)

NamasteMama said:


> I do not can fruit with syrup, I use water or fruit juice, dry or freeze.i don't have a single herbal medicine that calls for sugar, that would be counter productive as sugar reduces your immune systems ability to fight disease by as much as 50% when you consume it. Electrolyte we use half juice and water with a tiny bit or salt and salt substitute. Or better yet coconut water. Anything else we use honey, stevia or xylitol.


Sorry to rain on all your parades, but information is power..............

xylitol is a sugar extracted from wood instead of a sugar cane plant. The only thing I worry about with sugar are the acids used to extract the sugar and I would say that they have to use alot stronger chemicals to extract sugar from wood than a sugar cane/beet. But once again, it is sugar, just extracted from a different plant.

Same with stevia except they use even stronger chemicals to seperate the carbs from the sugars. Stevia isn't even legalized in all countries due to to possible cargingen and other unknown effects. It is considered safe to eat a raw sugar beet, it is not considered safe to eat stevia plant.


----------



## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

I tend to stock up on sugar during the sales in November and December. I try to get a one year supply. This year, I found some 10 pound bags of Dominoes at 60 cents a pound. We don't use a whole lot of it. Mostly in coffee, bread or cookies. I do make some jams, but we don't eat a whole lot of that either. For my iced tea, I drink it unsweetened but I like raw sugar in my hot tea. I have a few pounds of raw sugar stored.


----------



## Appalachia (Jul 11, 2012)

TheMartianChick said:


> For my iced tea, I drink it unsweetened


:nono::yuck:




Sorry, couldn't resist.


----------



## Usingmyrights (Jan 10, 2011)

Just an update on pricing, but at Sam's today the 50# bag was $26 and 10# bags were $4.67 IIRC. $4.something anyway. So cheaper and easier to deal with.


----------



## debbiekatiesmom (Feb 24, 2009)

hey when the shtf! i may want some comfort food and i'm no food snob and i doubt there will be as many picky eaters around. btw, a 4 lb bag of sugar fits almost perfectly into a 2 liter (sugary) pop bottle! i'm also stocking up on lots of other nasty things like liquor and chocolate, too.


----------



## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

Appalachia said:


> :nono::yuck:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Can you tell that I'm from the north? I like my sweet tea unsweetened!


----------



## wannabechef (Nov 20, 2012)

debbiekatiesmom said:


> hey when the shtf! i may want some comfort food and i'm no food snob and i doubt there will be as many picky eaters around. btw, a 4 lb bag of sugar fits almost perfectly into a 2 liter (sugary) pop bottle! i'm also stocking up on lots of other nasty things like liquor and chocolate, too.


Hmm...liquor, chocolate and sugar...when's dinner?


----------



## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

debbiekatiesmom said:


> hey when the shtf! i may want some comfort food and i'm no food snob and i doubt there will be as many picky eaters around. btw, a 4 lb bag of sugar fits almost perfectly into a 2 liter (sugary) pop bottle! i'm also stocking up on lots of other nasty things like liquor and chocolate, too.


 
Liquor and chocolate are medicinal!


----------



## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

The only white sugar in this house are a few packets picked up at a little restaurant at Wallowa Lake where we eat at once in a while. I like a little on a bowl of white rice for breakfast once a month or so. Honey is almost as good, lol. We do buy 3-4 lbs of brown sugar a year and use about 5 gallons of maple syrup....James


----------



## Appalachia (Jul 11, 2012)

TheMartianChick said:


> Can you tell that I'm from the north? I like my sweet tea unsweetened!


Yeah I can tell. lol

I'd rather drink stump water than unsweetened tea.


----------



## wannabechef (Nov 20, 2012)

Appalachia said:


> I'd rather drink stump water than unsweetened tea.


 Me too!


----------



## wannabechef (Nov 20, 2012)

TheMartianChick said:


> Liquor and chocolate are medicinal!


Yup, just had a rum and coke to make me sleepy.


----------



## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

Appalachia said:


> Yeah I can tell. lol
> 
> I'd rather drink stump water than unsweetened tea.


Lol! It's an acquired taste... Like Sweet Tea!


----------



## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

wannabechef said:


> Yup, just had a rum and coke to make me sleepy.


Did you at least nibble on some leftover Easter chocolate at the same time?


----------



## wannabechef (Nov 20, 2012)

TheMartianChick said:


> Did you at least nibble on some leftover Easter chocolate at the same time?


What leftovers?


----------

