Ask a leader food storage questions here

[anitapreciouspearl]

I love canning jars I have a bit of an addiction! Did yiou know you can seal the jars - for dry storage only - with a vacuum sealer? Very cool - no O2 absorber needed and you can seal and unseal at your convenience as long as you have electricity. Here's one of many video's on the subject. Vacuum sealer come up at yard sales and thrift store sometimes - just make sure it has a port and a jar sealer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DtlcfKNERk

As far as mylar bags go - it is a long term storage option and probably not something you will be doing if the SHTF already. When you are ready to do some bags you don't need a special mylar sealer - your household iron works just fine and a hair straightener works too.

The blue jars available right now are a 100 year promotion for Ball and the color will not effect the light at all. When you see the jars with food in them they really aren't that dark at all - just pretty. My sister bought me some for my birthday because I was too cheap to pay 4x the price as the regular ones - she loves me

In the dark or back in the boxes is the best for storage. I prefer to see what I have so I keep them out of the boxes and on shelves. Bugging out is a whole nuther food storage deal isn't it. The vacuum sealer using the bags would be your friend in that instance. There's another item to research and save for - your welcome

[Goldie]

Yes I have been using the FOODSAVER brand vacuum sealer to seal regular or wide mouth canning jars
already. I keep the unit on the counter. But putting oxygen absorbers in some of them for even longer storage
is another idea to extend the shelf life of the dry goods. I've been packing up my dog food in smaller
10 days supplies in the foodsaver plastic bags . As once you open that natural no preservative dog food the
shelf life of that goes down quickly also.

That is why I mentioned that I just bought a bunch more 1 L size mason jars wide mouth. I had wondered
if the seal last longer in the standard mouth jar or the wide mouth jar.

I will check out your video anyway , you never know what extra tips you pick up . Thanks

[Goldie]

Ha Ha .. I just looked and I know I've already stumbled upon your video on using the vacuum sealer.
But watching it a 2nd time .

My question is. What are those handy flavour packets you put in the beans ? All I see in oxo or bovril packets
in the grocery store ? Is that what they are ?

[anitapreciouspearl]

It's not my video - just a good example. Sorry I forgot you mentioned you already use the food saver. Personally I wouldn't use a O2 absorber in the jar if you already use the vacuum sealer attachment - overkill and extra cost - and as long as the jar is sealed - it's sealed. I have never had a jar seal fail without using one after leaving it on the shelf for several years. The vacuum bags are another story! I keep finding the bags deflated from pointy bits poking holes from the inside out. I only use the bags for very short term or for storing non-pointy items. I've tried all the tips of using extra bags and wrapping things first - never really worked that well. Jars are much better!

The seal would remain the same for wide mouth or standard.

[Goldie]

I have some specific food long term storage questions

I have for storage lots of sizes of mason jars, and I have a food saver with the lid accessory thing
so I can use either mason jars or food saver plastic. I do not have mylar yet as I would want
to buy a proper mylar sealer .

How do I store these items ? And which ones need an oxygen absorber also
Do I leave any of these just in the original box ?

baking soda

baking powder

salt

dry beans

melba toast

White sugar

Brown sugar

Cornstarch

[anitapreciouspearl]

Goldie - If you are using canning jars with the food saver attachment I would not use an O2 absorber for any of these as the seal with just the attachment is really good. For SURE don't put it in the sugars or you will have rock formations - not good. The more powdery items may get sucked up into the food saver so use a piece of a coffee filter cut to fit the inside of the top of the jar to prevent that.

Moisture is going to be the biggest problem with all these foods left in their original containers on a shelf.

Baking soda will get hard but still be usable if left o the shelf but it stays much nicer in a jar.

Baking powder doesn't have a great shelf life no matter what you do to it - it looses it's leavening power after a time (you can store baking soda and cream of tartar separately and mix them together to make baking powder to avoid that problem)

Salt doesn't really need to be stored in ay special way as it will not go "bad" but to reduce clumping repackaging in mylar, food saver bags or canning jars is better. I bought cardboard boxes of salt once and in a humid summer lost a bunch. I also store the boxes in ziplock bags.

Dry beans are perfect for storing in jars for shorter term - if any on the list I might add an O2 absorber to this one. Over long periods of time (4-5 years) beans get so hard they become nearly impossible to cook - proper mylar storage is best for beans for really long term storage.

Melba toast - no problem - bags might work better just so you don't have to break them to make the best use of space.

White and brown sugar - see above.

Cornstarch - perfect for jars and unless you are baking gluten free you probably won't need a lot at one time.

[farmgal]

How long will coconut oil last?

And your kidding right? Just run o' the mill pine needles? That is the coolest thing I've ever heard...

http://livingmydreamlifeonthefarm.wordp ... and-ideas/

tons of great spruce tip ideas and ways to use them..

[LaLuna]

Hi there =)

First off, I didn't start any elaborate food prepping yet (just the usual that you have at home for power outages, like a gas stove and some ramen XD) but I would like to do so soon.
Now, I saw some packages of nuts and dried fruits at the supermarket the other day, the label says they are good until at least august next year. But I was wondering, if I left them in the packaging and put in it a dark cool spot, could it last any longer?

[anitapreciouspearl]

Hi LaLuna - welcome

The fats in the nuts will go rancid after a time. If you wanted to store them longer than their original date you could freeze them. The best way to store nuts is in the shell - they don't go rancid nearly as quickly that way. Dried fruit has a very long shelf life and it would benefit from an oxygen free environment to extend it's life. You can put them in a canning jar with an oxygen absorber or mylar bags with the same. At the least a container is better than the original bag to keep out the bugs
.

[LaLuna]

All righty, then I think I'll start out with the fruit and buy some packages when they get cheap after the holydays For the nuts to still be in the shell, I'll have to investigate first XD (curse of the small town life lol)
Thanks for the help

Hi LaLuna - welcome

The fats in the nuts will go rancid after a time. If you wanted to store them longer than their original date you could freeze them. The best way to store nuts is in the shell - they don't go rancid nearly as quickly that way. Dried fruit has a very long shelf life and it would benefit from an oxygen free environment to extend it's life. You can put them in a canning jar with an oxygen absorber or mylar bags with the same. At the least a container is better than the original bag to keep out the bugs
.