Posted: 4/5/2007 9:32:19 PM EDT
|
So I've got mylar bags and O2 Absorbers coming. Can I pack in clean, empty 5 gallon buckets I can get for cheap locally? They are not "food grade", but are never filled up with anything after manufacture. I had planned to line the bucket with the mylar bag, fill with the product, squeeze out as much air as I can and iron it shut after throwing in some oxygen absorbers. Do the mylar bags with the ziploc work OK? Or is the iron shut bags the only way to go? Finally, do I need to freeze the rice before I pack it, to kill anything, or will the O2 absorbers take care of that... I'd probably have to buy another freezer... ;) Any other advice for someone bulk packing rice, beans, and pasta? Thanks in advance! |
I would use those pails as long as you are using mylar bags. I have never seen the ziplock type bags and have only used the ironing shut type. I like those and they work well and seal great with the iron on the wool setting. That seems to be about the right amount of heat everytime I did it. One thing I would do is go rent a small tank of nitrogen from a welding supply house. Attach a hose to the regulator and a steel pipe to the other end of the hose. Now take that steel rod and put it in every bag and fill the bag with nitrogen before you fill the bag with food. You will know when all the O2 is gone by putting a match in the bag. If the match goes out, all the O2 is gone. Now slowly fill the bag with food. I will leave the rod in the bag if I am doing pasta as it can hold alot of O2 in it. I run the nitrogen at about 3 pounds of pressure and it is a nice slow bleed to remove as much O2 as possible. I will use more pressure when I pack powders away like jello's, puddings, cake mixes, and things like that. I then throw in my O2 absorbers. I built a small jig that is even with my pails so I can just fold the mylar bag over onto a 2x4 jig and iron it closed. I push out just enough nitrogen from the bag to be able to put the lid on. I do not go crazy because the O2 absorbers will start to remove any O2 left in the bag and it will suck that bag down tight. I have had a bag or two get holes poked in them from this vacuum put on them from the absorbers. That is why I now remove all the O2 or as much as I can so the absorbers will remove all the O2 and still not put a tight vacuum on the bag. I will also take one mylar bag and put it in a pail and fill it with nitrogen. Then when I open my O2 absorbers I throw them right into that bag so they are not exposed to any outside air and start absorbing before I want them to. It really helps with the life of the absorbers if you are doing alot of food. Nitrogen is heavier than air so you shouldn't need to refill the bag, but I always check to make sure my absorbers are in an O2 free bag. Again, a quick test with a match will tell you everything. Another reason I fill the bag with nitrogen is that if I need to open a bag, I can reseal it with an iron and it still is O2 free with good absorbers in it as you have removed most of the O2 when you started. There is no vacuum to suck air in so you will be fine to reseal the bag. Just becareful, and only cut open the bag just enought to get what you need and have everything already set up to reseal the bag. As soon as you get what you want, right then reseal the bag. I have never froze anything because I was always worried about moisture condensating on my cold food when I took it out of the freezer. I always worried about some moisture remaining in the rice or beans some where and mold starting after I packed it away, but what the hell do I know, probably worried about nothing. I have put in a small amout of Diatomaceous Earth instead of freezing to kill any bugs. DE |
| Everything you says sounds OK with rice. There are a lot of different opinions, but rice stores well and usable for a number of years (my experience) with any good storage. Consistantly cool and dry outer container is main concern. No hot garage or attic, no damp basement. |
|
long a sthe bukcets are new never used.. mylar and 02 them and forget about it. thats the purpose of themylar, to keep it air tight and to keep, chemicals, smells etc from leaching through the buckets. for example.you store the grain in a bucket with no bag next to open cans of diesel, after afew years it'll smell like gas inside. Also air tight means no bugs. I dont frezze my grians,, nor add any DE or crap to it. you'll do fine by how you say your gonna do it. |
fixed it 
|