Putting up dry goods in canning jars

[Emerald]

I don't vac-pack my salt or sugar but I can tell you that I have canning salt, sea salt, and plain old iodized salt in mason jars and the lids haven't rusted yet-they do have a lining on the inside so are not just metal. I put a lid on the jar and then use the plastic storage lids that ball makes now and the salt and sugar stay very nice.
The canning salt is from 2008 the store was clearance it out and I got 10 boxes of it for .50 each.(I think it was the 2lb box but it has been a long time since I got them and know can not remember) I am down to only 5 of the quart mason jars left tho. I may have to watch for another sale.. and other than a few clumps in the current one that is open the rest all seem to be free flowing still.

 

[moolie]

I would watch the heat with whole grains--the oils get rancid if not kept cool, so I wouldn't think that oven canning would be the best way to go.

I keep my whole grains (and beans for that matter) in 5 gallon buckets with the absorber packets.

I use glass jars for shorter term dry goods storage in my kitchen cupboards, as well as for traditional canned foods (water bath and pressure).

 

[moolie]

When preparing to store dry beans, rice, flour, sugar, etc. in canning jars, is it necessary to sterilize the jars before use, or is it sufficient to thoroughly wash them in hot soapy water and rinse them well and let them dry completely before use? I plan to use oxygen absorbers in everything dry except sugar and salt. Do any of you use canning jars and do this? Were you successful? Did you encounter problems you didn't expect?

I plan to use this type of stored food for near future use. The long range food will be stored in Mylar bags with O2 absorbers inside steel barrels, and some will be of the freeze-dried type in #10 cans.

Just re-reading your original post, and wondering how long term you need?

Sounds like you have your long term in deeper storage and this is just for everyday use? So I'm confused by your question about the oxygen absorbers, because these aren't needed for pantry items in regular use? I wouldn't think that canning jars would be an efficient way to store things longer term--too small.

I use the Ball/Bernardin plastic storage lids and have never had one crack, with daily use. I also use glass (Natur brand) peanut butter jars with red plastic lids for dry pantry storage--again, no lid issues. Using the two-part canning lids for cupboard items would annoy the heck out of me.

 

[Britesea]

I have a fairly large number of peanut butter jars and mayonnaise jars. These are the ones I use for things like dried fruit and veggies and smallish amounts of grains. I save the real canning jars for canning, except for a small number of 1/2 gallon canning jars- those are for dried beans and split peas. I use a combination of whatever lids I have that will fit. Eventually I would like more of the ball plastic ones. I've just started collecting enough for long term storage, but those will go into 5-6 gallon tubs with mylar and oxy absorbers in the crawl space under the house. I'm hoping my brown rice will last close to a year that way, as I dislike white rice.

 

[Emerald]

I have a fairly large number of peanut butter jars and mayonnaise jars. These are the ones I use for things like dried fruit and veggies and smallish amounts of grains. I save the real canning jars for canning, except for a small number of 1/2 gallon canning jars- those are for dried beans and split peas. I use a combination of whatever lids I have that will fit. Eventually I would like more of the ball plastic ones. I've just started collecting enough for long term storage, but those will go into 5-6 gallon tubs with mylar and oxy absorbers in the crawl space under the house. I'm hoping my brown rice will last close to a year that way, as I dislike white rice.

I use the white plastic lids for every day stuff that I get into often, but I would never use them for anything long storage.. they have no rubber gasket to keep things airtight.. for stuff that will gather moisture(like my malt powders) I put a canning flat on and then use the white plastic lids to hold the canning lid down.

I like my brown rice but if it is not kept in a very cold spot(I freeze mine) it will go rancid in about a year O2 absorber or not, lucky me the chickens like rancid rice.
I have used the O2 absorbers in the big glass gallon pickle jars that I get from my BIL tho and I heat the lids in boiling water, dry quickly and put on and between the O2 absorbers and the hot lid they seem to seal up(for dry goods not canning).

If you live where you get pantry moths the white ball plastic lids will not keep them out alone.

 

[Veggie PAK]

Just re-reading your original post, and wondering how long term you need?

Sounds like you have your long term in deeper storage and this is just for everyday use? So I'm confused by your question about the oxygen absorbers, because these aren't needed for pantry items in regular use? I wouldn't think that canning jars would be an efficient way to store things longer term--too small.

