Prep Genrl How to store. . .

[John Deere Girl]

If you have freezer room, heavy bags and freezing is the simplest. However, I've oven canned many, many pounds of nuts, and they stay fresh on the shelf for decades, as long as the seal stays intact.

I heat them at 300 degrees on a cookie sheet for 20 minutes (you want them thoroughly dried, but not browned or toasted), then put in sterile jars and seal. I've tried it two ways... put the sealed jars back into the oven for 15 minutes, or pressure can at 5# pressure (sea level... up to 9# at 6,000 feet above sea level) for 10 minutes.

Both techniques worked well. The oven method is NOT approved, and probably does have a *tiny* risk of botulism, especially if the nuts fell on muddy ground and weren't thoroughly washed *and dried* before shelling. I personally doubt the moisture level is high enough in a jar of nuts for botulism spores to break dormancy and grow.

Summerthyme

Thank you! I really want them shelf stable. I will do the oven method today.

 

[nomifyle]

That's the way I'd like to store them as they can go rancid. I was given 6 bags, and I only use them during the Holidays for baking.

They are very healthy. I have some 1/4 pint canning jars and I filled them with walnuts and put the date on them. DH gets one jar a week, and we've each started eating a small box of raisins each day, fortunately we get them in commodities some times.

 

[nomifyle]

No one has made any suggestions as to how to store dried fruit. I'm not talking about fruit you have dried yourself. Like store bought raisins.

 

[summerthyme]

No one has made any suggestions as to how to store dried fruit. I'm not talking about fruit you have dried yourself. Like store bought raisins.

Those store well for years simply sealed in jars and kept in a dark place (even a box) As with everything long term, the cooler, the better.

Summerthyme (we're still using raisins from 1999! )

 

[SouthernBreeze]

We have our own pecan tree, but I don't use a lot of pecans. I just keep a couple of gallon freezer bags full of chopped pecans in my freezer. If I used a lot, I would store more and can them to make room in my freezer.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Can't you freeze dried fruit? I think my mom stores her raisins in her freezer. We don't eat them, so I have no idea.

 

[John Deere Girl]

Those store well for years simply sealed in jars and kept in a dark place (even a box) As with everything long term, the cooler, the better.

Summerthyme (we're still using raisins from 1999! )

Should I vacuum seal the raisins?

 

[nomifyle]

We have our own pecan tree, but I don't use a lot of pecans. I just keep a couple of gallon freezer bags full of chopped pecans in my freezer. If I used a lot, I would store more and can them to make room in my freezer.

They are full of nutrition and protein.

 

[summerthyme]

Should I vacuum seal the raisins?

Sure, if you have the ability. It preserves mistress and the freshest flavor. We stored some in '99 simply putting the cardboard canisters in a basement cabinet. They dried out significantly, , and actually had crystals of sugar that somehow formed. I'd put them in a bowl and pour hot water over them to plump them up... it improved them for fresh eating if you just stirred them around for a few seconds, then drained them and let them set in a covered bowl for an hour or two. Plumping them fully made them great in cookies.

Summerthyme

 

[L.A.B.]

If you have freezer room, heavy bags and freezing is the simplest. However, I've oven canned many, many pounds of nuts, and they stay fresh on the shelf for decades, as long as the seal stays intact.

I heat them at 300 degrees on a cookie sheet for 20 minutes (you want them thoroughly dried, but not browned or toasted), then put in sterile jars and seal. I've tried it two ways... put the sealed jars back into the oven for 15 minutes, or pressure can at 5# pressure (sea level... up to 9# at 6,000 feet above sea level) for 10 minutes.

Both techniques worked well. The oven method is NOT approved, and probably does have a *tiny* risk of botulism, especially if the nuts fell on muddy ground and weren't thoroughly washed *and dried* before shelling. I personally doubt the moisture level is high enough in a jar of nuts for botulism spores to break dormancy and grow.

Summerthyme

Summerthyme, what is your opinion / experience of dry canning formerly bagged rice that is not dehydrated in total.

