Posted: 4/27/2012 7:56:26 AM EDT
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Okay, I haven't seen this talked about and I KNOW I'm not smart enough to come up with something that someone else hasn't already thought of so there has to be a problem here but I don't know what it is. Maybe one of you can point out the error in my idea:
MREs do have some preservatives in them but all in all, they are essentially "canned" food that is sealed in a mylar pouch instead of a glass jar or steel can. Here's my idea: take some food (fresh peas, grilled chicken, whatever), put it in a mylar bag, squeeze the air out, seal, then put it in a pressure cooker. The reason I figure you gotta use a pressure cooker is that if you heat it without pressure, the expansion inside the pouch would burst it. Would this work? The reason I ask is I don't actually own a pressure cooker or I'd just try it and see. |
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Quoted:
Okay, I haven't seen this talked about and I KNOW I'm not smart enough to come up with something that someone else hasn't already thought of so there has to be a problem here but I don't know what it is. Maybe one of you can point out the error in my idea: MREs do have some preservatives in them but all in all, they are essentially "canned" food that is sealed in a mylar pouch instead of a glass jar or steel can. Here's my idea: take some food (fresh peas, grilled chicken, whatever), put it in a mylar bag, squeeze the air out, seal, then put it in a pressure cooker. The reason I figure you gotta use a pressure cooker is that if you heat it without pressure, the expansion inside the pouch would burst it. Would this work? The reason I ask is I don't actually own a pressure cooker or I'd just try it and see. The reason to use a pressure cooker is so you live. Not using the higher temperature of a pressure cooker wouldn't guarentee you would kill botulism spores. It should work, but you need the right grade of mylar. I don't know if the thin stuff used for dry goods would work or even survive the pressure cooker temps. It does make you wonder why no one else has thought of this. The thin, flat packages are ideal for quickly bringing up to temperature. |
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Not a lot of detail there. What type of vacuum sealer do you use? What other equipment? I have difficulty sealing anything with liquid in it using my food sealer as the liquid gets drawn out and interrupts the seal. I have had good luck freezing in the pouch, then sealing and replacing it in the freezer.
I was under the mistaken impression that boiling was sufficient to kill almost everything. According to an article from CO State, 240 degrees is required to ensure botulism spores are killed. |
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Quoted:
yeah, just "squeeze" the air out, should work fine. 
i do make my own mre's and it is pretty easy, if you have the right equipment. most things are. you pull a vacuum on retourt pouch and then can. easy. i've made chicken, beef and chili so far. Maybe you should do a post for us with pics and details? 
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Nice. Thank you. Interesting read. Maybe the YouTube guy was putting too much food in his pouches. |
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Quoted:
Not a lot of detail there. What type of vacuum sealer do you use? What other equipment? I have difficulty sealing anything with liquid in it using my food sealer as the liquid gets drawn out and interrupts the seal. I have had good luck freezing in the pouch, then sealing and replacing it in the freezer. I was under the mistaken impression that boiling was sufficient to kill almost everything. According to an article from CO State, 240 degrees is required to ensure botulism spores are killed. plenty of info...search my name here and see the retort tread. i just saw that the link was listed. i just updated that as well. with xcanning of any type. there are no shortcuts and you better follow the rules or else. the pouches are a new canning thing for us home canners and it is kinda trial and error which can be risky. my advice on pouches.....cook the same time as glass (even though it requires less time because the heat transfers faster through the pouches) and come up to temp a little slower than glass and makes sure you do NOT open the cover with ANY pressure in the canner. if you do they will pop. |
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Quoted:
Personally, I would say not a good idea. Getting botulism is no fun because you can't taste or see it, people have died from it.
. . Here's my idea: take some food (fresh peas, grilled chicken, whatever), put it in a mylar bag, squeeze the air out, seal, then put it in a pressure cooker. The reason I figure you gotta use a pressure cooker is that if you heat it without pressure, the expansion inside the pouch would burst it. Would this work? The reason I ask is I don't actually own a pressure cooker or I'd just try it and see. Just get factory canned food and you should bet GTG. |
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Quoted: The food saver will probably not seal the thicker retort pouches. The mylar pouches are also smooth and would not work in a standard foodsaver. And even if you could get them sealed you likely would not remove enough air to not get ruptures in the canning process.Would a food saver work to vacuum and seal the pouches? I already have one and the machine you got was very expensive. |
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Maybe I'm missing something here, but I fail to see the point in removing food from a perfectly good can and putting it into a more vulnerable "soft" can which you probably can not can as safely as the original can.
If you simply must have MRE entrees Emergency Essentials sells them a la carte for pretty cheap. When you factor in time and effort probably alot cheaper (and definitely safer) than trying to make it yourself. |
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Just speculating, I believe there are some extra steps involved in making the MRE pouches. Namely, radiation sterilization after sealing, and an army of food scientists to make sure the product is created to come out the best that it can. Putting ordinary food into a pouch, and not having a box of Cobalt60 around, might guarantee less than MRE performance results. Considering the botulism thing, I'd not do this. Sick with canning in glass jars or just buy food off the shelf in cans and deal with a little bit of extra weight of the can. (Can't make an alcohol stove out of a used mylar pouch now can you?)
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I have personally never understood why the military went with the pouch idea in the first place. A can is better in just about every way as a food storage device and you need less extra external packaging as a protective means so it may well be lighter weight overall.
I suspect it was just a case of the military deciding that it just had to invent something that was never really necessary or even especially desirable. |
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Quoted:
Just speculating, I believe there are some extra steps involved in making the MRE pouches. Namely, radiation sterilization after sealing, and an army of food scientists to make sure the product is created to come out the best that it can. Putting ordinary food into a pouch, and not having a box of Cobalt60 around, might guarantee less than MRE performance results. Considering the botulism thing, I'd not do this. Sick with canning in glass jars or just buy food off the shelf in cans and deal with a little bit of extra weight of the can. (Can't make an alcohol stove out of a used mylar pouch now can you?) This. DIY MRE's were discussed at length in this forum a few years ago. There's no practical way to safely make your own. |
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Quoted:
Maybe I'm missing something here, but I fail to see the point in removing food from a perfectly good can and putting it into a more vulnerable "soft" can which you probably can not can as safely as the original can. If you simply must have MRE entrees Emergency Essentials sells them a la carte for pretty cheap. When you factor in time and effort probably alot cheaper (and definitely safer) than trying to make it yourself. The point was not repackaging canned food but preserving fresh food in a more durable container than a glass jar. Unfortunately it looks like I don't have the equipment to do it right and the proper equipment is pretty expensive. |
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I can understand that, but I still don't see the need for it really when there are inexpensive and safe alternatives, and the effort and expense just doesn't seem justified.
I don't really see a problem with canning jars; they are only really vulnerable if you drop them. Just don't drop them. MREs are really only suitable for on-the-go situations, aside from that the expense for even purchased entrees is not really worth it. |
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Quoted: I have personally never understood why the military went with the pouch idea in the first place. A can is better in just about every way as a food storage device and you need less extra external packaging as a protective means so it may well be lighter weight overall. I suspect it was just a case of the military deciding that it just had to invent something that was never really necessary or even especially desirable. C Rations (which were canned) were heavy. The Army is always trying to reduce weight, both for logistics / transport and the individual. |
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I've made homemade MREs. there is a thread in the archive.
My advice is to use commercial canned goods, and avoid items that have hydrogenated oil. It spoils too fast (cookies, crackers, etc.) You can easily put together a full day's worth of calories, in a portable container, for under 5.00 TRG |