What food or food-related items to put in a time capsule?

[The Dairy Queen]

If you were asked to contribute food or something food-related to a time capsule to be opened in 20 years, what would you put in? Things we'll laugh or marvel at (or possibly eat/enjoy?) in 20 years...

The idea is to celebrate 2011 and/or remind us what 2011 was really like.

P.S. this is not a hypothetical question. I really need to contribute something to a time capsule!

Thank you!

~TDQ

[calliope_nh]

Spam, hard tack, MREs & Twinkies. I think the Twinkies can be eaten well into the next century.

[soupkitten]

some sort of recipe for braised pork belly, heh heh. a luna bar. who already said an energy drink?-- brilliant. a copy of the taste section from the strib, a mn monthly with dear dara's picks, a printout of the current "heavy table " edition :) a "mn grown" map with all the farms/farm products listed! the msp chowhound state fair food map and annual rehash! how about a link to izzy's ice cream flavors, circa 2011?

http://flavorup.izzysicecream.com/fla...

[AdamD]

That was me that suggested the energy drink. And I would now like to add anything with the words "farm to table," "locally sourced," "grass fed" or something that addresses the complete Americanization of the sushi roll ("maki"). Oh and a copy of the omnivore's dilemma.

[The Dairy Queen]

Where does one get one of those mn grown maps? I love that idea! (Lots of other great ones, too, thank you!)

EDIT: Answered my own question http://www.mda.state.mn.us/forms/mngr... (unless you know of a better one, of course).

~TDQ

[soupkitten]

sometimes they hand em out at the beginning of the season at farmer's markets, but that's erratic and they can run out. that link looks like the way to go :)

[MplsM ary]

Plus a printout of Chef Shack's Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/chefshack1

And this article about expanding food truck presence in Minneapolis:
http://www.startribune.com/local/minn...

[MplsM ary]

Pearsons's Nut Goodie and Salted Nut Roll wrappers.

[beevod]

A chef

[MGZ]

A celebrity chef

[MGZ]

Just make sure that whatever you put in has "Gluten Free" on the label and the requisite disclosure that it was processed in a facility that may sometimes have peanuts nearby.

[Sam at Novas]

Personally I believe that corkscrews are going to go the way of buggy whips in the future. They will not all go away but a method of closing wine bottles that does not need a specialty tool to open it is here now with the advance of screw caps. Maybe not twenty years, but I feel sure in fifty years cork screws will be a collectors item. Look at all of the designs and techniques that there are out there just to pull a cork out of a bottle.

[AdamD]

Energy drinks, fat burner tea, the master cleanse, fiber bars, dvd of top chef, and copy of food and wine or saveur. Oh and a yoga mat.

[The Dairy Queen]

Great ideas! I was going to put my copy of Saveur in, but I want to keep it for myself. HAHAHAH! Maybe next month's...

~TDQ

[dandre]

I am a teacher and my students recently completed a local history project. I also work at a restaurant part time and the most interesting item on display during the history presentations and in a display case at the restaurant are menus, especially from local landmark restaurants.

They show not only what was sold, but also provide insight into the dietary trends and customs of a particular region or culture. It goes without saying that the prices for the food items will be comical to those in the future. :)

[The Dairy Queen]

Good idea. This is just the excuse I need to get my husband to take me out to landmark restaurants more often, so I can collect the menus! :).

Thanks for this.

~TDQ

[DuchessNukem]

Oooh, yes on the menus. Even just an everyday diner or Chinese restaurant. I always love seeing those at historic sites.

So I went googling on Minnesota agriculture... can you put any seeds in? Maybe small glass jar, metal cap? Wheat, beets, corn, oats, peas... would be cool to have seeds that they could attempt to sprout. This year's most popular spring veggies or flowers?

And just wanted to add my favorite new fact: 'The Minnesota state soil is "Lester".'
http://www.agclassroom.org/kids/stats...

#1: Who knew states had 'state soils'?
#2: 'Lester' sounds kinda friendly. Good name.

[Gio]

TDQ, this is not as easy as it seems at first glance. I wouldn't want to have anything in cans or plastic given current feelings about BPAs. I think I would include some kind of popular liquor. Or something popular that comes in glass containers. Also, something indigenous to your area.

Anyway, the following thread may be of some help to you. It was started in July 2008 and lists possible items to include...

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/536322

[Gio]

The Food Technology department at a college in Cheshire England did something similar this past February:

http://thenantwichnews.co.uk/2011/02/23/time-capsule-buried-at-reaseheath-college-food-centre/

http://www.crewechronicle.co.uk/crewe...

[The Dairy Queen]

So, I see they have included some food labels: Laughing Cow Cheese, Campbells soup, also some article about Coke and Old El Paso Fajitas... Also a couple of newspaper (The Telephone and the Guardian), Look Magazine and some kind of Farming Magazine, among other things...

Very interesting. It kind of reinforces my thinking to include food labels. Does that mean I'm going to have to buy (and consume) some foods I might not want to eat just so I can contribute them to a time capsule? HA!

~TDQ

[Gio]

I still think it would be cool to include something that would stiil be viable 20 years later. Wine,or local honey for instance. Does kimchee go off after a time? I know... Spam. Doesn't that last forever?

[The Dairy Queen]

I agree that it would be great to include something you could actually consume. How does one find out what the shelf life of some of these food items actually is? I love the idea of wine (though I worry about how to ensure proper storage and handling) and honey...

THis article says honey can be good for decades! http://www.honey.com/images/downloads...

Spam is a good one, esp since it's a Minnesota-based product...

~TDQ

[Gio]

Here ya go:

http://www.family-survival-planning.com/long-term-food-shelf-life.html

Freeze dried food is another method:
http://www.urban-survival-gear.com/su...

[The Dairy Queen]

Wine is missing from that list! P'shaw!

~TDQ

[Gio]

Well you don't have to freeze dry wine, for goodness sake. Harumph.

Wrap it in bubble wrap. No, that;s no good. Wrap it in a 2011 tablecloth.

[The Dairy Queen]

So, it looks like I need Madeira...wrapped in a 2011 tablecloth... http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadv...

~TDQ

[The Dairy Queen]

Hey, if I thought it would be easy, I wouldn't have to ask all you brilliant hounds! ;-) But, by food-related items, I was thinking of not just food itself, but also candy wrappers or menus or things like that. In my case, it can only be items that won't spoil or attract rodents because I wouldn't want the food-items I put in to ruin anything else in the time capsule...

Thanks for the links. I will check those out!

~TDQ

[Gio]

Hah.
The students did include magazines and journals in thier capsule.

[southernitalian]

Something budget-friendly?