# New method of storing rice...did I screw up?



## BigWavePrep (Apr 13, 2013)

I just mylar and bucketed about 40 lbs of white rice. I usually don't freeze the rice before, but this time I did. What I didn't think about though was letting the rice get back to room temp before bagging. This didn't cross my mind until I had them sealed up and felt condensation outside of the mylar when I checked up on them a few minutes lated. Did I screw up? Am I going to have to re-do them? Thanks!!


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## MrsInor (Apr 15, 2013)

Having never done that, I guess I would rather be safe than sorry.


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## Beach Kowboy (Feb 13, 2014)

If it were me, I would redo them. Odds are when they get back to normal temp there will be moisture and then mold down the road..


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## DoubleA (Nov 9, 2012)

Sincere question: why freeze the rice before packaging?


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

I'd spend the money and re-do the bagging


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## Seneca (Nov 16, 2012)

I'd redo them and make sure the rice was to room temperature and dry before sealing the mylar bags up with new 02 absorbers. If you are/were careful you can reuse the original bags by resealing them below where you cut. I have done that to save a buck or two.


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## Sharkbait (Feb 9, 2014)

DoubleA said:


> Sincere question: why freeze the rice before packaging?


It will kill off any critters in the rice as well as other dry foods,especially grains.


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## jro1 (Mar 3, 2014)

I'm kind of wondering if you could warm up the rice in the oven slightly to help dry it out, And then pack it away while it's still warm, and as it is cooling it will help seal better?


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## PaulS (Mar 11, 2013)

Seal the rice in the bags first and then freeze them to kill the bugs. You want the rice dry when you put it in the bag. Freezing it allows the warm moist air to come into contact with the rice as you bag it - then the water condenses and you get moldy rice. 

Repackage it - you don't want any temperature changes until after it is bagged and sealed.


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## bad (Feb 22, 2014)

PaulS addressed the issue at hand. I would add:
We use 2 liter pop bottles for beans and rice. Put it the bottles and freeze it for 2 days at least it to kill off the larvae present. We purchase flour in 5 pound bags mainly so that we can fit them in the freezer for a couple of days. We store the bags of flour in metal tins afterwards. Mice can be very destructive to paper and some plastics. 

I have been in some Mormons homes and seen their bags of flour, I don't know how they keep it from becoming infested.


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## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

But wouldn't the vacuum itself kill off critters?


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## ahuggins (Mar 11, 2014)

Beginner here, and I've been wondering about long time storage of rice and beans. How about bag pasta from the store like spaghetti?


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

Freezing doesn't necessarily kill eggs. The eggs can hatch and have a feast for a while. This is one reason long term storage requires the use of oxygen absorbers. No oxygen, no bugs and even if there are eggs, they die too. I go one step further and use a nitrogen purge on top of the oxygen absorbers (I can use smaller oxygen absorbers). Why, my food is very valuable. Why try to go cheap and hope my food is ok. For a few cents more per bag, I know it's ok. BTW, the oxygen absorbers need a little humidity to turn the iron filings to rust and consume the oxygen. Home type vacuum sealing in bags will remove a majority of the air as it collapses tightly against the food. In jars (non-collapsible containers) only about 1/3 to 1/2 of the air is removed. Try it yourself. Vacuum a jar, stick it top down in a sink of water and open the lid. Only 1/3 to 1/2 of the jar fills with water. That means at best, there is still 10% oxygen by volume of air in the jar.


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## Grim Reality (Mar 19, 2014)

Does the Foodsaver vacuum packing inside heavy plastic bags system work reasonably or is it not worthwhile?
I've heard that the plastic can still allow oxygen to pass through over a lengthy time period...any truth to that?
It seems to me that as long as the bag still has it's tightly-packed, vacuum-intact status that no air has entered.
If oxygen does enter, then the bag would become floppy (to a degree) just as if it had a leak...no?


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## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

Grim Reality said:


> Does the Foodsaver vacuum packing inside heavy plastic bags system work reasonably or is it not worthwhile?
> I've heard that the plastic can still allow oxygen to pass through over a lengthy time period...any truth to that?
> It seems to me that as long as the bag still has it's tightly-packed, vacuum-intact status that no air has entered.
> If oxygen does enter, then the bag would become floppy (to a degree) just as if it had a leak...no?


I read on a company website that vacuum sealed bags (plastic) are good for a year. I recently bought one. Mylar is good much, much longer. The vacuum sealer does not work on mylar. Mylar requires a lot more heat.


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## MrsInor (Apr 15, 2013)

We have a Westin sealer. I kept the Food Saver after it stopped sucking for the jar attachment. The Westin is heavy duty and will seal mylar but it will not remove oxygen from it. I vac pack whatever in the plastic and then seal the bag in the mylar with a small oxygen absorber. Works well. I use it a lot. Expensive to start with but well worth it.


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## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

MrsInor said:


> We have a Westin sealer. I kept the Food Saver after it stopped sucking for the jar attachment. The Westin is heavy duty and will seal mylar but it will not remove oxygen from it. I vac pack whatever in the plastic and then seal the bag in the mylar with a small oxygen absorber. Works well. I use it a lot. Expensive to start with but well worth it.


Cool. Mine is an el-cheapo ziploc licensed to another co. Mine will barely seal the bag. For mylar, I use an old iron.


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## MrsInor (Apr 15, 2013)

Inor said I should correct my post. The Food Saver stopped sucking the air out of the bags but still worked for sucking air out of jars.

There - corrected.


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## bigdogbuc (Mar 23, 2012)

bad said:


> PaulS addressed the issue at hand. I would add:
> We use 2 liter pop bottles for beans and rice. Put it the bottles and freeze it for 2 days at least it to kill off the larvae present. We purchase flour in 5 pound bags mainly so that we can fit them in the freezer for a couple of days. We store the bags of flour in metal tins afterwards. Mice can be very destructive to paper and some plastics.
> 
> I have been in some Mormons homes and seen their bags of flour, I don't know how they keep it from becoming infested.


We keep bags of flour? No shit? Nobody ever told me...:lol:


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

bigdogbuc said:


> We keep bags of flour? No shit? Nobody ever told me...:lol:


That is hilarious!


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## Notsoyoung (Dec 2, 2013)

At the local Farm & Fleet they still sell the old style metal garbage cans with lids. I buy the large ones to store the bags of flour and rice in to prevent rodents from getting to them. I'm not sure how much I actually need to since we also have a couple of cats that do a pretty good job keeping rodents out of the house.


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## RNprepper (Apr 5, 2014)

Does anyone else use CO2 gas or Nitrogen gas when sealing up grains? I also freeze grains to kill any critters, but then also fill the buckets from the bottom with a long wand I bought for the CO2 tank. CO2 is heavier than air and it displaces the air in the grain, thus taking the oxygen out. Even if a live bug or egg survived the freezer, it can't live without oxygen. More importantly, the oxygen deprived enviroment prevents oxidation of the food. You know how pinto beans will turn a dark reddish color after a year or so. That's from oxidation. It greatly reduces the nutritional value of the food and definitely reduces the shelf life. Right before sealing, I slip in an oxygen absorber (I use the ferrous powder hand warmers - cheap at WalMart) jsut to take out any residual O2 at the top of the bucket.


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