How to put food by

Does anyone put packs of Desiccant Packets in with grain or beans?

 

I use desiccants with sugar and vitamins. But for grain and beans, my understanding is that, sealed in mylar, oxygen is a greater threat than moisture.

I have read articles about testing the moisture content of foods you are storing and I think there are times & places when desiccants would be a good idea.

However, another point is that desiccants & O2 absorbers don't work very well together. If one chooses to use both, it's best to drop in the desiccant, fill the container with food, drop the O2 absorber on top and seal.

 

Thanks Pru, any source info for:
"desiccants & O2 absorbers don't work very well together."

 

I've just about finished "Stage Two" of my personal preps - a six month supply of food and other stores. Stage One was three months.
Once I have a few more items (still need breakfast/snack items) for this stage, Stage Three will be to stretch it to one full year. That's when I start getting into the larger containers, nitrogen and mylar.
I try to keep a month's supply of canned goods and easy to make stuff since I figure the first couple weeks of an emergency, I want to make it as easy to eat as possible (won't have time to be soaking beans - too much other work to do!).
I have a close buddy at work (we collect and shoot guns together) who just married his second wife, and still has two teen agers at home. I'm trying to get him into prepping, but it's a hard sell.
He just received news that makes it even tougher - he has an allergy to Gluten! So, no wheat, oats, barley or anything containing these foods for him.
Corn, rice, potatoes and soy are okay. Meat, candies, fruit and veggies are okay. It'll make his pantry a bit different for sure!
He and his missus keep a pretty good pantry by most folks standards, but a three month "house arrest" due to Bird Flu would be impossible on what they have now. As I learn of storage tips and techniques here, I pass it on to him - hopefully he can "see the light" before the SHTF.

 

It took some digging, but I found it on this page http://athagan.members.atlantic.net/PFSFAQ/PFSFAQ-4-2.html#Desiccant which is actually another excellent source of information regarding food storage. Alan is a frequent poster on Homesteading Today. I am a frequent lurker.

The information is about 3/4 of the way down, under F.4 HOW DO I USE DESICCANTS?

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I also mentioned a process to determine moisture content. It is on this page http://waltonfeed.com/grain/faqs/iia3a.html

Pru

 

Pru,
Thanks for the info.

Ryan

 

Thanks Pru, I'd read the athagan page but that part didn't register. Waltone has a lot of good storage info.

 

A lot of excellent info here - the Monkeys are the best!
And many thanks, Tracy - I'll pass that info on to him.