---Items Needed---
- Food you wish to store long term.
- Wooden slant
- Iron...I bought a $15.00 one at ChinaMart.
- Mylar Bags...these are gallon size. ( Bags and Oxygen absorbers linked through My Amazon Store )
- Oxygen Absorbers..personal preference is 300cc for gallon bags.
- Sharpie Marker..you'll want to write what is in the bag and the date that it was sealed.
- The smallest canning jar you can find for left over oxygen absorbers.These are half-pint canning jars.
A cheap iron that will only be used for sealing the mylar bags. I can't quite justify spending over $100.00 for a "professional sealer". The setting on the iron at wool has worked well for me.
3 bags of 20 - 300cc Oxygen absorbers came with the order (these are about a year old) and still good. TIP: Hand warmers can be substituted for oxygen absorbers for bucket sized Mylar bags.
All the bags are sealed and come with an indicator pill.
I filled the bags with 6 cups of rice and one oxygen absorber. I still had plenty of room, but in an emergency, I wouldn't want 20 pounds of rice out at one time. Find the amount that works for you or your family.
Lightly drop the bag a few times to settle the contents of the Mylar bag.
Place the slat at the bottom of the contents and roll the Mylar bag over it.
Make sure it is smooth,especially the edges, and no product is within the "sealing zone".
If some product is within the area that is going to be sealed, then the chances of a puncture greatly increase.
Run the iron over the Mylar bag ( still on the slat ) to make a good seal.
Probably could have gotten 8 cups of rice in the gallon bags.
Labeled and dated the Mylar bags. The extra oxygen absorbers went into the half-pint jar with the indicator pill.
The half-pint jar will self seal with the oxygen absorbers inside it.
TIP: The jar sealed in less than an hour.
40 pounds of Basmati rice and 11 gallon Mylar bags.
Final Thoughts:
- I really recommend starting with the gallon size Mylar bags. First, the cost in learning is relatively small compared to the monsters that fit into the five gallon buckets. And of course, the small sizes of the bags make it convenient to place many items into a five gallon bucket. Ex: 6 cups rice, 6 cups beans, tea, sugar,etc...This gives you the advantage of having all of your food stuff in one bucket. Makes it easier to access too.
- It is easier than most people think. Watch a few videos and get stuff ready ahead of time. I have read that the oxygen absorbers have about 4 hours to be fully loaded with oxygen.
- One person can do it alone - two would be even better. The trick is getting the seam ironed shut without burning yourself.
- You are going to spill some of the food contents on the floor..just sayin'
- Make sure that the seam area is clean...it can tear the Mylar bag and make it unusable.
- The four enemies of long term food storage are: oxygen, moisture content/humidity,light, and storage area temperature (cooler is better).
- If the shelf life is 5 years at 70 degrees, then at 60 degrees it is 10 years.
- You can save some very good money by doing it yourself.
- IMPORTANT: Place the Mylar Bags in plastic buckets to prevent rodents from eating your food.
Next: Sealing Food in Canning Jars W/ Pics