Rice packed using Vacuum Food-Saver

hikerlt

hikerlt

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Foodsaver and Dry Food ( Rice and Bean) storage

This weekend I finally opened up the 50 lb bag of Brown Rice I purchased, and used the vacuum pack food-saver unit to pack it into smaller bags of about 6 cups of rice per bag . The foodsaver vacuum pack sucks all the air out, and makes a rock-hard vacuum packed bag of Rice, - I hope/assume this vacuum packing will mean the long term storage of this brown rice will be better than what it would have been leaving it in the "open to air" original 50 lb plastic sack it came in.

Questions/ Looking for suggestions, ideas...:

1) Any suggestions on a creating a mix of this dry rice and dry Beans, and maybe adding a dry seasoning, other dry vegetables ( dried peppers, onions, garlic ? chile powder ?) , etc. that would result is a vacuum packed complete recipe mix for a good Beans and Rice mix ?

Other Questions:

1) I've purchased the Ezekial Bread grain/bean mix from Walton Feed- and I like the bread it makes. I'm looking for ideas or suggestions for other uses of this - either unground, and made into a soup or stew....or ground up to a flour mixture and used in...????

Finally got the Wife involved and interested, agreeing to the strategy in stocking up and prepping, to have about 2 to 3 months of store-shelf type food ( cans, and dry foods), and other essentials ( paper goods, seasoning, Olive/cooking oil, etc..). We;re planning to use that 2 month list from survivalblog.com as a starting point, and she plans to replace weekly what was used from the storage, so that she always has the backup . We purchased some wire shelve racking from Lowes, and now have some nice storgae space, with good visibility to arrnage what we have ( not much so far) and catalog/manage the inventory.

Thanks,
LT
 
Watch out that the vacuum really sticks, check after a month or two to see if it held. Those foodsaver bags can get little micro punctures in them from the ends of the rice grains.
 
so any updates on this? i know it's about 5 years old, but i just bought some bags of rice and was thinking of using the foodsaver bags over mylar. I already have the rolls of material and the machine.
 
daddysuperfly said:
so any updates on this? i know it's about 5 years old, but i just bought some bags of rice and was thinking of using the foodsaver bags over mylar. I already have the rolls of material and the machine.
Click to expand...

why would you use plastic over mylar? pack the rice in the mylar and use an oxygen absorber. done.
 
brown rice has too much oil for truly long term storage. Also, back to the OP, do not mix the beans and the rice. All the dry beans I have require a good amount of soaking that the rice does not.

I keep rice and beans in large mason jars. i use both regularly and refill the jars as they are used and rotate through what I have. I do not think I have any that are much over a year old. Same for all my canned and preserved foods. Mostly finished canning for the year now and am finishing up last years canned goods.

Buying stuff you use and rotating through it always made more sense to me than storing something you are not using and forgetting about it for years only to find it has spoiled while you were not looking.

I have about two months worth of food stored this way.

Also it means I am used to the food I have stored, both cooking it and enjoying eating it. I see too many people that just buy large quantities of food that they have never tried and then lock it in a closet for six years. If they ever do need it, how bad would it be to find you did not know how to properly prepare it and/or you don't like it or worse, it really doesn't like you.
 
I've stored food (rice, beans, pasta) in mylar bags. Get the thicker 5ml bags. Especially with pasta... the sharp edges and ends pop through the 3.5ml bags.

I'm a bit neurotic about the process, probably more than I need to be. After loading food into a mylar bag and adding an oxygen absorber I use the following process:

- Seal all but about 1/2" of the bag
- Use a Foodsaver to suck the air out. I use an attachment they sell for jars, and cut the hose so it fits into the 1/2" slot in the bag
- Pinch the bag and pull the hose out
- Seal the remaining 1/2"

The thicker bags have lasted so far... some for several years.

And pack away some spices to add some flavor to what can otherwise be rather bland food items.
 
daddysuperfly said:
I was hoping for a year. It's rice so it'll get rotated fairly regular.
Click to expand...
I was just doing some reading on brown vs. white rice and white has a longer shelf life (didn't know that), maybe double. Curious as to why you're storing brown rice, because of nutrition value?

This is something I'm going to do for myself soon, lay in a small stock of food. Just curious is all.
 
I've seen a lot of people on the Interwebs just storing rice in mason jars. If you're going to be cycling through it, you probably don't need an O2 absorber, but many people use them. Whatever floats your boat.

I've also heard that you should freeze your rice for a while (couple weeks?) to kill any living or soon-to-be living creatures that might be in the rice (larvae, eggs, etc). If you do this, allow it to return to room temperature before repackaging and sealing so you don't get condensation.

I've got some rice in the freezer right now. I'm going to store it in mason jars w/o O2 absorbers. I typically keep rice for a long time right in the bag it came in, so I see my new method as no worse. For my own sanity I'll probably write cooking directions on the jars.

If I was going to keep it longer I'd vacuum seal the jars as well. I may do that anyway, but I may also just use the reusable lids.
 
ToddDubya said:
I've seen a lot of people on the Interwebs just storing rice in mason jars. If you're going to be cycling through it, you probably don't need an O2 absorber, but many people use them. Whatever floats your boat.

I've also heard that you should freeze your rice for a while (couple weeks?) to kill any living or soon-to-be living creatures that might be in the rice (larvae, eggs, etc). If you do this, allow it to return to room temperature before repackaging and sealing so you don't get condensation.

