Dry Canning

[Britesea]

Another problem with just using the vacuum sealer is that you have a higher percentage of jars that lose their seal over time. (ask me how I know this)
On the subject of mylar bags- they have the advantage of not being breakable (something to consider if you live in earthquake country), and the larger bags can be cut down into smaller sizes- just seal the cut edges with an iron. I do not know for sure whether they will keep rodent damage down; I know mice have an incredible sense of smell.

@lcertuche I would be careful doing the dry canning in the oven- you can end up losing a lot of glass jars because they have not been made to deal with dry heat. I do have to say, however, that my M-I-L oven canned a bunch of walnuts one year. I found some of the cans at the back of her cupboard 10 years later and opened one to try them. They were not rancid at all, had the taste and texture of toasted nuts. I've talked to other people that tried to oven can nuts that reported dismal failures however, so I don't know... no idea why hers turned out so well.

 

[MoonShadows]

@Britesea - most websites I've read recommend putting your Mylar bags into 5 gallon buckets after sealing, not only because Mylar bags can easily be damaged, but to critter proof them. In a study done with Mylar bags and mice, it took the mice about 15 seconds to sense the food was there, and get into the bag to start eating it.

@lcertuche - Oven canning is NEVER recommended for NON-dry canning, but I am sure you know that; however, I don't think I would use oven canning for my dry canning for a few reasons. 1. Dry canning in an oven involves a 200 degree temperature. If heat is 1 of the 4 enemies of food storage, I wouldn't want the life of my dry food that I am intending to have on a long-term basis start by sitting in an oven for and hour with 200 degree heat. 2. The oven canning process does not actually remove all of the oxygen from the jar. You'll have a seal, but it does not take the contents down to the recommended level for long term storage.

 

[lcertuche]

I never tried any form of dry canning or mylar bags. I am thinking about getting some oxygen absorbers to use in jars for my dried veggies. I have dried all kinds of vegetables and put either in ziplock bags or jars without any additional measures. Some have last 2 or 3 years and still are great when I tried them. I can't say anything about the nutritional quality or long term storage however. I do buy big bags of dried beans, rice, sugar and salt. I will pour them into plastic bottles like soda bottles but this is only for a few months, maybe up to a year but not long term. The oxygen absorbers costs do seem to be reasonable as do the mylar bags. I have been thinking of getting a metal trashcan to store dry goods and of course critter feed since we have many mice and packrats. I do freeze large bags of flour, beans, etc. to kill any bugs when I bring them home from the store.

 

[MoonShadows]

Taste is one thing; nutrition another. From my reading, many dry items will last a few years by just bagging or putting in a jar, but the nutritional value starts to drop. I will use that method for a supply I plan to use within a few months, but not longer. If you use the oxygen absorbers you won't have to freeze in advance anymore. The super low oxygen level will kill off any bugs. Do you buy regular dry goods or organic? We are trying to move more and more organic wherever/whenever we can. It is more expensive, but I figure if we need the disaster food in the future, we will still want organic. I am hoping to plant black beans, lentils and wheat this coming Spring. Hopefully, it will help defray the cost. I haven't used any chemicals around here in well over a decade.

 

[lcertuche]

Unless you plan to grow it yourself you find very little choice as far as organic and what you do find is pretty miserable choices. Wilted, overripe, scrawny, so I buy what is cheapest and looks best most of the time. I could probably order organic over the internet but cost really is important. When you have little funds you do the best you can to spread them out. I frequently have less than $150 per month to feed at least 6 people and often more people than that if I have family drop in for a few days. Every penny matters. Someone told me the other day I could probably get commodities so I will be checking on that. Our church helps us out so much and we have good friends that give us stuff they don't end up using. I cried at the food stamp office when they told us we make $30 too much to draw $390. Why couldn't they give us $360. It doesn't make any sense to me and it doesn't matter what our rent or car payment is. Organic is nice if you have the funds. We buy as much as we can from local farmers because it helps them and it helps us. I will buy the oxygen absorbers as soon as I can but truthfully we are lucky to have a few months of food put up.

 

[MoonShadows]

In my neck of the woods we have 2 supermarkets that have fairly good organic sections, in some cases the produce is better than the regular produce. I bought 6 lbs of organic apples the other day for $1.99 a pound and they were big, unblemished and crispy....along with a 1/2 dozen perfect pears...on sale. A better price than the local farms! I dehydrated them and "dry canned" them for treats during the winter. Our funds are not all that great, but better than yours from what you write, and we don't have as many mouths to feed as you do. I do receive Medicaid because my income is below the cutoff point, but don't qualify for food stamps. It frosts me when I am standing in line at a store in sweat pants, old sneakers and the sweatshirt that doubles as my winter coat, with all generics, last day of sale meats and "day olds" and see someone dressed to the nine's, with name brands in their cart, choice meats, and other things I can't afford, a smart phone on their hip, and bling around their neck, on their ears or around their wrist, and they pull out an EBT card....then drive out of the parking lot in a new vehicle. But, I have to then check myself and thank God for what I DO have. We cut back in other areas and save money in order to make these larger organic purchases like bulk beans and rice, and our kitchen garden. We have simple Walmart and 2nd hand store wardrobes, don't go on vacation, never go out to dinner or a movie, drive old cars, don't have cable TV, the bare essential phone plan, make or create as much as we can, etc. All our money goes into paying off the mortgage, past business loans, survival supplies and everyday living. The key is doing as much as you can within your means, especially in case of emergencies when you have to cut back even more.

 

[lcertuche]

On the subject of dry canning. I like to put food in plastic soda or juice bottles. Can you still use them with oxygen absorbers or do they cave in the bottles?

 

[baymule]

I guess you could try one to find out.

 

[MoonShadows]

I just Googled "plastic soda bottles for dry canning" and found several articles talking about it. The oxygen absorbers won't collapse the bottle. Remember, air is almost 80% nitrogen and 20% oxygen with other trace gases. You are only removing the oxygen from the bottle, not the "air". That's why so many industries pack their products in nitrogen. Oxygen is the "destroyer"...think oxidation, think "rust". The only negative I found was while they are good, they probably are not good for long term or the 25 year preservation like survivalist talk about, however, who is really going to keep food 25 years?

 

[tortoise]

I'm laughing because I think MOST people can figure out how to grow food within 25 years. just sayin' .... we are talking SHTF, not living on Mars, right?