[Texas mom]

I've seen bugs in rice and flour, but I've never seen bugs in beans.

Anyone gets bugs in their legumes? I'm thinking of storing a coupe of 5 gallon pails of different types of beans still in their original bags, and wondering if this is ok? I'll be using these beans within a year, so they'll be replenished as needed. (We eat a lot of beans!)

Thanks.

 

[Cryptkeeper]

they can you need to put the bag in the freezer for 2-3 days to help kill the bugs. then store them in an air tight container aka 5 gallon buckets with rubber seal on the lids

 

[PikeFlyerMike]

The Bride stores the dry beans from our garden (Pinto, Kidney, Great Northern & Baby Lima) in empty 9oz water bottles. Each water bottle holds almost a pound of beans and a bit more of store bought lentils or split peas. She has a funnel to fill the bottles and puts them in the freezer for a week before putting them on the shelf.

 

[Grinnan Barrett]

the freezing idea is a sound one. treat all food as if it can have infestations. then you will be okay.

 

[zula]

GB hit it on the nose.:thumb:

 

[rncmomx2]

I store mine in 2 liter soda bottles (around 5 pounds) with the lid tightened down and the air sucked out (with a hand pump and seal).

 

[Cryptkeeper]

I store mine in 2 liter soda bottles (around 5 pounds) with the lid tightened down and the air sucked out (with a hand pump and seal).

that is a good way to store rice as well :thumb:

 

[Texas mom]

The 2 liter bottle idea is great!

Thanks for that.

 

[Maverick88]

I don't dring soda much execept the ocational rum and coke. I use the throw away glad wear type containers. i pour the rice/bean in to the container and make sure the seal is good, you can stack them to the roof. As far as I know as long as the storage device is air tight then either bugs or plant type matter(mold and such) has a slim chance to survive. I suppose if you had bugs and mold then they could co-exist trading off co2 and oxygen but that would be a delicate blance in a very small world.

Freezing sounds like a good idea though. What do you think about rinseing them well before storage. I've thought about dreaking out my long term bean and rice storage and prerinsing it and drying out before storing it again.

 

[Slowrid-Der]

I store mine in 2 liter soda bottles (around 5 pounds) with the lid tightened down and the air sucked out (with a hand pump and seal).

If you don't have the means to vacuum the bottle use and oxygen remover. Bugs can't live with out it.

 

[DCBerry]

Biggest thing is to keep them dry dry dry. I love the 2 liter idea also! Something about the freezer that scares me such as warm beans cooled quickly (not so much) or frozen beans warmed then put into plastic (condensation) or do you let the beans warm to room temp before storing? I like the idea of keeping things dry pasteurizing in the oven (low temp) and cooling. This kills anaerobic bacteria as well.

 

[rncmomx2]

I use the 2 liter bottles (gather them from family, friends and neighbors) for salt, sugar, beans, rice, potatoe flakes, pastas (use 3 liter if I can find them) and anything that needs to be stored in a bug proof container. Drinks will last a long time (they may go flat) there container is airtight (duh if it wasn't it would leak) and is a cheap alternative for those who can not afford (or don't want to pay for) mylars. I put the filled 2 liters in boxes or on the shelves in my utility room. I have 2 liter I filled in 1999 that are still just as fresh as the day I put them in there.

The key is to tap the jug until the contents have settled and add until you get no more headroom. I use a funnel and cup to fill them, I then use a magic marker to write the day and the year it was packed.

The 2 liters are very easy to handle and pour when needed. The weights are generaly the same for each container and can be easily calculated when doing a inventory. They store easy and take up less space than the big 5 gallon buckets.

I also use the hawaiin punch containers for some of theother bulkier items, they work just as well and are a little thicker.

