Putting up dry goods in canning jars

[ORChick]

And be aware that powders don't work well with the food saver sealer. I tried to seal some cocoa in jars - got cocoa in the plastic tube, and no seal on the jar. I tried putting a piece of wax paper between the top of the cocoa and the lid, but it still didn't work. Coarser powders, like sugar or salt might be OK; I haven't tried them. But I do like the gadget; I seal up lots of things in jars that I used to put in the freezer - nuts, for example. And even cookies - after Christmas last year we both wanted/needed to take a break from the sweets, so I sealed up the rest of the Christmas cookies in jars, and could open them slowly over the next several months. Worked just fine; they weren't stale.

 

[TanksHill]

Sorry I have to laugh. I did the same thing with cocoa powder. I have two tubes, now one is brown.

coffee works though.

g

 

[Veggie PAK]

I've got a food saver with the canning jar attachment for dry goods. I've yet to use it. Any tips or tricks I should know before trying it?

Great description on doing the sugar. I'm considering doing the 25# bag of salt I got at Costco.

I've been looking around for bulk salt but haven't found any, even at WalMart, B.J.'s or Sam's Club. I'll have to check at the Costco across the river.
When I do my salt, I'll do it the same way. Be sure to NOT put oxygen absorbers (O2a) in with salt or sugar. Word has it that it will turn to a solid block and then you have to fight it out of the container.

I've read that with sugar or salt stored in sealed glass jars, you don't need to worry about air/oxygen in the jar. The rubber lid seal is sufficient to accomplish that. I still like the head space for turning and loosening it up if necessary. With sugar AND salt being stored in sealed glass jars, be sure to write on the lid which it is!

I was going to do the food saver lid for beans, but I decided it's easier to tuck in an O2a into the product and then put the lid on. Since I use lots of jars, I don't want to buy that many food saver lids. Even if it's the regular Ball lids, I don't want to go through the trouble of vacuuming sealing all those jars. I literally use hundreds of jars for canning and dry food preservation.

Having said all that, now I wonder about the effect of the salt on the Ball metal lids. Hmmm.

 

[Britesea]

You could buy those plastic lids Ball makes?

 

[Veggie PAK]

Those plastic lids would be a good try. The thing is, they don't have padded interiors so if you tighten too tight, you will probably split them. I think I will try those, and just make them very snug, not tight. That should be enough to keep air out. I wonder if it would be a good thing to put a teaspoon of rice in there for a moisture absorber? You know, like some restaurants do in their salt shakers.

Edited for spelling.

 

[Britesea]

Just use some of the dessicant packets you get in bottles of vitamins!

 

[Nichole]

I was just reading about the oven canning in countryside magazine. I had no idea you could do that. I'd like to try it sometime next year, should be good for storing some dried herbs!

 

[R2D2]

Those who have used the Silica Gel packs in mason qt.jars,what size are recommeded.I've gone to a couple site selling them, but haven't found a suggested size
desiccant for a qt.jar of dry beans,etc.One place sells 3000 packets per pail, size 0.87"x 2.13" for about $150.00 I tried googling for some kind of guidelines, no luck.I have no idea if these packets are overkill or not enough for a qt. jar of bean or corn.Any help would be appreciated ...Also, does anyone have a link to a good price for the FoodSaver vaccumn jar sealer kit..?

 

[Farmfresh]

I've been looking around for bulk salt but haven't found any, even at WalMart, B.J.'s or Sam's Club. I'll have to check at the Costco across the river.
When I do my salt, I'll do it the same way. Be sure to NOT put oxygen absorbers (O2a) in with salt or sugar. Word has it that it will turn to a solid block and then you have to fight it out of the container.

Bought my salt bulk at Tractor Supply. Fine white stock salt and or iodized salt in a 50 pound bag.

I am sure my death is imminent from consuming animal feeds.

 

[Chefmom]

I also read about this in Countryside magazine and just had to try it. I picked up several one pound bags of dried beans, navy-kidney-black, a 5 pound bag of stone ground whole wheat flour, converted rice and brown rice.

So, I did one oven's worth, about 15 jars. I filled the jars and put them in a 200-degree oven for one hour, then one at a time I took them out and cleaned the rim and placed a clean, (also heated) lid and screwed on the lid. Everything went well, but one jar didn't seal. No problem, I will use that one as a sample, and all the others sealed. I did notice the other day that one other jar lost it's seal, but the others are stored and dated. I want to check for freshness in 6 months and a year to see how everything went before I do this on a larger scale. Especially the whole wheat flour, it does go off quickly, so it will be interesting to see if this keeps it fresh.

I am storing the jars that lost the seals with the others, so I can see if there is any difference between them.

Tami