Preppers’ PING!!
And if the power is out you have one of these ready:
“The Alvin” Vacuum Sealer
http://www.instructables.com/id/The-Alvin-Vacuum-Sealer/
When I go to Alaska fishing, all my fish gets vacuum packed and flash frozen. I can eat halibut and salmon for years.
I never heard of this vacumn sealing method. I like it, it sounds like a good idea.
Don’t flame me, bro — but I use this principle even on plastic-bagged items for short-term use in the refrigerator, like 1/2 lb. packages of bacon, lunchmeat or cheese. I seal up the bag all but a small hole, insert a drinking straw, and suck out as much of the air as possible, snapping it shut while withdrawing the straw. It keeps perishables or so much longer. Great for the singles or couples who have to manage small amounts of food.
Works good for brown sugar, confec sugar too. They will last forever without getting hard
I have used the mason jar sealing option when saving dehydrated peppers and other dried produce and also to save home made soups. I keep the cooked soups in the fridge and use them in a week or two. No problems.
It works very well for dehydrated foods that you don’t want crushed.
dry canning only needs an oven - and they keep for 20-30 years
http://suite101.com/article/dry-pack-canning-for-long-term-food-storage-a187387
One tip for those who want to try it;
Have a pot of warm to hot water ready. Dunk your lids in the water for 20-30 seconds, remove and paper towel dry then quickly seal with the Foodsaver or other unit.
The hot water will soften the sealer ring and provide a much longer lasting seal.
I do this for certain things. I have started oven canning flour, corn meal, wheat and other dry goods. The good part about dry canning or oven canning is that when you eventually use the goods, you have canning jars for produce from your garden.
Here’s a somewhat related question I’m hoping somebody here can answer:
How strong is the vacuum formed in the traditional ball-jar canning method.
The reason I ask: I discovered I could dye wood veneer with high quality light-fast dyes using a vacuum pump from an old oxygen concentrator. But one day I sucked some of the dye into the pump. So while waiting to figure out how to fix the pump, I got the notion of boiling the dye with veneer in the jar in the microwave and sealing it with the lid. It formed enough vacuum to dye “through and through” in the time it took to cool enough to handle.
Tried to find some rating of the vacuum in terms of inches-Hg but found nothing online. I was thinking I could do a write up for other wood-workers.
I fixed the compressor by the way, and got a little smarter too.
Here’s a tip for what it’s worth: a refrigerator compressor will draw 20” or so Hg, around say 3/4 atmosphere. They’re quiet and free. The only hitch is finding one and rigging a way to return the oil sprayed out as the pump runs.
Anyway, I’d appreciate any suggestions as to how I could find out about the vacuum in a canning jar. I’ve been to the how-to sites and they don’t give any measurements—all practical.
That is some really cool stuff right there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGfUwEf810g&feature=related
And notice that they’re dehydrated tomatos!
When you do dry canning using this vacuum seal method, do you add oxygen packets to the jars?