storing dehydrated foods?
Robert Prickett
cannot find ANYTHING about storing the dried foods, ie, fruit veggies,
etc. Obviiously, an ordinary plastic bag is fine for short term use,
but how about like canning, and put it away for months/years?
Some say to use sealed bags with no air, others say this is bad.
Comments?
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A Gallagher
Susan Reynolds, M.S.
Dried foods are susceptible to insect contamination and moisture
reabsorption and must be properly packaged and stored immediately First,
cool completely. Warm food causes sweating which could provide enough
moisture for mold to grow. Pack foods into clean, dry insect-proof
containers as tightly as possible without crushing.
Glass jars, metal cans or boxes with tight fitted lids or moisture-vapor
resistant freezer cartons make good containers for storing dried foods.
Heavy-duty plastic bags are acceptable, but are not insect and rodent
proof. Plastic bags with a 3/8-inch seal are best to keep out moisture.
Pack food in amounts that will be used in a recipe. Every time a package is
re-opened, the food is exposed to air and moisture that lower the quality
of the food.
Fruit that has been sulfured should not touch metal. Place the fruit in a
plastic bag before storing it in a metal can. Sulfur fumes will react with
the metal and cause color changes in the fruit.
Dried foods should be stored in cool, dry, dark areas. Recommended storage
times for dried foods range from 4 months to 1 year. Because food quality
is affected by heat, the storage temperature helps determine the length of
storage; the higher the temperature, the shorter the storage time. Most
dried fruits can be stored for 1 year at 60ºF, 6 months at 80ºF. Vegetables
have about half the shelf-life of fruits.
Foods that are packaged seemingly "bone dry" can spoil if moisture is
reabsorbed during storage. Check dried foods frequently during storage to
see if they are still dry Glass containers are excellent for storage
because any moisture that collects on the inside can be seen easily Foods
affected by moisture, but not spoiled, should be used immediately or
redried and repackaged. Moldy foods should be discarded.
From the National Food Safety Base,
Regards,
Tony.
Robert Prickett <robe...@earthlink.net> wrote in article
<3637b512....@news.earthlink.net>...
l...@panb.net
Prickett) wrote:
>Just got our dehydrator along with lots of good receipe books, but
>cannot find ANYTHING about storing the dried foods, ie, fruit veggies,
>etc. Obviiously, an ordinary plastic bag is fine for short term use,
>but how about like canning, and put it away for months/years?
>Some say to use sealed bags with no air, others say this is bad.
>
We've been doing a lot of dehydrating this summer.
I purchased a vacuuming packing system that works with jars & bags.
It's been working great to this point. I've got about 5 bushel of
Heritage Amish paste tomatoes dehydrated & packaged in wide-mouth
quart jars. Have seeds saved from 3 varieties of heritage tomatoes
that we like in bags & frozen. Have meats in the freezer, etc.
If you plan on dehydrating the vacuum packing system is (in my
opinion) the next logical purhase.
NOTE: remove 'pa' from isp to send private e-mail.
Linda
western
pennsylvania