Rice is very hygroscopic, so how would storing it in a glass jar dry canning operation with some residual moisture effect it?

 

[Barry Natchitoches]

I have quite a few boxes of Jiffy corn bread mix. I've put some in pint jars, that only hold one box. I've put some in a couple of plastic jugs. The pint jars are vacuum sealed, but the plastic jugs are not. I have many more boxes that need to be stored better than in their boxes (a few boxes had bites taken out of them by a critter. I have too many boxes to store one in its own pint jar. A couple of years ago I did store a bucket full of boxes with a tight lid. I've not checked the bucket to see how they faired.

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Another thing I've had issues with are raisins. We get the little boxes in commodities, with six to a package. I opened one little box the other day and it had bugs all in it. It was stored on a shelf.

Again, any suggestions will be appreciated.

Any one else wanting to know how to store something could put it in this thread so other can benefit.

Judy

Just an observation... Judy, you spend more time worrying and wondering about this and that than you do 'living'. Try doing the 'living' thing for a few days and everything else will fall into place. You really don't need others to steer your life, even though you try so hard to have this occur. Listen to your husband... at least once in a while... and 'chill'.

You will be happier and less stressed. The end of the world has not arrived, and you will probably not see it due to age.

Enjoy life and quit fretting so much.

Judy’s question is a good one, and it is one that I can benefit from, too.

i am glad that she asked it.

 

[Barry Natchitoches]

If you are baking with old baking powder, test it by dropping a pinch into *warm* water. If it's still good, it will bubble vigorously.

I've had enough go bad (usually just the last inch or so in the can) that I devised the jar system. These days, I'd probably use 4 oz jelly jars, to minimize the amount that goes stale.

Summerthyme

Wow - I learn something new every day on this forum.

 

[Deena in GA]

I keep all of my flour, corneal, Jiffy mix, etc in the freezer. Sure it clumps a little after time, but not enough for me to think it’s a problem.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

I keep all of my flour, corneal, Jiffy mix, etc in the freezer. Sure it clumps a little after time, but not enough for me to think it’s a problem.

I keep a lot of food items in my freezers that most people don't. I think stuff will keep forever in there, and you don't have to worry about broken seals and bugs. Meat not really. I don't like freezer burnt meat.

 

[Wildwood]

I keep a lot of food items in my freezers that most people don't. I think stuff will keep forever in there, and you don't have to worry about broken seals and bugs. Meat not really. I don't like freezer burnt meat.

If meat is not vacuum sealed, the freezer life is not all that long in my freezer. Meat did not freezer burn nearly as bad with the old freezers you had to defrost. I don't want to go back to defrosting, just pointing out the facts. I'm now trying to buy all my meat vacuum sealed. It has a much longer fridge life, not to mention freezer life. So far I haven't found any chicken except whole ones vacuum sealed so that's the only chicken I freeze. The rest we either eat it fresh or I can it.

 

[phloydius]

Meat not really. I don't like freezer burnt meat.

If meat is not vacuum sealed, the freezer life is not all that long in my freezer.

I watched a bunch of videos on youtube and other places about ways to stop/reduce freezer burn over the last few years. So far, the best method (other than the vacuum seal) that I've found is a bit of a pain, but so far is working.

You take the meat and wrap it with cling wrap (making sure to keep the wrap touching the meat so there is no air between the wrap and meat), then wrap it with aluminum foil. Again when you wrap with foil, keep the pressure on so there is very little air between, and press the foil into all the cracks. The idea is to keep as little air from touching the meat as possible. Then Put a piece of tape on the foil to keep it from unraveling (which is a great place to put the date). I then drop them in a reused zip lock bag in the freezer to keep from damaging or pulling the foil while moving things around in the freezer.

