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Ice Pick
03-13-2014, 12:19
I've been using this vacuum sealer for my dehydrated food. http://www.walmart.com/ip/FoodSaver-FreshSaver-Handheld-Vacuum-System/15777783 Been having trouble with some of the bags taking on air after sealing. I thought it was the rough places on my beef jerky strips poking through the bag. But I also have a bag of dried apples that took on air. Are the bags just not durable enough? Could it also have something to do with freezing my food when it is still warm? Maybe that's a dumb question. I'm new at this.

Do I really even need to seal my food if I'm storing it in the freezer and eating it within a few weeks of taking it out? I'd rather not buy an expensive sealer right now.

The Old Boot
03-13-2014, 12:51
I've been using this vacuum sealer for my dehydrated food. http://www.walmart.com/ip/FoodSaver-FreshSaver-Handheld-Vacuum-System/15777783 Been having trouble with some of the bags taking on air after sealing. I thought it was the rough places on my beef jerky strips poking through the bag. But I also have a bag of dried apples that took on air. Are the bags just not durable enough? Could it also have something to do with freezing my food when it is still warm? Maybe that's a dumb question. I'm new at this.

Do I really even need to seal my food if I'm storing it in the freezer and eating it within a few weeks of taking it out? I'd rather not buy an expensive sealer right now.

It could very well be the food saver unit that you're using. I have a Seal-A-Meal that has never failed me yet but it's considerably more expensive a unit than the one you're using.

I dehydrate all my own camp meals and also other stuff for around the house (mushrooms when they're on sale etc) and store all my dehydrated foods in the deep freeze. I do that to not only lengthen the useful life but also because I have no good place to store dehydrated foods elsewhere. I've taken to having all my dehydrated foods in a cardboard box in the corner of the freezer so that the small bags don't get lost amongst the roasts and stuff.

I use the sealer for fresh meat for storage in the deep freeze and it works really well for that. I never use it for dehydrated foods for two reasons - 1- if you're storing it in the freezer anyways it really doesn't need to be vacuum sealed and 2 - the vacuum sealed bags that I'm using don't let things smush for tight packing in my bear barrel or food sack.

You should always let food cool before storing no matter how you do it.

What I do is to dehydrate then store in bulk in good quality freezer strength zip bags. I mark the date of dehydration and the quantity. As I need it, I take out portions and place them in regular zip bags combining stuff for the trip as I go. For example - Shepherds Pie gets the veggies and the meat combined in one bag, a small bag of instant gravy mix, the amount of instant mashed potatoes in another bag. All of the bags then go in one larger bag (usually just the medium size for one serving). The whole meal is together, parts can't get lost and I know that I've got all the parts.

If I'm dehydrating chili or spaghetti I set up the dehydrator with MY size serving and then all I have to do when it's dry is bag it, label it and throw it in the deep freeze.

Hope this helps some!

myakka_
03-13-2014, 12:57
"pre-freezing" helps with a lot of wet foods. Any moisture will keep the seal from forming correctly, so if you portion your stuff, and put it in the freezer for a bit till it hardens, then put it in the bag and seal it, there is no loose moisture to mess with the seal.

Not sure if this is your issue since you mentioned dehydrated foods, but try pre-freezing and see if it works better. I pre-freeze everything, and have no issues with my foodsaver from walmart.

FarmerChef
03-13-2014, 14:23
I don't vacuum seal my dehydrated food since, like you seem indicate, I'm often eating within a few weeks or at least a couple months of preparing it. Instead, I put it in Ziploc freezer bags, squishing the air out (if I feel like it) and sticking those in the freezer. When preparing meals, I transfer it into progressively smaller ziploc bags, premixing the ingredients according to when they go in the pot. IMO, vacuum sealing is a bit of overkill if you're going to consume it that quickly. The only advantage I could see is squishing it down to it's smallest size for conserving space in my pack. Then again, it's never been an issue for me. Maybe when I use a bear canister out west...

On a thru, chances are you're going to buy much of your food in the stores along the way and only supplement with dehydrated items, typically proteins and vegetables (fruits are easily available dried in the grocery store). That doesn't mean you couldn't ship tons of food at mail drops along the way but this is typically cost prohibitive and you may not find you still like what you packed after eating it for several weeks straight. I dehydrate the proteins and vegetables then mix it in with lipton sides, mashed potatoes, assorted pasta shapes, ramen noodles, etc. Pouch tuna and chicken can also be had and pouch chicken is much nicer than ground up dehydrated chicken. More expensive, yes, but much more satisfying.

Ice Pick
03-13-2014, 22:47
Thanks y'all! Great info!

Wise Old Owl
03-13-2014, 22:56
Its the bags - try seal a meal...

Foresight
03-13-2014, 23:22
Its the bags - try seal a meal...

.I concur.

Hoss Cat
03-22-2014, 00:08
I have a vacuum sealer but I don't like to use it on dehydrated meals. I like just regular ziplocs (they re-seal, weigh less and can be used to keep trash in as well). I don't store by dehydrated meals too long either. I usually dehydrate whole meals and keep them in the freezer until I go on a trip (usually only in the freezer a couple months max).