# Rice, beans, etc. whats the best way to preserve?



## WhenShtf (Dec 7, 2012)

Ive seen and read multiple ways to reserve rice,beans etc for a long time. So wanted opinions on what some of you do.

Ive seen mylar bags, coke 2lt bottles, original packing.

So whats the best method to preserve these?


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## Alpha-17 (Nov 16, 2012)

I use coke/soda/pop 2 liters for my rice. No idea if they're the best or not, but they're Mylar, and very cheap.


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## LunaticFringeInc (Nov 20, 2012)

While probably not nearly as good as storing in Mylar with O2 absorbers, I store mine in 1 gallon plastic containers and Mason Jars. Some I have had around for as long as three years. This seems to work out fine for me but unlike a lot of folks...I eat a ton of rice and beans and I am able to rotate through mine pretty quick before it has a chance to go bad on me. I have has some on occasion that was about 4-5 years old on beans. They were still good but were a little hard and a bit firm even after cooking. But hey beans aint never really good until they have been left over and reheated at least a couple of times!

Now on brown rice becuase of the higher oil content, I will make sure I go through it within a years time. The higher oil content kind of seems to put it in the same catagory as pecans, peanuts, walnuts ect... I just store far more white rice than I do brown or wild rice.

This has just been my experience with these two. I am sure there is someone here that might have a little more sound knowledge and reason on storage requirements here. Like I said I blow through mine too quick for it to go bad on me or test out storing any longer.


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## WhenShtf (Dec 7, 2012)

Thanks for ther tips. I don't understand what you mean though that your soda 2ltr bottles are mylar? Aren't the plastic?


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## Alpha-17 (Nov 16, 2012)

WhenShtf said:


> Thanks for ther tips. I don't understand what you mean though that your soda 2ltr bottles are mylar? Aren't the plastic?


Sorry, I mis-typed earlier. They're not quite Mylar, but look up PET plastic, and you'll see that it and Mylar are very closely related. PET is an oxygen barrier, so it works along the line of Mylar. Used with a oxygen absorber (to absorb oxygen in the bottle), white rice stored in 2-liters can supposedly last for a long ole time.


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## rob (Dec 5, 2012)

I leave them in the package and put them package and all in a 5 gallon bucket with the lid sealed. I do the same with dry beans. As for vehetables, I prefer canning over freezing, as canning isn't dependant on a freezer to store.


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## yzingerr (Dec 9, 2012)

I have a ton of 2 liters, but thinking of going to 5 gal buckets with a liner. Sure is easier to bug out (vehicle) with 5 gal buckets!


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## Dunbar (Sep 17, 2012)

Check out, "sprouting" beans and rice. Its a easy way to prepare them to eat, without cooking them.


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## WVprepper (Jun 28, 2012)

We caccum seal ours and place in bucket for now..I plan on a bulk order soon and we will then use mylar zipper bags.


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## preppermama (Aug 8, 2012)

So far I'm done rice in vacuum sealer bags; however, I'm not happy with it. the rice tips can be sharp and poke holes.


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## SOCOM42 (Nov 9, 2012)

preppermama said:


> so far i'm done rice in vacuum sealer bags; however, i'm not happy with it. The rice tips can be sharp and poke holes.


i gave up on that process 20 years ago.

I use 5 gal food grade pails, load with rice, oxy eaters and then fill with co2.

I posted the details in another thread.

I vacpack beans in a form with oxy eaters then put the bricks in 20mm cans.

Food for thought, if these two are your basic food stores, get veggi oil or canola oil and take a teaspoon a day.

If you intake animal fat you can bypass this.


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## mikes69baja (Nov 2, 2012)

Be careful with the 2 liter plastic bottles. The plastic can absorb into the rice. It has been shown to cause cancer and other health related problems. I use mylar bags with the o2 eaters. I put the mylar bags into a home depot bucket with lid... I do not see the need for a food grade bucket if the food is in a mylar bag.


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## fedorthedog (Feb 28, 2012)

I put mine in a Mylar bag in a bucket, I push the air out of the bag throw in 2000 cc of o2 absorer's and seal with an iron. The bag becomes a brick of grain in the bucket as the oxygen in eaten.