We did a test with thick Rib Eyes & T-bones after testing with some cheaper meat (in years past). So far the Rib Eyes & T-bones that we tested over 1 year after going in are as good as ones that were frozen for only a week or two. Getting ready to test another around of them in a couple of weeks - although I don't think those are at 2 years yet.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

If meat is not vacuum sealed, the freezer life is not all that long in my freezer. Meat did not freezer burn nearly as bad with the old freezers you had to defrost. I don't want to go back to defrosting, just pointing out the facts. I'm now trying to buy all my meat vacuum sealed. It has a much longer fridge life, not to mention freezer life. So far I haven't found any chicken except whole ones vacuum sealed so that's the only chicken I freeze. The rest we either eat it fresh or I can it.

The only meat I keep in my freezers for longer periods of time is ground beef, bacon, Polish sausage, and wieners. I've been able to keep it for about a year or two if I put it in freezer storage bags. I double bag it. I only keep chicken for a month or so, and pork chops will keep for about 6 months. Roasts of any kind and steak are seldom bought, but don't stay very long in the freezer, either. All our other meat is in cans, and I'm canning most of my ground beef. I just can't eat meat that taste freezer burned.

 

[nomifyle]

Update on me storing Jiffy mix. I put boxes in the freezer for a couple of days, took them out and let them defrost for a couple of days. today I measure the amount in one box, its 1 1/2 cups. One 64 oz mason jar holds five boxes. All I have to do is measure out 1 and one half cup of mix to make my corn bread. Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

[Cag3db1rd]

That's a great idea.

 

[Millwright]

Have been digging out the meat freezer.

Finding vac-packed steaks that were several years old, they were perfectly fine.

Even some snapper that was seven years old.

The trick is massaging all the air out as it pulls down.

Be ready to stop the seal if you have any air pockets.

Try to seal as soon as you get home from the store, the meat is a bit warmer and softer, it conforms to the bag better.

 

[iboya]

Thanks everone I too have wondered how to store baking mixes

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Delete

 

[psychgirl]

mixes of just anything in the bakery category don't store well - it's one of the items on the retail shelves that's not that far off the stupid "expiration date" .....

bothering to re-package them doesn't make any sense - just protect them from the rodents in metal containers and call it a day >>> prep to bake from scratch using the old fashion methods & recipes

No. They don’t, and I learned that the hard way.
Long story short….before I “knew better” I’d stocked several things such as brown rice (yuk, I don’t even know why I did that anyway )…..boxes of crackers, snack crackers such as “Triscuits”…. Among a few other items.


I kept them all WAY too long as it was, on top of not knowing these things get reallllly nasty.

I threw out probably two large trash bags full of rancid, nasty, wasted food.
That was a hard lesson to learn.

I have “different preps” now and watch closely any of the prepackaged types of foods.

(As an aside….I’ll not derail this thread too much… but just yesterday I discovered a couple of those pull top cans containing peaches in my basement preps had burst at the seals. The sugary juice had run down onto other things and in some of those spots grew green mold!
It was a mess; fortunately not too many of the good cans were effected. I only threw out a few cans.
It was chlorine bleach cleaner, gloves, mask time. ***sigh*** but at least I discovered the mess before it got even worse!)

 

[SouthernBreeze]

No. They don’t, and I learned that the hard way.
Long story short….before I “knew better” I’d stocked several things such as brown rice (yuk, I don’t even know why I did that anyway )…..boxes of crackers, snack crackers such as “Triscuits”…. Among a few other items.


I kept them all WAY too long as it was, on top of not knowing these things get reallllly nasty.

I threw out probably two large trash bags full of rancid, nasty, wasted food.
That was a hard lesson to learn.

I have “different preps” now and watch closely any of the prepackaged types of foods.

(As an aside….I’ll not derail this thread too much… but just yesterday I discovered a couple of those pull top cans containing peaches in my basement preps had burst at the seals. The sugary juice had run down onto other things and in some of those spots grew green mold!
It was a mess; fortunately not too many of the good cans were effected. I only threw out a few cans.
It was chlorine bleach cleaner, gloves, mask time. ***sigh*** but at least I discovered the mess before it got even worse!)

