Food Storage

[hg4144]

Thanks for the list of "additional spreadsheets & tools".
I've put them in my new website: mybestbuys.org (support page) -- I put this project together, in an effort to see if I could build a community of ward, stake members (and hopefully much more) to contribute their food bargains. My idea is for all those who participate to save money by knowing where to shop for the best prices. I've set up a website, FaceBook, and Twitter accounts. I'm going to see how well they interact and compliment each other. Early days. I'm in the UK, so the supermarkets are limited to England. I would welcome any comments regarding my format and content.
Thanks,
Howard from Devon

[falafal0-p40]

Hi there, I am trying to find out how to vacuum seal powdered milk, sugar, spaghetti, rice expecially, etc. We have a large family and I'm trying to get our food storage really up and running. So far, the rice I've stored in vacuum sealed bags have become like normal shop bought rice, not hard anymore. I was told that the bags may have been peirced. How do I stop this? Thicker bags? i want to buy bulk milk powder, anyone have experience with vacuum sealing this? i was told for powdered products to bag them first. How do i do this and still take the air out of the outer bag if the inner bag is sealed?! please help, any suggestions or advice REALLY appreciated

[garysturn]

Hi there, I am trying to find out how to vacuum seal powdered milk, sugar, spaghetti, rice expecially, etc. We have a large family and I'm trying to get our food storage really up and running. So far, the rice I've stored in vacuum sealed bags have become like normal shop bought rice, not hard anymore. I was told that the bags may have been peirced. How do I stop this? Thicker bags? i want to buy bulk milk powder, anyone have experience with vacuum sealing this? i was told for powdered products to bag them first. How do i do this and still take the air out of the outer bag if the inner bag is sealed?! please help, any suggestions or advice REALLY appreciated

The Church Distribution Center sells a commercial quality sealer, bags, and oxygen absorbers. These are for sale for the Church's Home Storage Centers but can be purchased by individuals. Try this link.

You can also find some information about food storage at the Church's Provident Living site.

[scion-p40]

Hi there, I am trying to find out how to vacuum seal powdered milk, sugar, spaghetti, rice expecially, etc. We have a large family and I'm trying to get our food storage really up and running. So far, the rice I've stored in vacuum sealed bags have become like normal shop bought rice, not hard anymore. I was told that the bags may have been peirced. How do I stop this? Thicker bags? i want to buy bulk milk powder, anyone have experience with vacuum sealing this? i was told for powdered products to bag them first. How do i do this and still take the air out of the outer bag if the inner bag is sealed?! please help, any suggestions or advice REALLY appreciated

My experience with vacuum sealing powdered milk in pouches taught me to never attempt it again. Here is why:

Static electricity developed between the powdered milk and the pouches.

Because of that, the milk powder becomes attracted to where ever it pleases on the pouch---including the area that needs to seal. Trying to wipe it with a dry cloth is futile, that just rearranges the milk particles. Trying to wipe it with a damp cloth turns the powdered milk into damp smeared milk. Neither wet nor dry solved the problem of cleaning the area to seal.

We eventually got a pile of rags out (some dry & some damp) and alternated back and forth between them until we thought the area was sufficiently clean to seal. Then we attempted to seal the bags. Some of them sealed, and some did not. We cut the partially sealed bags and cleaned them some more, etc. Eventually *most* of the bags sealed properly. We used the ones that did not seal properly right away.

Meanwhile, as powdered milk was poured into pouches, the powdered milk dust floated off into the air. By the time we were done, everything in the vicinity was covered in a this layer of powdered milk. As for cleaning this mess, see the above paragraph. Yes, we also tried a vacuum cleaner, which helped somewhat. Unfortunately, we couldn't just move the project outside due to the weather.

So, attempting to put powdered milk into pouches just was not a good idea in my experience. The milk stored just fine. It was packaged in 2001 and we finished using it in 2007. We used the oxygen absorbers previously mentioned. I have not tried canning powdered milk, so I don't know what that would be like.

If I remember correctly, we put 500 lbs of powdered milk into pouches. I highly recommend reading "If you Give a Mouse a Cookie" instead of pouring powdered milk into pouches.

Okay, to keep this thread in the tech arena, I chose 500 pounds based on software that I had at the time. I almost never buy refrigerated milk. My 5 children were aged 3 - 13 when we packaged it. We do a lot of baking in which the powdered milk was added. We also reconstitute it and drink it. My children actually liked the milk I bought. It took us nearly *six* years to consume a "year's supply" of powdered milk. Just for comparison,
http://www.thefoodguys.com/foodcalc.html recommends 360 lbs for a family of 6. Although it is less, that is still waaaaayyy too much powdered milk.

[falafal0-p40]

Wow, thanks for the info. Yes, we have five children aged 17 months to 12 and need it for storage plus the cost factor, so the powdered milk info was a blessing so I don't go through it! I will have a look at the site you mentioned. I already have a vacuum sealer though sadly, I wonder if it's holding up to the task I intend to undertake with the suction plus the workload. Any one got any ideas about rice and sugar? Perhaps it's the same as the powdered milk...frustrating.

[falafal0-p40]

I'm in Australia so I'd hesitate to buy anything overseas if I can help it. We sadly don't have much in the way of resources here throughout the church as you guys do. We were there in 1995 and went to the canneries etc - very impressive

[mfmohlma]

I'm in Australia so I'd hesitate to buy anything overseas if I can help it.

Why not try the Australian catalog here? They seem to have everything you need.

[MorettiDP]

Yeah... USA, Australia, Argentina... I need have a good talk with IT guys in Distribution to release a catalog to Brazil too...

[mfmohlma]

I need have a good talk with IT guys in Distribution to release a catalog to Brazil too...

Looks like they're working on it. Any takers?

[falafal0-p40]

Thanks everyone for replying. I'll be sure to check the link out for here in Australia. We just picked up nearly 200kgs of wheat from a friend who has too much of it so I feel REALLY blessed already to have been given a great head start - anyone have links for cooking with whole wheat or something simliar?