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## Verteidiger (Nov 16, 2012)

My approach to this is a short-term approach, since I do not want to store a year's supply of food (or longer). My preps are aimed at a two-week and one-month time frame. Most of what I am concerned with is a natural disaster - hurricane, tornadoes, ice storm - transient events of limited duration. Although I can envision scenarios where society is disrupted beyond those time frames, in America I do not think we will face a long-term loss of civilization, absent a thermonuclear exchange, in which case food supply may be the least of our worries. I do not prep for absolute worst case as a result -- I aim at the probable versus the possible, just based on my own experience and knowledge.

For rice and beans, I buy canned beans and prepackaged dinner sized rice (such as Rice-a-Roni). We already eat these, so we are used to them and they have long shelf lives. For emergency supplies, I just store them in their original containers on metal restaurant ventilated shelving. It has come in handy during storm events, and we mark expiration dates with Sharpie markers so we eat these before they expire, and replace as we go.

Same thing with nuts, bottled water, canned meats and fish, and Gatorade powder, batteries, etc.

Others I know go further, but they have larger families to feed....

Each person has to individually assess needs and adjust to what confronts them, of course. But for me no elaborate storage beyond original packaging for these items.


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## chaco (Dec 16, 2012)

Like alot of others, I store mine in mylsr bags with O2 eaters in 5 gal bucket. Much faster to load into vehicle if needed.


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## bennettvm (Jan 5, 2013)

I recently started using 2 liter soda bottles for my grains, etc. Clean/dry them out, then toss a bay leaf and an o2 absorber, then fill with rice, beans or whatever. It works great.


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## Watercanlady (Jul 23, 2012)

I can my beans. It is so easy just 1- cup dry beans 1- tsp salt fill with water and can 10 lbs. pressure for 90 minutes. They are ready to go. So easy to use...Rice is in 5 gal bucket with Mylar and 02 absorber....


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## MikeyPrepper (Nov 29, 2012)

I vacuum seal alot of my stuff.. Keeps it fresh


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## Sideaction (Jan 7, 2013)

How about vacuum packing in mason jars with a food saver and jar adapter? Im waiting on the jar adapter to be delivered but plan to do 50 or so pounds of rice like this. Will it work just fine? I know it will be harder to move than in a bucket but I dont plan on leaving my bunker unless absolutly necassary


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## Watercanlady (Jul 23, 2012)

Yes this will work fine, just jars take up more space and cost more than bags. But are also mouse proof....


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## disciple82711 (Oct 23, 2016)

I am new to prepping. I bought beans and rice and oats and put in 5 gallon food grade with snap on lids, the kind that have rubber seal. you have to cut and remove plastic sealing ring. I didnt use oxygen adsorbers? How long do you think these will last?


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## azrancher (Dec 14, 2014)

disciple82711 said:


> I didnt use oxygen adsorbers? How long do you think these will last?


At least a year, the people that swear by Mylar and O2 Absorbers are trying to go out in the Tens of years, I had a 50# bag of barley in my garage for 3 years that didn't get buggy, although exposed to the air it may have lost some flavor and nutrients.

Thanks for bringing up this old thread, there probably is a newer one out there, this is a highly discussed item.

*Rancher*


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

disciple82711 said:


> I am new to prepping. I bought beans and rice and oats and put in 5 gallon food grade with snap on lids, the kind that have rubber seal. you have to cut and remove plastic sealing ring. I didnt use oxygen adsorbers? How long do you think these will last?


You remind me of the guys streaking down the field for an obvious touchdown, then spiking the ball before they get in the endzone. 

IMO, the mylar bag is really, really important to the proper storage of such goods as you stored. Air (oxygen), moisture & temperature are the enemies of food storage. You also need to protect against insects & rodents. The plastic pail provides some of that protection but the real protection comes from the sealed mylar. Besides oxygen absorbers, I also throw in some big desiccants to reduce the moisture content. Going that extra step & sealing your food inside mylar is real easy to do & adds so much to the storage life. Now you are talking decades as opposed to years. I suggest buying some new lids & resealing your food properly. I really like the screw on/off gamma lids but the cheaper ones work great too. There are all sorts of ways to seal the mylar & I've tried several but I bought this one on Amazon & absolutely love it. Sooooo easy to use.


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## sideKahr (Oct 15, 2014)

Hey *******, are you packaging some Kona Gold with your spam in that pic?


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

sideKahr said:


> Hey *******, are you packaging some Kona Gold with your spam in that pic?


Not into that stuff.  That is just bales of shavings for the horses & chickens. Wouldn't want to try & survive without my Spam however. Buy it by the case every time I go to Sam's Club.