Back before I knew what I was doing, I had 25lbs of each cornmeal and flour in freezer storage bags all stacked on a pantry shelf. After a period of time, I pulled a bag of cornmeal off the shelf to use. It was rancid. Checked the flour, and it was bad, too. What a loss. From then on, I store all cornmeal, flour, and any other baking mixes in my freezer. They will keep forever that way, and no bugs. I'm using out of a bag of cornmeal that's dated 2019 now. Still fresh.

 

[nomifyle]

Last year I bought some muffin mixes. I put one on the shelf and the other are sealed in buckets. I started to use the one on the shelf and it was totally nasty. I took one out of the bucket and it was pristine. That box has been in the fridg since then, I got out of the mood to make muffins.

Crackers I vacuum seal in jars, they keep well that way. Anything that comes in a box gets vacuum sealed.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Last year I bought some muffin mixes. I put one on the shelf and the other are sealed in buckets. I started to use the one on the shelf and it was totally nasty. I took one out of the bucket and it was pristine. That box has been in the fridg since then, I got out of the mood to make muffins.

Crackers I vacuum seal in jars, they keep well that way. Anything that comes in a box gets vacuum sealed.

I've got lots of cookie mixes dated and stored in their packages in freezer storage bags in my freezers. Bisquick baking mix is in there, too. Cary doesn't like muffins. He would divorce me if I ever used Jiffy cornbread mix, LOL!!!!! He's told me so, although, I know he's just kidding. I still will never use it.

 

[psychgirl]

Back before I knew what I was doing, I had 25lbs of each cornmeal and flour in freezer storage bags all stacked on a pantry shelf. After a period of time, I pulled a bag of cornmeal off the shelf to use. It was rancid. Checked the flour, and it was bad, too. What a loss. From then on, I store all cornmeal, flour, and any other baking mixes in my freezer. They will keep forever that way, and no bugs. I'm using out of a bag of cornmeal that's dated 2019 now. Still fresh.

I need to check my flour and such.

 

[nomifyle]

I've got lots of cookie mixes dated and stored in their packages in freezer storage bags in my freezers. Bisquick baking mix is in there, too. Cary doesn't like muffins. He would divorce me if I ever used Jiffy cornbread mix, LOL!!!!! He's told me so, although, I know he's just kidding. I still will never use it.

DH likes the jiffy mix, and did not like my cornbread recipe. He does like muffins, although I rarely bake anything.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

DH likes the jiffy mix, and did not like my cornbread recipe. He does like muffins, although I rarely bake anything.

I no longer eat cornbread, but I still make it for Cary. Him and Frisco loves my cornbread. It's been a while, since I baked anything sweet. I'm trying to lose weight. Cary buys his own sweets at the grocery store.

 

[spinner]

I have been making homemade cornbread mix. I measure the dry ingredients into canning jars and vacuum seal them. I make labels with what liquid ingredients go in and how long to bake at what temp. so DH can make cornbread if he gets a yen for it. Neither one of us would ever use a commercial (GMO) mix. I grind the organic corn and use organic unbleached flour or freshly ground soft white wheat. Organic cane sugar, buttermilk, organic avocado oil and farm fresh egg.
Very convenient.

 

[Calfisher]

Gamma Seal lids for food grade buckets.

Amazon.com : screw-on lid for 5 gallon bucket

www.amazon.com

 

[h_oder]

I went the mylar bag / 02 absorber / bucket route. I had to re-start most of my preps after we moved

 

[summerthyme]

Gamma Seal lids for food grade buckets.

Amazon.com : screw-on lid for 5 gallon bucket

www.amazon.com

I love these for my "working buckets", but a couple of warnings... they are *not* waterproof... when we renovated our basement and built storage shelves for the pails, we put most of them outside (winter) until we had room again. They were under a tarp on a wagon. A couple of the Gamma Seal pails ended up with moisture inside (fortunately, everything was in Mylar).

Also, they don't stack worry a darn... heavy pails on top will break the rims down over time. If you must stack them, put a square of plywood on top first...

Summerthyme