 

[Cryptkeeper]

I use the 2 liter bottles (gather them from family, friends and neighbors) for salt, sugar, beans, rice, potatoe flakes, pastas (use 3 liter if I can find them) and anything that needs to be stored in a bug proof container. Drinks will last a long time (they may go flat) there container is airtight (duh if it wasn't it would leak) and is a cheap alternative for those who can not afford (or don't want to pay for) mylars. I put the filled 2 liters in boxes or on the shelves in my utility room. I have 2 liter I filled in 1999 that are still just as fresh as the day I put them in there.

The key is to tap the jug until the contents have settled and add until you get no more headroom. I use a funnel and cup to fill them, I then use a magic marker to write the day and the year it was packed.

The 2 liters are very easy to handle and pour when needed. The weights are generaly the same for each container and can be easily calculated when doing a inventory. They store easy and take up less space than the big 5 gallon buckets.

I also use the hawaiin punch containers for some of theother bulkier items, they work just as well and are a little thicker.

GREAT idea didnt think about salt and sugar! perfect!

thanx

 

[rncmomx2]

I use green soda bottles for salt and clear for sugar just to keep it clear which is which without opening.

When you use the pop bottles make sure you wash them thouroughly with a week clorox solution and rinse really good. I also let mine dry for a couple of days to make sure the inside is completely dry.

 

[Maverick88]

Shuold i start worriing about my salt stocks? I always thought that salt was a safe item. Salt is a preservative last time I checked, why would i need to take it out of it's original container? How much salt do you really need, a couple of soda bottles of salt sounds like over kill to me.

Sugar definately needs to be kept in an air tight bug proof container. why not use the food grade buckets instead?

 

[Hill Walker]

Are the 2L bottles just as good for powdered milk?

 

[Cryptkeeper]

humidity can make the salt turn into a salt block. over kill is there such a thing in stocking up?? never heard of it!! it depends on how long of a time frame you think youll need to stock up for 3days,3 months,3years. i know we use alot of salt. not sure how much salt we use but i think we buy1 every 3-6 months. but what if you have to start cureing your meat? that will eat up ALOT of salt.no matter how much you stock up on if things get real bad it may become a good barter item.even if not at some point it will save them money because it WILL go up in price and in time they can use it and save money.you can use buckets but you may have some small areas that you can stash a few 2L in.but as your stash grows you may want to up grade to a 5gal bucket :thumb:

powder milk/flour will go flat in about 1year its not a good storage item, canned milk is though

personelly i think we are heading to becomeing the next aregentina or iceland.but i think it will be ALOT more violent

 

[rncmomx2]

Food grade buckets cost money and soda containers are free (well kinda) and do just as well to store items theat need to be in a ait tight container for a few years (we rotate so not to long for us-we do have 1 each of the items we originally stored in 99 and they are all still good). Salt is needed in larger quantities for curing meats and tanning hides. I have probally 500lbs of salt on hand (10 50lb bags put into 2 liter bottles). I plan to buy more when we go back to sams club next month.

Even though salt is a preservative you still want to keep in it something that bugs and rodents can't just chew a corner off and send your hard earned money down the drain.

 

[rncmomx2]

Are the 2L bottles just as good for powdered milk?

I don't store powdered milk (we have goats for fresh milk) but i do store potatoe flakes (about the same consistnecy) in them and they turn out just fine. If you rotate like we do you should be fine. If unsure put some in a 20 oz drink bottle and leave it out in the elements for a few weeks and check it, those few weeks will simulate a few months or maybe even a year in storage. I can not promise that they will but neither can the makers of those mylar bags (they can't promise that you seal them properly).

If you can't afford the mylars but need to stock up why not? I would think it would be better to have some storage in 2 liter bottles than to have none because you can't afford the mylars.

 

[Canuck_KyLe]

hi all, I'm still a newbie to storing food, read alot in this thread about using pop bottles for storage. Was wondering if there has been another thread detailing the process for removing the air so that these bottles are air tight again. If there is no thread maybe someone could explain the process, also aside from clean dry bottles is there anything else required for this process. Thanks.