Food Grade Oxygen Absorbers.......I need education.

[Sourdough]

People who have known me from forums for decades, will be shocked to learn I know zero about purchasing Food Grade Oxygen Absorbers. As most of my "current" prepping is radically changing, I need to buy Oxygen Absorbers.

Looks like they are cheap. So, what size, what quantity, etc.
I'll likely be ordering from Amazon.
Cost not an issue.
I have made a large shift to storing food in jars, up to one gallon size jars. Think macaroni. beans, cereals, etc..

 

[Neb]

People who have known me from forums for decades, will be shocked to learn I know zero about purchasing Food Grade Oxygen Absorbers. As most of my "current" prepping is radically changing, I need to buy Oxygen Absorbers.

Looks like they are cheap. So, what size, what quantity, etc.
I'll likely be ordering from Amazon.
Cost not an issue.
I have made a large shift to storing food in jars, up to one gallon size jars. Think macaroni. beans, cereals, etc..

You want to buy them in small count packaging. As soon as you open the seal on their package they start absorbing. No way to stop it.

Ben

 

[Sourdough]

You want to buy them in small count packaging. As soon as you open the seal on their package they start absorbing. No way to stop it.

Ben

Thank you. So, if there is 10 in a pack, might as well put all ten in the jar.

 

[Amish Heart]

I'll use them in mylar bags, but if it's a glass jar, I prefer using the jar sealer attachment on the food saver.
I'm with Ben, get a few in a pkt.

 

[Hardcalibres]

Thank you. So, if there is 10 in a pack, might as well put all ten in the jar.

.....or buy them in packs that match the size, amount of air in each container (with the food in there) and how many containers you intend to fill/store in a single session of packing.

For mylar bags with dry goods in them, I usually get enough food to fill twenty or so bags, get the food ready to go in, get the iron hot and then pack (with both food and a suitable sized O2 absorber) and seal the bags.

I then keep the bags somewhere I can watch them to see they shrink down enough to show the absorber worked.

After shrinkage, I pack them away.

 

[Sourdough]

Is there an established formula for the size of the jar. I have not bought any jars smaller then 64 oz. and mostly buying 128 oz. jars.

I get free food every month, and mostly I just dump stuff in jars, because it comes in boxes or plastic bags. I rarely ever eat any of it.

 

[Amish Heart]

1/2 gal jar would be a 500 cc oxygen absorber, according to an online table

 

[Tommyice]

.....or buy them in packs that match the size, amount of air in each container (with the food in there) and how many containers you intend to fill/store in a single session of packing.

For mylar bags with dry goods in them, I usually get enough food to fill twenty or so bags, get the food ready to go in, get the iron hot and then pack (with both food and a suitable sized O2 absorber) and seal the bags.

I then keep the bags somewhere I can watch them to see they shrink down enough to show the absorber worked.

After shrinkage, I pack them away.

Does it always have to shrink or suck the packaging in? I thought I had read that isn’t always something that happens but that it doesn’t mean the oxygen wasn’t absorbed.

 

[Neb]

Does it always have to shrink or suck the packaging in? I thought I had read that isn’t always something that happens but that it doesn’t mean the oxygen wasn’t absorbed.

I would say no with the following theory.

Air is 78% nitrogen. 20% is oxygen. If all of the excess air is squished of the bag then a 20% reduction in volume of air may be noticeable with shrink down.

Otherwise it may not be noticed.

Bottom line, sucking down is good sign.

Ben

 

[Caribou]

Excess O2 absorbers can be stored in small glass jars with a good seal.

 

[ClemKadiddlehopper]

Standard when using mylar and should work for glass if packing full.

1 gal. = 300 cc oxygen absorbers. 5-600 cc is better (I use 5-600 cc ) because a jar sealer won't work on gallon jars and who knows how good the oxygen absorbers really are.

I put 300 cc in anything smaller and suck the air out with a jar sealer. I use the same for mylar and squeeze as much excess air out as I can, before sealing.

Just buy a mess of 300 cc absorbers in small packets and double up as needed.

 

[Hardcalibres]

I would say no with the following theory.

Air is 78% nitrogen. 20% is oxygen. If all of the excess air is squished of the bag then a 20% reduction in volume of air may be noticeable with shrink down.

Otherwise it may not be noticed.

Bottom line, sucking down is good sign.

Ben

Prior to heat sealing, I push the mylar bag flat enough around the food so that I always see the suck down.

I avoid pushing out so much air that the package ends up with strong vacuum inside after the suck down (as that would make the mylar more vulnerable to air getting (forced) in there by atmospheric pressure).

I have found that with practice I get the balance right and I do the bag sealing routine consistently enough, that any bag that doesn't suck down the same as the others (or as usual) will be conspicuous.

My failure rate has been very, very low - perhaps a few bags out of thousands of them.

I have standardized on 7 mil mylar bags - they are more expensive, but they have worked very well and can take a bit of rough handling.

The Mountain House bags they pack their FD meals in, looks to be about 6-7 Mil thick......and they rate them to 30 years now.