Dry Canning

[MoonShadows]

Today, I am going to try dry canning, something I have never done before. I have 25 lbs. each of organic long grain white rice, black beans, and green lentils. I am going to use my FoodSaver with the cap adapter on wide mouth 1 qt. Ball canning jars. The first batch of jars (24) is in the dishwasher now.

I will also be adding an oxygen absorber packet to each jar. The reason I am adding an oxygen absorber too is because FoodSaver does NOT recommend using their mason jar accessories for canning purposes. A FoodSaver mason jar accessory creates a good vacuum and will enhance the shelf life, but it cannot reduce the oxygen level to the recommended safe level of .02% – .01% for long term storage. Studies have shown that mold can grow in anything above those levels. Oxygen absorber packets remove oxygen from airtight containers to around 0.01%. Why am I using my FoodSaver attachment in conjunction with O2 absorbers if the oxygen absorber packs will do the job by themselves? Well, because the FoodSaver will get a good part of the job done, and what is left the O2 absorber will take care of, and less of the oxygen absorber pack will be used up. This will give me the opportunity to open the jar, use some of the contents and then let it reseal using the rest of the oxygen absorber pack to be used later on.

These will be added to our long term disaster food storage, and we will rotate them as we use them.

Pictures to follow.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

 

[MoonShadows]

Well, that only took a couple of hours. Not bad.

I had 4 cases of wide mouth jars for this project, and I was able to can just about 73 lbs. (24 lbs. rice, 24 lbs. lentils and 25 lbs. black beans). 16 jars of each.

BTW....the rice and beans I bought were all grown in the US. I was reading that you can't always rely on "organic" rice and beans grown outside the US in South America and China to be truly organic or as nutrient dense. It made the final cost higher, but I am assured of them being #1 quality organic. I bought the black beans and lentils from Eden Foods (50lbs. only $12 flat shipping), and the rice from Lundburg (via Vitacost - 2lb bags on sale with an additional 20% off and free shipping). If you find what seems like a good deal and want to know the origin country, just contact the company. They have to disclose it.

The oxygen absorber packets came 10 in a pack, so I only did 10 jars at a time as not to expose the packets to the air but for only a few minutes.

I placed 1 on top of the contents of each jar.

Then, used the FoodSaver jar attachment.

And, a little while later.....

Now, I have to make some room in the basement for these. Wonder how long they'll sit here until I get the room made for them?

 

[Mini Horses]

What a beautiful job! You do good work. I doubt they will be there too very long before you move them to their assigned spot, otherwise your gonna be in trouble with the "other half", right?

You just reminded me that I need to order the lid sealer for my Food saver unit. Thanks.

 

[baymule]

They will stay there until you have company coming over for dinner.......I have had jars of chicken meat, chicken broth, tomatoes and soup sitting on the bar because I had no where to put them. Wish I had a basement..... Anyway, we're having Thanksgiving dinner here with DD and family, plus a couple more families with no family here, expecting 15-18 people in our little doublewide. So I have been real industrious finding places to store my jars. Still have some on the bar--wish me luck!

Your jars look good and I like the jar attachment-I have a Foodsaver-I need to order one of those!

 

[MoonShadows]

I doubt they will be there too very long before you move them to their assigned spot, otherwise your gonna be in trouble with the "other half", right?

Sooooo right!

 

[MoonShadows]

They will stay there until you have company coming over for dinner.......I have had jars of chicken meat, chicken broth, tomatoes and soup sitting on the bar because I had no where to put them. Wish I had a basement..... Anyway, we're having Thanksgiving dinner here with DD and family, plus a couple more families with no family here, expecting 15-18 people in our little doublewide. So I have been real industrious finding places to store my jars. Still have some on the bar--wish me luck!

Your jars look good and I like the jar attachment-I have a Foodsaver-I need to order one of those!

So funny! It is amazing how long something can remain where it doesn't belong until it gets put away. Our Christmas tree stand is still sitting under the table at the top of the stairs. It never made it to the attic last year. No point in moving it up there now. And, that's just one thing.

 

[sumi]

Great job there! Now just to get it put away I am intrigued by this dry canning vs other storage methods for goods such as this. What are the pros and cons?

 

[lcertuche]

I thought it was either oxygen absorbers or the vac-pac method, not both. With the jars I've heard that the vacuum package with the device is not dependable after a few months but the oxygen absorbers last until the jars are opened. Curious is anyone has any experience on this either way. I have seen a dry can using the oven on YouTube that seemed reasonably safe.

 

[MoonShadows]

Great job there! Now just to get it put away I am intrigued by this dry canning vs other storage methods for goods such as this. What are the pros and cons?

Off the top of my head:
PROS: smaller portions than large Mylar bags; reuse the jars and with dry canning you can reuse the lids
CONS: glass (breakage?); glass let's light through (light, heat, moisture and oxygen are no-nos)
PRO/CON Quality? Just another method of preserving.

I thought it was either oxygen absorbers or the vac-pac method, not both. With the jars I've heard that the vacuum package with the device is not dependable after a few months but the oxygen absorbers last until the jars are opened. Curious is anyone has any experience on this either way. I have seen a dry can using the oven on YouTube that seemed reasonably safe.

I've read pros and cons for all three....vacuum...oxygen absorbers....vacuum and oxygen absorbers. I can tell you, I wouldn't just use the vacuum method myself. Household vacuum sealers cannot get the oxygen level low enough to make sure no mold grows. Using both makes it easier to make sure you have a good seal right from the start rather than waiting for the oxygen pack to make the seal. The oxygen pack makes sure you get the oxygen level down to .o1% after the FoodSaver does the initial job.

BTW...the oxygen absorbers in the pictures are 300cc. You really only need 100, maybe 150cc for a 1 quart jar. This was the only size I had at home. While initially, it is a waste of a 300cc oxygen absorber, I know I can open the jar, take what I want, and if I don't eat the rest for quite a while, there is still enough power in the 300cc to reseal the jar.