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Learning about a variety of methods for long-term food storage is important. Not only does it help you find the right technique for each type of food, it aids you in making wiser choices in how you will spend money on preparation. For instance, if your goal is to save money, building your own off the grid dryer is more effective than one that uses electricity. Knowing the right type of storage containers is also important or you’re liable to end up with rancid food and wasted time and effort. Here is some beneficial information on choosing the right type of storage bag. Remember, oxygen, moisture, heat, bacteria, and rodents are the enemies of long-term food storage. While the type of storage bags or containers is important, unless you use canning jars, you’ll need to store those bags in a bucket with a tightly fitting lid.
Pros of Mylar
1. If you’re planning on using vacuum and plastic bags for long term food storage, you may want to reconsider and switch to Mylar storage bags. Mylar bags are far stronger and less susceptible to tears. Even when you use Mylar, remember some dried foods, such as green beans, are stiff enough to poke a hole in the bag. You can avoid that by double bagging with a plastic bag inside the Mylar or storing the dried green beans in jars. Some sites suggest wrapping handfuls of beans in paper towels to line the bags, although I’ve never tried that.
2. Mylar (This is actually a trademark name for laminated pouches with several layers, one being foil, similar to Kleenex being the trademark name for facial tissues.) are reasonable in price.
3. They can be an effective container when you want lower levels of oxygen.
4. There are a number of different sizes of these bags, so you can store meal size amounts.
5. If the SHTF, there’s a number of different sized pouches and small ones could make exceptional bartering tools.
6. Plastic bags breathe, while air transfer in a Mylar bag is minimal. Using oxygen absorbers in the bag reduces the amount of oxygen for a good tight vacuum pack, which helps extend the life of the food.
7. You can seal Mylar bags with an iron. If you don’t have one, you can get an inexpensive iron for as little as ten to fifteen dollars so there’s no need to invest in an expensive bag sealer.
Cons of Mylar
1. Mylar will break and can be invaded by rodents. To avoid this, you need to store the bags in plastic buckets as noted earlier. It also helps prevent accidental tears.
2. You can’t pack all types of food in Mylar without taking special precautions. Food with sharp edges can poke through and destroy the integrity of the container, causing the food to spoil early.
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