Being that folks used to preserve things with sugar like they used to do with salt, I imagine that keeping moisture and bugs from it would be the main goals.  I think that like salt, it is too hypertonic to allow things to grow.  It would dry them out I think.  Does this make sense?  

jim

Question about getting rid of the oxygen. Some people have suggested using dry ice to introduce CO2 into the bags.

What about using the CO2 from paintball tanks? It's pretty easy to get a 20oz CO2 tank and a controlling valve, and there is about 6 cubic feet of gas in a 20oz tank. Costs, roughly, $3 to get a refill.

Any thoughts?

The issue I see here is that you don't have any visual cue that the bag is sound with CO2.  Using O2 absorbers, the bag pulls up tight.  That way I can take a peek at the bag and know I'm ok.  The O2 absorbers are SOOOOOO easy, I won't do it any other way.

R.

I agree about using the O2 absorbers, but my impression, from the youtube videos, was that people use the CO2 to fumigate the food before hand.

Or does the O2 do that as well? I guess I might have been mistaken, but I would've used the CO2 to kill the creepy crawlies, then throw in the O2 for oxidation protection, then seal it all in the mylar.

I just figured using the CO2 from bulk paintball tanks would be far safer than handling dry ice, if people wanted to go down that road.

which movies show folks using CO2 ???
I must have missed those, the few that are out there all show folks using mylar and o2 absorbers

Very nice

Ah, sorry about that. I meant to say that the movies(Youtube PWA Productions?) "spoke" of people using CO2 as a fumigant before they seal their buckets.

I was thinking of hitting the food with a double attack. Kill any potential nasties with the CO2, then seal the bags with the O2 absorbers.

My food saver has just a "seal" button so you can seal bags without sucking the air out. I wonder if that would work to seal up the mylar bags. I could just toss an 02 absorber in and seal it with the vacsaver's heat strip instead of an iron.

I have a food saver as well and am curious if I can use it instead of an iron.

Anybody have any recommendations on a good balance of what to to put into the buckets for good balance?

By this I mean. should one pack "X" amount of rice, "X" amount of beans, "X" amount of other things in one bucket to make one bucket opened provide a good balance of foodstuffs or just do one bucket of one thing, another separate bucket of another.

It seems there is a plan on pasta, rice, etc. in on bucket.

Guess to boil it down, what to put in each bucket to make best combination for each bucket overall.

I sure hope I'm conveying my question properly.

Thanks!

Actually the OP's posts needs to be turned into a PDF.

Thank you for the info!!

StagPower

I would be more than happy to turn it into a pdf once i pick up my adobe cs4 design premium next week.

Actually, there's already a PDF link at the bottom of the first post.  Here it is again for convenience..

R.

I have a 24 inch impulse heat sealer, that I used for years.  This is the same idea as a vac sealer, but 24 inches wide and made for industry.  I have gone to the iron method of sealing.  Most, but not all of all of the impulse seals were airtight, although they looked ok at the time.  My latest method is to fill the bags in the buckets, put in a few oxygen absorbers, seal almost all of the bag, stick a straw in the unsealed edge, and use a vacuum pump to pull the excess air out.  Pinch off the bag while withdrawing the straw, and finish the seal with the iron.  I haven't had any problems using this method, and the oxygen absorbers finish removing any oxygen that may leak in during the last seal.

Link is dead

Nitrogen flush - yes,I'd like to see/hear how it works.

Best price on buckets?

ETA: Thanks for the great thread and the bucket finding tips below.

1).  Free at some local bakeries.

2).  Lowes/Home Depot for about $4 each.

If you're buying a lot, you might look at US Plastics or somewhere like that online.

R.

Save from the archives btt.

Is there a storage life difference between mylar, #10 cans, and mason jars?

All this is well and good but if you have to leave your place of residence how do you move several years worth of food. What I see are weight problems and space problems.  Beans and rice get heavy real fast.

tagage

Was at Sams Club yesterday drooling over the rice/beans/flour/sugar in bulk. Just need to get the SO on board...



TAG



And thanks OP!!

people have been storing sugar and salt for thousands of years without the beneifts of O2 absorbers or vacuum packaging.

in fact, salt has frequently been used as a preserving media for other food products such as meat.

i would be inclined to vacuum seal them solely to keep out moisture and debris, and odors.

its not like either product will "expire" and go bad. sugar especially tends to pick up odors so that by itself makes it a good choice for vacuum sealing.

Where can I find info on cooking from stored wheat and corn?  I have enough "daily" foods  already in, now come the buckets but I am still trying to figure out how exactly to use the resulting flour.

Thanks!

tag

bump

I was wondering where this thread was. Awesome read.

Why is there no sticky love for this masterpiece?

tag

I realize there is potentially some savings by buying in larger sacks, but would it make more sense to store smaller quantities of each item in the same bucket?

maybe 8 or 10 1-5 pound bags of different items.  try and work it out so you use up the whole pail about the same time after you open it.

just wondering.

