Mason Jars and Oxygen Absorbers

[jimmycthemd]

Thanks, goatlady. You're extremely helpful, as usual. I tried some frozen french-cut green beans this morning. In about 2 1/2 hours they were completely dry and brittle. A couple of lessons learned:

1) they were cut too small so I had trouble keeping them from falling through the grates on my dehydrator.
2) they were cut so small that only 1 pound fit in my dehydrator (a Nesco SnackMaster).
3) 1 pound would fill about 1/4 to 1/3 of a mason jar after dehydration.

I went back to Sams Club and bought a couple of pounds of fresh french green beans and they're in the dehydrator now. They weren't pre-cut so I had to do some prep work on them but found that about 1 1/2 pounds now fit. I know that, since they're in bigger chuncks, they'll take longer to dry.

I also found that outside weather conditions don't matter. I picked the worst day of the month to dehydrate as it's 100% humidity and it's raining outside.

Thanks again for the info and support :-)

[goatlady]

I have carrots, green beans, potato rounds, and yellow squash dried in canning jars on the shelf that are at least 10 years old. Other than faded color, they work fine when I toss in soups/stews. Very mild flavor, but rehydrate well. Have absolutely no idea of nutritional value but since they are just additives and not a solo item, I eat them anyway.

[WiseOwl]

FYI on the Mason jars, seals and lids........

Dollar General has jars by the case for $7.75, a couple of bucks cheaper than Wally World. A couple of different sizes also

[jimmycthemd]

A 300cc in a quart jar ought to suffice.

Not your best bet long term, but if you already have the jars..... If you have to buy the jars then it's not economical compared to mylar.

No light protection compared to mylar though.

This is an experiment, more to test my dehydration process. I want to dehydrate some veggies, vacuum/oxygen absorbers and see how long they last. The only way to tell with mylar is to open them. With mason jars (I already have a few), I can do a visual check.

I've broken up my food storage into three basic categories (assuming no electricity):

1) Short term. Refrigerator/freezer. Will last 2-5 days depending upon what it is and conditions/handling.
2) Normal pantry food. We keep enough veggies/baked beans/canned meat/pasta/rice, etc. for about 3 weeks to a month. Most have a shelf life of 1-5 years.
3) LTS The rice/beans/oats, etc. I currently have enough for about three months. I've been doing this for about three months and have been able to put away about a month's LTS per month that goes by without negatively impacting my budget.

I've also been busy picking up first aid items, water filtration stuff and putting together a rain barrel system to gather water.

I'm lacking in the veggies in the pantry food and in the LTS. I want to extend the pantry food to about three to four months but don't have the space. By dehydrating and packing in mylar or mason jars, I can accommodate more food in the pantry. I'll have to go the commercially packed food for LTS as I don't have the technology to reliably pack veggies/fruits that last that long. I hope this explains my methodology. I ALWAYS experiment and test the results before I depend upon any process.

[jimmycthemd]

Probably not much help, but I have been drying veggies for years and storing in canning jars without O2 absorbers or even vac-sealing. No problems in the last 10 years and the veggies keep their color and rehydrate nicely in soups and stews which is basically how I use dried veggies. The "trick" is to be sure the food is crispy dry.

How long do you keep them until they get used? I'm just getting started in this and would like to get an idea how long I can expect them to last, assuming I dehydrate properly.

[1Admin]

A 300cc in a quart jar ought to suffice.

Not your best bet long term, but if you already have the jars..... If you have to buy the jars then it's not economical compared to mylar.

No light protection compared to mylar though.

[610Alpha]

Well I use a 2000 cc absorber for a 5 gal bucket of rice/beans etc.

I currently have a 300 cc in a mason jar with dehydrated peas & another with green beans.

[goatlady]

Probably not much help, but I have been drying veggies for years and storing in canning jars without O2 absorbers or even vac-sealing. No problems in the last 10 years and the veggies keep their color and rehydrate nicely in soups and stews which is basically how I use dried veggies. The "trick" is to be sure the food is crispy dry.

[jimmycthemd]

I've searched the forum for a while and can't seem to find the answer to this. I've seen references to dehydrating vegetables, etc., and storing them in mason jars. The question I have is how many (in cc's) oxygen absorbers should you use in pint or quart mason jars assuming you fill them pretty full. I've got an attachment for my FoodSaver so I'll be able to vacuum out some of the air. Either way I'd like some idea of how many cc's of Oxygen Absorbers I should use.

I plan on running some tests but would like an idea where to start.