What to do with used mylar bags

[freemotion]

As you know (since I've been bragging....er.....rejoicing so much!) I have 55 pails with grains. Opened one up and it also is lined with a sealed mylar bag. Is there a use for these bags? I'll use them for trash unless someone has a brilliant idea. I've never used mylar bags so this is my first experience with them.

I don't have a vacuum sealer but inspecting the bag leaves me wondering if they could be used to make smaller bags for use with a vacuum sealer?

However, I opened the first pail while a doe was on the milking stand, eating, so I got the lid off and saw the mylar bag. Since the doe was almost done, I grabbed the scissors and tossed them on top of the sealed bag so I could open it when the next doe was being milked..... and the point punctured the bag, making it hiss as the vacuum left the bag. Does this mean the bags are fragile or that the sharp scissors hit it just right?

Anyone know?

I don't have a vacuum sealer since researching the price of bags. They are crazy expensive, even in bulk. Since I rotate my stuff, and it has not been an issue, as I rarely store food in the freezer more that a few months. However......with two large pigs this year.....some meat may be kept longer.

Whatcha think?

 

[~gd]

Are you sure they are mylar? They usually are very thin but tough. I suspect the point of the scissors was the problem, try to tear it.
Also if it is mylar heat sealing could be a problem since it is used for 'roasting bags' and lids for microwave packages. Go for it what do you have to lose?~gd

 

[k0xxx]

Most people (including myself) refer to the metalized mylar bags as simply mylar bags. The mylar is actually the clear material, and the silver is the metalized coating to block out UV rays. That being said, the bags are definitely re-usable. Most vacuum sealers will not seal them properly however, due to the surface of the bags being too smooth. Adding an oxygen absorber packet to the bag prior to sealing is the way to go. You can re-seal them with a dry clothes iron on the hot setting.

Put in an O2 absorber, seal all but one corner, force as much air out by hand as you can, the seal it completely. The O2 absorber will remove the remaining air overnight. I'd recommend 2000cc O2 absorbers for 5 gallon bags.

 

[freemotion]

Let me clarify: I don't want to re-seal the bags with remaining grain in them....the grain is being used as animal feed and when I open a pail and the bag inside, I dump the contents into my grain barrel for easy access and use it up within a few days.

gd, I don't have a vacuum sealer so I can't try it......I was hoping someone else did. Sounds like you did, k0xxx......soooooo........maybe I can keep them to pack my pork in for the freezer but not vacuum seal them?

Yes, they are the metalized type.

Oh, I noticed you said "most vacuum sealers" won't seal them....some will? I may have to send one over to a friend who has one she purchased at Costco, I think, and see if it works.

 

[~gd]

Let me clarify: I don't want to re-seal the bags with remaining grain in them....the grain is being used as animal feed and when I open a pail and the bag inside, I dump the contents into my grain barrel for easy access and use it up within a few days.

gd, I don't have a vacuum sealer so I can't try it......I was hoping someone else did. Sounds like you did, k0xxx......soooooo........maybe I can keep them to pack my pork in for the freezer but not vacuum seal them?

Yes, they are the metalized type.

Oh, I noticed you said "most vacuum sealers" won't seal them....some will? I may have to send one over to a friend who has one she purchased at Costco, I think, and see if it works.

Nope I don't have a vacuum either. I have one of the old non vacuum bag sealers and one of the hand sealers used for wrap amd seal and they don't work. If they were mine and I knew I would have pork to seal I would invest in a roll of freezer tape (many tapes don't hold at freezer temp) the wrap would be good.~gd

 

[GOOGLE NIKOLA TESLA]

U could get a large satellite dish and put it on it as a reflective surface, tune the focal pt and have heat and hot water from the sun

Im gonna try that out it would be sweet!lol

 

[sufficientforme]

You could try reselling them with the buckets! They are easy to reseal, just not vacuum seal. All of mine I folded over a broom stick and used a hot iron to seal successfully.

 

[freemotion]

gd, I think I'll put them away and wrap my larger roasts in them. I have freezer tape as I used freezer paper last year. Many of my roasts were too big for ziplocs, so I double wrapped them and they were fine. This year's pigs will be bigger. I like to cook for leftovers and my dutch oven is huge.

Neko, that is too big a project for me right now but the idea inspired me....I bet I could make a reflector for a solar oven, something I've wanted to try. Gotta get busy on that (when???? ) since we are past the summer solstice and New England is not exactly solar oven country. I also want to try haybox cooking to see how it works. A great way to slow cook without heating up the kitchen in the summer.

sfm, great idea! I doubt I'll use up 55 bags for my own purposes anyways. They are quite large and I thing one could wrap two large roasts.

Great ideas!

 

[RudeKittyLuvsTesla]

I searched and could not find, so here goes... Bread bags. I saved them like crazy when my hubs had surgery and then the cast for showers. Now no need (keeping all my parts crossed). Anyone have a good use for them or do I just put them up to the hospital for other patients to take if they will have them there?

 

[freemotion]

How about for making your own bread? Other purchased bags just do not fit a home made loaf. We also use bags of that size for scooping the litter box or bagging something stinky for the trash, although that is rare now that we have pigs and chickens! We keep such bags in upright tissue boxes in the cupboard.