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Hi All,
Just bought a new dehydrator, and it's running 24/7; been hitting farmers markets.
With a global food crises/hyperinflation looming, and certain crops becoming endangered; thought I'd store stuff long term.
I began with stone fruits, mainly cherries, peaches, and mangoes. I've also been using it for my softball
sized brandywine tomatoes and peppers I grew myself.
Once dehydrated, into mylar bags; then sealed shut w/oxygen absorbers only included.
My friend makes jerky, and I did an experiment some of you will appreciate.
A year ago, I sealed his stuff into mylar with both O2 absorbers and silica packs.
I opened them just yesterday, and ate some; still good!. So I repacked it.
I always assumed the fat content would make it rancid no matter what I used, but nope.
Strangely, the silica packs didn't even dry it out any.
I was going to comment, but didn't want to sound like a negative Nellie. Dehydrating food isn't really "long term" storage. It's a shorter-term food preservation similar to canning. Mixing oxygen absorbers and silica packs are frequently self defeating (the oxygen absorbers require moisture to function, and silica packs remove said moisture). But in the case of the jerky, its probable the meat had retained enough moisture to allow the oxygen absorber to work. That is not something I have experience with.
But if your strategy is working for you, I don't see any reason to stop.
In my experience, the cost of acquiring food and then converting it into a form that is acceptable for long-term storage costs more than just buying food (like freeze dried food) that is already packaged for long-term storage, even compared to growing/raising the food yourself.
We do have some food in long-term storage, but mostly we just raise and eat food as it becomes available. This doesn't require any type of storage, but not everybody can live in the tropics where there are no winters when food can't be grown.
Agree with the above. Preserving food like that is fine, but only if you're growing it yourself. The farmers markets are expensive, but the produce is premium and worth the high cost because I want to support local farmers. With that said I want to enjoy it fresh and flavorful, not dehydrated in plastic bags. When I had a garden I also had a dehydrator, mostly used to make dried chile flakes and powders, or to dry certain herbs. For preparedness and long term storage I have a stock of purchased canned goods and dry staples that can't be grown in the garden.
350 views, and nobody here is storing food long term?
OK, starve then...lol
depends what you mean by "long term", no food storage will last forever, in a serious SHTF event where the commercial supply systems collapse and are no more, all stored food will get used up, if you cant grow it yourself, breed it yourself, or hunt or trap it yourself you wont have it and you will starve.
I was going to comment, but didn't want to sound like a negative Nellie. Dehydrating food isn't really "long term" storage. It's a shorter-term food preservation similar to canning. Mixing oxygen absorbers and silica packs are frequently self defeating (the oxygen absorbers require moisture to function, and silica packs remove said moisture). But in the case of the jerky, its probable the meat had retained enough moisture to allow the oxygen absorber to work. That is not something I have experience with.
But if your strategy is working for you, I don't see any reason to stop.
In my experience, the cost of acquiring food and then converting it into a form that is acceptable for long-term storage costs more than just buying food (like freeze dried food) that is already packaged for long-term storage, even compared to growing/raising the food yourself.
We do have some food in long-term storage, but mostly we just raise and eat food as it becomes available. This doesn't require any type of storage, but not everybody can live in the tropics where there are no winters when food can't be grown.
I'm really glad you did post this, as there simply isn't much info available online with respect to how to go about storing dehydrated items.
On all these tomatoes and peppers, I'm thinking only an O2 absorber should be sufficient in sealed mylar. Those came out super dry, like potato chips.
And I don't wish to dry out the dehydrated fruits any further, so seems wise to skip the silica packs there as well.?
The reason I'm doing summer fruits is, they are much sweeter than store bought dehydrated; particularly cherries and peaches. Also, do you think silica packs should be used for rice, beans, and grain cereal?
I hope so, cuz' I did it a year ago; along with O2 packs...heat sealed in mylar.
If I messed it up, I can repackage.
depends what you mean by "long term", no food storage will last forever, in a serious SHTF event where the commercial supply systems collapse and are no more, all stored food will get used up, if you cant grow it yourself, breed it yourself, or hunt or trap it yourself you wont have it and you will starve.
My goal is 10 years on everything, if possible.
The freeze dried stuff I have will probably outlast me.
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