Thank you for the great information.

Thank you all for the great information, I purchased my mylar food storage bag with ziplock on one end, does any one have ideas if this will work as well as heat sealing the end?

it will not work as well.

is there enough material outside the zipper to seal it there?

seal it permanently outside, then cut off and use the zipper whenever you actually use the food

Excellent. Thanks.

tag

I saved the recipe below from this forum. I don't recall the author.
The recipe for Ezekiel bread uses stuff that we all should have stored. (I don't) Maybe not the most tasty thing to live off of, but if it comes down to "living" off your stores, you could do worse. Hunger is the best sauce. (An old Russian saying IIRC)
If you store corn and beans to be milled, make sure you have the equipment to grind it. Wheat only grinders typically don't grind corn and beans into meal/flour. As far as the olive oil in the second recipe, I believe there are better choices for storing.
Google is your friend.


"I used hard white wheat. I like the taste and find that it makes lighter bread. You can mix in a little white flour if you like, but I like it all whole wheat."

I used:
11-12 cups of flour (add more if it is still too sticky (comes off on your finger when you poke it))
2 TB Salt
2/3 cup oil
2/3 cup honey (melted)
2 TB dry yeast granules
4 cups hot water (not boiling hot, just hot to the touch)

I take the yeast and a cup of the water and a teaspoon or two of sugar and mix them together in a separate container to activate and foam up the yeast for 5-10 minutes.

While the yeast is activating I take half of the flour and the rest of the ingredients and mix them together. Then pour in the yeast mixture and all but a cup or two of the remaining flour and mix. I add flour until the dough is not too sticky. Too much flour and the dough won't stick together very well when kneeding and will make creased bread so it takes a little practice. I let the mixer run a minute or two with the dough to pull and stretch it and do all the kneeding work to make the dough produce light bread. Or it can be done by hand.

Divide the ball of dough into four equal portions and form the individual dough loaves and place them in the greased pan. You can let them raise in a warm kitchen for an hour or so or let it raise in the oven like I mentioned before.


"This is the bread that Ezekiel lived off of while he was in the desert for two years. It is supposed to be nutritionally complete. The recipe calls for grinding your own flour from a variety of grains and dried beans."
(Quote from allrecipes.com, I don't believe the Bible calls for yeast or oil, and the cooking method mentioned would not be appetizing.)

INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 cups wheat berries
1 1/2 cups spelt flour
1/2 cup barley
1/2 cup millet
1/4 cup dry green lentils
2 tablespoons dry great Northern beans
2 tablespoons dry kidney beans
2 tablespoons dried pinto beans
4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 cup honey
1/2 cup olive oil
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
2 tablespoons salt

DIRECTIONS
Measure the water, honey, olive oil, and yeast into a large bowl. Let sit for 3 to 5 minutes.
Stir all of the grains and beans together until well mixed. Grind in a flour mill. Add fresh milled flour and salt to the yeast mixture; stir until well mixed, about 10 minutes. The dough will be like that of a batter bread. Pour dough into two greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans.
Let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, or until dough has reached the top of the pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 to 50 minutes, or until loaves are golden brown.

I think the whole idea behind using mylar is that the metallic layer makes it non-gas-permeable.  
That is what enables you to get really long shelf life with these bags, by absorbing, and then excluding oxygen.

Zip-lock freezer bags are going to be gas-permeable, which means gases (in this case, the most concerning being oxygen) will be able to migrate into the bags and react with the contents.  (oxidizing them, making them stale, and lowering their nutritional value)

BTT

Fortunesfool223,
What size do you buy and what actual thickness do you prefer on that link. I have a few 5 gallon buckets but most of mine are 4 gallon. I would prefer to buy the 5 gallon size and cut them down if needed. Considering the cost, I only want to buy these "once".

Thanks

This is true, but if one were to put together several "combo" buckets it would just be a matter of tossing them in your vehicle with your other bug-out items & off you go. If you were having to leave in a hurry & never return then I doubt you will be taking all of anything you own, so you take what you need & what you can.

Also, there are smaller than 5gal buckets available. I bet with vacuuming & sealing items a gallon can could hold several days of food. While they won't last like plastic cans, I believe you can buy new, empty gallon paint cans/lids at Home Depot.

Excuse me if I missed it in the past 6 pages but how many O2 absorbers do you put in the mylar bags? I got the bags and O2 from LDS and will be trying rice first.

Great thread/sticky by the way!

I put two of the LDS O2 absorbers in the smaller bags from LDS.  For the big bags I put 5 or 6.

R.

Thank You

Does anyone know if 3m ESD bags are a suitable sustitute for the food grade mylar?  I have a line on some to line my buckets and want to know if they will work.