# What went wrong? Mylar bags again...sorry.



## nu2solar (Apr 20, 2008)

On the first batch, we did pasta, beans, and rice. Most of the pastae and rice did well(all of the visible air was absorbed). The beans didn't work except for one bag. Not sure if it was the Food Saver or the oxygen absorbers. We were working pretty fast. How long can you keep the oxygen absorbers out before they don't work?


The next batch we did powdery things like brown gravy mix, chicken gravy mix, hot chocolate, potato flakes, sugar, and pancake mix. We did this using the Food Saver first and taking out the air by sealing them. Then we put the filled sealed Food Saver bag into a Mylar bag, added the oxygen absorber, and then double sealed the Mylar bag. All of those Mylar bags did not work. What went wrong? How should we do small packs of powdery food?


Last questions...for now, lol.
Most long term food storage prep calls for wheat. Why? I don't make bread now very often. I don't see myself making it if things get really bad. I packed rice, pasta, biscuit mix, and pancake mix for carbs. Thoughts?

What kind of bulk wheat do all of you buy? Is it the same as wheat berries? Can I get it from a feed store? Recommendations for a good recipe book for using raw wheat?

Thanks again


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

Check to see if the bags sealed. Squeeze them and see if air comes out. You have to work pretty fast with the absorbers. You also have to make sure you have enough in each bag. Beans tend to have more air space than smaller grains. I always bump and thump before I seal and use a straw to suck out as much as I can prior to sealing the final corner.

Not sure why your powdery food didn't work unless you didn't get a good seal.

Mixes will go flat fairly quickly and those with fat will also go rancid. I use freshly ground wheat to make pasta, bread, tortillas, thicken gravy, bread meat, make biscuits, pancakes, muffins, etc. Just look for whole wheat recipes that don't call for all purpose flour.

I have hard red, hard white and soft white wheat. (Same as "wheat berries") Most came from Walton Feed. I also have some from the LDS storehouse that I ordered online. I'm not LDS, you don't have to be to order online. I have in the past used wheat from the feedstore. It will need to be cleaned by pouring it in front of a fan outside, but is ok to eat. It will usually be soft wheat.


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## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

From what I understand, those little packets only remove 02. There are more gases in the air than Oxygen. If the bag is sealed and your O2 packet was fresh- you're good to go. They don't all suck down tight. You are at increased risk for a tear though.

Why store wheat? it is very nutritionally dense. Especially if you sprout it. I crack it for cereal - cook and dry it for tabouli. You can also substitute for rice. It isn't just about bread. It was explained to me that wheat contains most of the major nutrients man needs - buy you have to sprout it to get the vit E....I think it was. 

to cook wheat - do it just like rice - 2x the water bring to a boil, turn down and boil until the water is gone. Ta da. If you spread it out on a cookie sheet and put it into a low temp oven until it's dry you have instant wheat. Crack it for instant wheat cereal. or reconsititute it and use it in your bread. You've just made bulgur. I reconstitute it and eat it on a green salad. 

Wheat berries are what you would want to store. I don't buy mine at the feed store. The only bags from the feed store that I have seen have had a lot more 'trash' in them - chaff and stems and are very dusty. Maybe your feedstore carries something different though. 

I decided long ago to learn to use the things that are cheap and store for a long period of time. if you don't eat bread, there's really no need to learn to bake it. It was hard for us to come up with a better fast, cheap emergency lunch than whole wheat bread, pb and jelly sandwich.


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

nu2solar said:


> The next batch we did powdery things like brown gravy mix, chicken gravy mix, hot chocolate, potato flakes, sugar, and pancake mix.
> 
> Last questions...for now, lol.
> Most long term food storage prep calls for wheat. Why? I don't make bread now very often. I don't see myself making it if things get really bad. I packed rice, pasta, biscuit mix, and pancake mix for carbs. Thoughts?
> ...


Sugar doesn't need fancy storage. Just put it in a bucket or sealed trash can, so insects can't get into it... sugar and salt will last decades...

Pancake mix, biscuit mix, any 'mix'.... isn't going to store long term, very good... the stuff that makes it a quick and easy convenience, also makes it not store long (fats, oils, etc.).

With wheat and a grinder, you can make gravies, pancakes, biscuits, pasta... all that stuff is mostly (95% or more?) wheat. Wheat will store for millenia, if stored properly.

I don't worry about my 'mixes' for short term use. I do keep them in buckets in the kitchen, just to keep the mealy moths out. I don't 'plan' on use more than a year in the future, for any mixes, as they'll go rancid.


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## nu2solar (Apr 20, 2008)

Once again...thank you all for your responses. Looks like it's back to the drawing board.

Thanks for the info about the mixes. I was hoping they "could" last longer. Now I know to rotate and use them quicker.


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

All those things are super easy to make without a mix. To me the mix adds a layer of complication simply because it is an additional storage item that has to be rotated frequently.

Baking powder will go flat so get some baking soda (lasts forever if kept sealed in plastic or glass) and some cream of tartar (also lasts forever if sealed in plastic or glass). 1 part baking soda to two parts cream of tartar. You can buy bulk C of T from some of the online places. IIRC Atlantic Spice carries it. You can also use just baking soda and sour milk or vinegar.


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## Wags (Jun 2, 2002)

I have hard white wheat berries stored, some in bulk from Azure Standard and then my local Walmart started carrying a small selection of long-term storage items including wheat that was already packed and ready to store for up to 30 years.

Here are some ideas of what you can do with wheat if you don't have a grinder.


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## Lilbitof4 (Mar 2, 2011)

We have hard red and white wheat and soft white wheat. There are a ton of recipies on the internet that you can find to use it.

I've started a "take it and run" recipe book with things that I've actually tried with long term storage that we'd be willing to actually make again. I keep the recipies on index cards in a photo album. That way all of the recipies we actually "use" are in one book instead of in 20 different places.


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