# Advice on Pasta for long term storage



## ScientistPrepper

Hi All,

I'm getting ready to start packaging food in mylar bags/5 gallon buckets with oxygen absorbers. I have read some of the posts here (and watched some suggested videos) that package rice this way; but my family tends to eat a lot more pasta than rice. Is anything done differently to package pasta for long term storage? Are there particular types of pasta (elbow, penne, rotini, ziti) that are easier to pack in bulk than others? Do people pack spaghetti and other pasta in the box and then inside the mylar? Any advice on this would be much appreciated.

ScientistPrepper


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## preponadime

It has been our experience that elbow holds up better than most when packaged in mylar and buckets. When my wife packages spaghetti she uses mason jars and the vacuum lid attachment with our vacuum sealer she says it doesn't break up into small pieces like it does in the mylar bags.


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## ScientistPrepper

preponadime said:


> It has been our experience that elbow holds up better than most when packaged in mylar and buckets. When my wife packages spaghetti she uses mason jars and the vacuum lid attachment with our vacuum sealer she says it doesn't break up into small pieces like it does in the mylar bags.


Thanks, that's the kind of experience I'm hoping to learn from.

What size mason jar does your wife use for the spaghetti? I don't have any canning experience, so I am not aware how many sizes there are...


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## preponadime

ScientistPrepper said:


> Thanks, that's the kind of experience I'm hoping to learn from.
> 
> What size mason jar does your wife use for the spaghetti? I don't have any canning experience, so I am not aware how many sizes there are...


the 64oz half gal size she told me to let you know that you can get up to 4 one pound pkgs in a jar she just keeps a jar in the kitchen you don't have to reseal it after you open it .
She about a dozen on the shelf in the basement as she uses one she replaces it so they are being rotated.


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## azrancher

preponadime said:


> It has been our experience that elbow holds up better than most when packaged in mylar and buckets.


Do you have a number on how long they last in mylar with O2A?

*Rancher*


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## preponadime

azrancher said:


> Do you have a number on how long they last in mylar with O2A?
> 
> *Rancher*


My wife opened one the other day from 2010 and it's still good so at least six years


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## A Watchman

I have pasta (spaghetti and elbow) in mylar bags with O2 absorbers and in plastic buckets. 4-5 (1) gallon bags per bucket.


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## Illini Warrior

air voids are the major problem packing pasta - the type determines how much extra 02 absorbers you'll need - you can visualize a compact bucket of spaghetti strands (32lbs on average) vs ravioli or egg noodles .... macaroni is in that same category - all void with little substance .... for a 5 gallon bucket, on average it's 1500cc/2000cc 02 absorbers for a compact packing of beans, rice, powdered foods - 3000cc/3500cc isn't out of line for noodles ... 

spaghetti strands are a specialty pack because they can poke pinholes in the mylar bagging ... best remedy is to line the bag bottom with a piece of tyvek from a unprinted/unglued section of US postal overnite envelope .... there'll be a 2" void left in the top after the strands are loaded - I fill with 2lbs of macaroni or bowtie pasta (another good pasta packer) ...

one very common mistake packing pasta - and LTS packing in general - is leaving the food in the original factory/store retail packaging ... packaging is full of chemicals that offgas over the long term and will contaminate the food ... also a common hiding place for pest infestation - you also need to avoid any sectioning of the bucket and allow a freeflow pull of the air by the 02 absorbers ....


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## Maine-Marine

For best results with spaghetti - remember to use a small file and round off the end of each spaghetti so it does not puncture the bag.


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## Maine-Marine

https://store.lds.org/webapp/wcs/st...7_3074457345616706370_-1__3074457345616923231


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## spork

My brother was just telling me about how he ate some pasta that had been dry canned in the 80's. He said it tasted better than the stuff he's been currently buying. So being dry canned, it lasted 30+ years for him. Can't guarantee you'll have the same results, but I can't see why you wouldn't if you do it right.


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## ScientistPrepper

preponadime said:


> the 64oz half gal size she told me to let you know that you can get up to 4 one pound pkgs in a jar she just keeps a jar in the kitchen you don't have to reseal it after you open it .
> She about a dozen on the shelf in the basement as she uses one she replaces it so they are being rotated.


Thank you. And thank your wife for me. I'm researching getting a vacuum sealer now.


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## ScientistPrepper

preponadime said:


> It has been our experience that elbow holds up better than most when packaged in mylar and buckets.


Would you be able to tell me how much elbow macaroni fits in a 5 gallon bucket? Or how much you package in a given size mylar bag/bucket? Thanks!


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## preponadime

ScientistPrepper said:


> Would you be able to tell me how much elbow macaroni fits in a 5 gallon bucket? Or how much you package in a given size mylar bag/bucket? Thanks!


We get about 20 pounds to a bucket I just weighed a bucket and it was 22.5 pounds give or take an ounce we package elbow maccroni in 1 gal mylar and smaller indiviual serving sizes. 
This link will give you some idea of how many gallons you can get per pound  Estimated Gallons Per Pound


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