I use the Ball/Bernardin plastic storage lids and have never had one crack, with daily use. I also use glass (Natur brand) peanut butter jars with red plastic lids for dry pantry storage--again, no lid issues. Using the two-part canning lids for cupboard items would annoy the heck out of me.

I use two levels of food "storage" just because I feel more confident in doing it that way. My long term food storage (15 - 25 years with O2 absorbers) is the #10 cans of grain, beans, rice, flour, freeze-dried fruits, etc. My intermediate food storage (3 - 7 years with O2 absorbers) is what I keep in the Ball jars. My regular supply of food remains in whatever packaging the product comes in from the grocery store, since most of that is good for a year or two. I don't do MRE's, so I try to have things that I could combine for some taste variety. Some people like MRE's, but for the cost, I don't. Everyone is different though. I'm sure some folks think they are great. That's fine if you like to use them. I read a post from a former Army Ranger who said that when they were on strenuous manuvers and were given MRE's for their diet, the caloric content was insufficient to keep up their pace and they had to double up the amount of MRE's that they consumed to maintain their required pace. Add that to the cost, and I think I can do fine without them. That's why I do my storage like I do. It's simply my preference. I'm sure it has it's flaws too. Everything does.

For my intermediate term storage, I like the glass jars because I KNOW bug larvae can't develop in an atmosphere void of O2, and mice aren't going to chew through the glass or metal. With the rubberized seal, ants will not be able to infiltrate my dry goods either.

While I plan on using Mylar bags in the future to bolster my storage capacity and methods, there are a few things that I think are important to consider beforehand. We all know that animals have a keen sense of smell. Consequently, I think, that when you use the Mylar bags smaller than 5 gallons, they should be kept in a rodent-proof container. Don't keep them in a plastic bucket or Tupperware or Rubbermaid tub. I think of the food dust that gets on everything during the packing process. It's so fine that we can't see it all, but I can just about guarantee that a hungry rodent would be able to smell it on the bags unless you use gamma sealed buckets... I think. Plastic buckes, tubs, etc. will not stop a mouse or chipmunk or something of that nature from chewing through the plastic container, including the Mylar bags. I think since the 5 gallon bags are filled while in the bucket, the dust would not be on the outside of the Mylar bag, as opposed to filling gallon bags on the kitchen table with exposure to grain dust.

When I use the Mylar bags, they will be stored in 15 gallon steel drums with banded removable tops. I don't plan to bug out since I live where I do, but if I ever had to leave, the 15 gallon barrels that weigh about 130 pounds would be a whole lot easier to handle than a 55 gallon barrel. The same logic applies to barrels of water. A 55 gallon drum filled with water weighs over 700 pounds. No one will be moving that. Taking it a step further, before someone stores a 55 gallon drum of water in their house, it you have wooden floor joists, you should have the weight per square foot floor load calculated to see if it would hold over 700 pounds in that small an area.

This was a long explanation, but that's how I see the subject of food storage.

 

[AnnaRaven]

Wow. I never thought about the floor joists issue. I should check with my contractor. I was planning on having it in my garage, which should be able to handle the weight. Bu still, better to check. I have smaller water storage, bu want a bigger 55gal barrel for shelter in place.

 

[R2D2]

Totally agree with VeggiePak,on storing mylar bags in non-plastic containers.I store my mylar filled bags in steel garbage cans,with well secured lids, in dry cool basement.I once worked in a restaurant located on waterfront property with a rat problem. The rats literally chewed thier way through cement walls and into the restaurant kitchen. If i hadn't seen myself, i would never have believed it.

 

[k15n1]

My sugar is lumpy, but everything else seems to be fine. I don't store salt this way, but I would assume it would be lumpy as well.

Seems that O2 absorbers are to blame.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_keep_white_sugar_from_getting_lumps

How to make lumps:

http://www.ehow.com/how_5161600_make-sugar-cubes.html

 

[moolie]

Huh, guess we're lucky in Alberta then--we have a longstanding provincial policy that means we have no rats in the entire province. (Feel free to google "no rats in Alberta", it's a big deal here.)

We do have plenty of mice and other native field rodent species, especially in my neighborhood which is near farmland and grassland/forest, however we have cats and have never had any in the house. I know my cats are good mousers because I've seen them chase and catch in the back yard