I've got some rice in the freezer right now. I'm going to store it in mason jars w/o O2 absorbers. I typically keep rice for a long time right in the bag it came in, so I see my new method as no worse. For my own sanity I'll probably write cooking directions on the jars.

If I was going to keep it longer I'd vacuum seal the jars as well. I may do that anyway, but I may also just use the reusable lids.
Click to expand...
I'll have to look into the mason jar route a little more. Maybe throw in some dry ice (with the lid loose) to purge all the air out and then vacuum seal it. I have the small jar and large jar vacuum sealer accessories they sell.
 
I like the mason jar route because I am constantly cycling through it and it lets me see what I am grabbing.

Most of the bagged dry good I buy goes into them, flour, rice, sugar, beans. Some pasta, but normally I go through that fast enough that I just store it high enough that short of the roof coming off it will not get wet.
 
daddysuperfly said:
I was trying to use what I have on hand instead of having to buy more supplies
Click to expand...

that makes some sense. rice is pokey. I would use a regular storage bag (like a store version of ziploc), place the rice in it, fold a napkin in thirds and place into the storage bag and between the gasket so it comes out like a 'tail' and the storage basket cannot seal. Place all of this in the food saver bag with the mouth of the storage bag facing the same way as your unsealed side. Then have the food saver suck out the air and seal the outside bag. This will provide you some extra protection to keep the rice from poking through the food saver bag. You need the napkin to 'break the seal' of the storage bag so the air won't get trapped in there.

I do this for items that I pack in larger quantity than what I will eat in one meal/snack. For example, almonds that I carry in my GHB. They are 'air tight' and when I open them I automatically have a storage bag for the excess. I generally carry 2 cups of almonds on me at all times IIRC. It's a lot of calories that can last a couple of days if needed and they won't end up all over my pack.
 
ToddDubya said:
I've seen a lot of people on the Interwebs just storing rice in mason jars. If you're going to be cycling through it, you probably don't need an O2 absorber, but many people use them. Whatever floats your boat.

I've also heard that you should freeze your rice for a while (couple weeks?) to kill any living or soon-to-be living creatures that might be in the rice (larvae, eggs, etc). If you do this, allow it to return to room temperature before repackaging and sealing so you don't get condensation.

I've got some rice in the freezer right now. I'm going to store it in mason jars w/o O2 absorbers. I typically keep rice for a long time right in the bag it came in, so I see my new method as no worse. For my own sanity I'll probably write cooking directions on the jars.

If I was going to keep it longer I'd vacuum seal the jars as well. I may do that anyway, but I may also just use the reusable lids.
Click to expand...

If packing them in Mason jars and you have the attachment to suck the air out of the jars I would do that (regardless of what type of lid you use) as lack of oxygen will help the rice keep longer. Once you open the jar you probably don't need to worry about spoilage before you are able to use it.
 
Earlier this year, I thought I'd open up some rice I had stored for 8 years. I used mylar bag and O2 absorbers, in a 5 gallon bucket. It was perfectly fine, could not tell it from rice bought the same day. We just finished off the bucket last week. I have no doubt it'd be fine if I had waited twice as long to open it. I didn't do the freeze first thing... it could be a good idea but I don't have a chest freezer.

Note to self: time to buy and mylar bag some more rice. In case, you know, ebola.
 
greencobra said:
I was just doing some reading on brown vs. white rice and white has a longer shelf life (didn't know that), maybe double. Curious as to why you're storing brown rice, because of nutrition value?

This is something I'm going to do for myself soon, lay in a small stock of food. Just curious is all.
Click to expand...
I think it's more than double the life due to the oils in the brown. I've ready properly stored white rice will last 20 years.
 
southshore said:
I think it's more than double the life due to the oils in the brown. I've ready properly stored white rice will last 20 years.
Click to expand...

The LDS cannery says it is good for 30 years if properly canned. Same as wheat berries and beans.

We like a variety if rices, specifically jasmine and basmati. We keep a quart of both in jars in the kitchen. When I am packing for longer term storage in usable quantities, I put it in quart mason jars, put in an 02 absorber and THEN vacuum seal it with a food saver.

Rice I have stored in this fashion is indistinguishable from newly bought rice. It is also of a size that if you wanted to grab some for whatever reason, it is in a manageable size. You're also not loosing a ton of product if you have a seal failure. Granted, my oldest stored stuff is 10 years old, but it has held up well.

Brown rice will not store long term because the oils in the kernel will become rancid, regardless of an anoxic environment or not.
 
Last edited:
i had vacuum sealed some brown rice about 2 years ago and forgot about it, when we were moving to our new place I found it while packing. When we were all moved it I broke open the sealed bag and prepared the rice, tasted the same as the fresh stuff.
 
PennyPincher said:
how many and what size are you looking for? I usually buy mylar bags by the case and save some money. I usually am willing to pass some of the savings on to friends.
Click to expand...

Ed - you messaged me that you would want a week's worth of rice packed. How much rice would you cook in a week? I pack some things in quart mylar and some in gallon mylar and some in 5 gallon mylar. I also have 5 gallon buckets with plastic bags inside mylar. The plastic bags each have different items in them. Kind of 'al purpose' buckets.
 

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