Storing Food Long Term

[ms1984]

Hi guys My name's Mike and I'm new to the forum, I've joined this and another forum hoping
someone can give me some more info on the things I need to know. I want to store
food long-term, I have canned food but want to store grain, rice etc preferably lasting as long as possible! Does anyone have any experience in long-term food storage, I know there's bags you can buy, but what the difference is between mylar and aluminium foil coated bags I have no idea! Anyone with any experience
or links I' be grateful. Thanks for your time guys and thanks for the forum!

Mike

 

[Overlord]

I usually use airtight food grade containers then add a dessicant to remove any remaining moisture.

Please post in the "Introduce Yourself" section and say a little something about yourself there also.

 

[DrHenley]

My wife is from Taiwan (rice is the principal crop there), and I asked her how long rice can be stored. She said forever if you keep it dry and keep the bugs out.

 

[jimLE]

like overlord pointed out,dessicant to remove any remaining moisture.pluse oxagen eaters for getting what oxagen that be in there.air tigght buckets for storeing foods..and as for bags..i hear mylar works best.

 

[ms1984]

Hi again, thanks so much for the information. I'm pretty excited to get everything ready although maybe I should have started earlier. Never too late though I suppose! I found a loadof info at http://www.mylarshop.com/mylar-shop-articles and http://www.sorbentsystems.com/mylar.html I decided I want to go with Mylar rather than other foil bags as, for the price extra, I think it's worth it. I ended up going with these bags: http://www.mylarshop.com/mylar-bags/heavy-duty-mylar-bag-25cm-x-35cm as I'm in the UK so the Sorbent Systems shipping is too much. They should arrive any day so I'll put up a review if / when they arrive! I haven't got a heat sealing thing but apparently an iron will do and this is a good video on how to do it: If anyone knows of any shops in the UK other than the one I picked I'd be grateful. Anyway I'll be back with a review and maybe a video on how to store grain if I can find a video camera. Thanks everyone and thanks for your time. Mike

 

[jimLE]

i need to get into long term storage when it comes to myler bags and buckets..on acount i only been buying canned and dry foods so far.and i over did it a lil bit this last shoping trip when it comes to money.but at least i got stocked up a lil more then normal for me

 

[Swen_in_ca]

One thing I am not seeing mentioned enough on this site in regards to long term storage is O2 removers. If trying to pack for 10 plus years, the only way to ensure the nasty bugs don't hatch is to remove the oxygen required for the bugs to live.

However, do not pack sugar and salt with O2 removers. It will turn them to rock.

I also mentioned on another thread, is the fact that flour doesn't actually stay very fresh if you pack it yourself. I purchased a bunch of Augason Farm super pails for this reason, I haven't opened any yet to do a comparison to the ones I did myself.

 

[Swen_in_ca]

I already went past the 5 minutes for editing.

I have heard of Bay leaves to discourage the bugs and yes, my Auntie used them in her mason jars. But that is to discourage bugs, it won't kill them per say. Besides, most of that style of storage on the homestead farm was not targeted for much more than 5 years.

 

[Kenprep1979]

Hi again, thanks so much for the information. I'm pretty excited to get everything ready although maybe I should have started earlier. Never too late though I suppose! I found a loadof info at http://www.mylarshop.com/mylar-shop-articles and http://www.sorbentsystems.com/mylar.html I decided I want to go with Mylar rather than other foil bags as, for the price extra, I think it's worth it. I ended up going with these bags: http://www.mylarshop.com/mylar-bags/heavy-duty-mylar-bag-25cm-x-35cm as I'm in the UK so the Sorbent Systems shipping is too much. They should arrive any day so I'll put up a review if / when they arrive! I haven't got a heat sealing thing but apparently an iron will do and this is a good video on how to do it: If anyone knows of any shops in the UK other than the one I picked I'd be grateful. Anyway I'll be back with a review and maybe a video on how to store grain if I can find a video camera. Thanks everyone and thanks for your time. Mike

all you need is a hair straightener if your wife has one it will do the same thing for the mylar bag and just use a shop vac or household vac to remove the air from the bag before sealing the corner.

 

[Kenprep1979]

Or you can lay a board across the top of your bucket to one side then fold the bag over lay it on the board and run a clothing iron across it to seal the bag.

 

[Overlord]

One thing I am not seeing mentioned enough on this site in regards to long term storage is O2 removers. If trying to pack for 10 plus years, the only way to ensure the nasty bugs don't hatch is to remove the oxygen required for the bugs to live.

However, do not pack sugar and salt with O2 removers. It will turn them to rock.

I also mentioned on another thread, is the fact that flour doesn't actually stay very fresh if you pack it yourself. I purchased a bunch of Augason Farm super pails for this reason, I haven't opened any yet to do a comparison to the ones I did myself.

Hi Swen, actually there is a lot of discussion on the sourcing and use of these O2 removers in the site

 

[getnready]

LDS.com
web site sells O2 dessicants for dirt cheap! Got mine delivered in 3 days. Depending on where you live they have stores so no shipping cost! Mylar bags available as well. Good resource site.

 

[Bill Quimby]

One thing I am not seeing mentioned enough on this site in regards to long term storage is O2 removers. If trying to pack for 10 plus years, the only way to ensure the nasty bugs don't hatch is to remove the oxygen required for the bugs to live.

However, do not pack sugar and salt with O2 removers. It will turn them to rock.

I also mentioned on another thread, is the fact that flour doesn't actually stay very fresh if you pack it yourself. I purchased a bunch of Augason Farm super pails for this reason, I haven't opened any yet to do a comparison to the ones I did myself.

Hey all, I'm new to the forum. If you're storing meat, does anyone freeze dry their meat and fish? And if so, what is the best process for that?
Thanks! Looking forward to hearing your comments.
Bill

 

[Overlord]

We got a lot of good folks here who are familiar with doing similar stuff. People like Old Anorak, JimLE (if I remember correctly, he loves his beef jerky).

 

[jimLE]

someone had posted some thing about canning bacon..need to relocate that topic..i do need to learn how to fix jerky.and can meats for long storage,..

 

[jimLE]

here's a site that tells one way for canning bacon..

http://www.rural-revolution.com/2011/01/canning-bacon.html