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## sideKahr (Oct 15, 2014)

******* said:


> Not into that stuff.  That is just bales of shavings for the horses & chickens. Wouldn't want to try & survive without my Spam however. Buy it by the case every time I go to Sam's Club.


I hear ya. My Sam's stopped carrying Spam for a couple of years, can you believe it! It's recently returned, but only in a six-pack.


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## Illini Warrior (Jan 24, 2015)

disciple82711 said:


> I am new to prepping. I bought beans and rice and oats and put in 5 gallon food grade with snap on lids, the kind that have rubber seal. you have to cut and remove plastic sealing ring. I didnt use oxygen adsorbers? How long do you think these will last?


the long term storage kicks in at about 5 years for the dry goods type foods - up that point the retail shelf packaging will handle the job - just protect it against the pests and the environment ....

to take those locking lids back off get a "lid lifter" - couple of bucks to $10 depending on it's construction & quality .... you can pry the lids off with a screwdriver but you'll have lid damage .... the regular locking lids are for the long term - store & forget .... the Gamma lids just aren't practical for the long term - toooooo $$$$ and they have physical construction limitations that just don't serve the stacking & various load requirements - but a great product for the daily/weekly access need market ....


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## Sonya (Oct 20, 2016)

I store in mylar bags with oxygen absorbers. I read that dessicant packs can prevent the oxygen absorbers from working.

For animal feed I will do 5 gallon mylar bags, but for stuff like pasta, oats, potato flakes etc... I prefer 1 gallon bags as that size is plenty big for one person. I also use a shop vac to suck the air out and try to lay the bag on it's side when removing air out so it turns into a nice flat brick that can be stood up in a box, that way all of the food labels are visible, like files, and easy to find.

Also found a neat way to store nabisco/ritz type crackers. Snip the wax paper rolls they come in so the air can be sucked out, and lay them flat in mylar. With a shop vac and absorber they turn into a nice flat little cracker brick. New people sometimes overlook crackers but they are important for tuna, peanut butter etc...when bread is not readily available.


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

Sonya said:


> I read that dessicant packs can prevent the oxygen absorbers from working.


I put the desiccants on the bottom and the oxygen absorber on the top.


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## Sonya (Oct 20, 2016)

Illini Warrior said:


> the long term storage kicks in at about 5 years for the dry goods type foods - up that point the retail shelf packaging will handle the job - just protect it against the pests and the environment ....


I think 5 years is way too long for typical store packaging, especially for states with high humidity most of the year. Plus a lot of dry goods have insect eggs in them when they are purchased, and chemicals are used to delay growth. When the chemicals wear off they hatch in typical packaging.

Mylar bags can be reused, so being safe and sealing it up isn't all that expensive.


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## Sonya (Oct 20, 2016)

******* said:


> I put the desiccants on the bottom and the oxygen absorber on the top.


That makes sense, and I would think the oxygen absorbers do their thing in the first few hours, whereas the desiccants take a few days to make a difference.


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## azrancher (Dec 14, 2014)

Illini Warrior said:


> to take those locking lids back off get a "lid lifter" - couple of bucks to $10 depending on it's construction & quality ....


Right, a lid lifter is the easy way to remove the original lid from the 5/6 gallon bucket, but don't buy them from a survival store, they are a lot cheaper at the "home brew" web sites.



Illini Warrior said:


> the Gamma lids just aren't practical for the long term - toooooo $$$$ and they have physical construction limitations that just don't serve the stacking & various load requirements - but a great product for the daily/weekly access need market ....


Right again, you need only one Gamma Lid per type of stored food, i.e. one for the bucket of rice, one for the bucket of beans, one for the bucket of sugar... etc.
You cycle thru them when the bucket gets empty.

*Rancher*


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

azrancher said:


> Right again, you need only one Gamma Lid per type of stored food, i.e. one for the bucket of rice, one for the bucket of beans, one for the bucket of sugar... etc.
> You cycle thru them when the bucket gets empty.


I use both lids but personally use a lot more than one gamma lid per food type. Maybe for me it is a want and not a need, but I greatly prefer the flexibility of use of the gamma lids. My buckets with gamma lids stack the same as any other lid, so the only downside for me is the added price, and that is something I'm willing to pay. But they are not essential, by any stretch of the imagination. For me, I see their use in storing harvested food thru the winter. I just don't know how many removals the cheaper lids can take before they would break.


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