Beans and Rice

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OldCootHillbilly

OldCootHillbilly

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Dec 8, 2017
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A holler in Iowa
An ongoing project roun here be using cleaned an sanitized 2 1/2 liter soda bottles. Generally fill em with water but also use em ta store beans an rice as well as other dry goods. When I get a passel of em done, I purge em with nitrogen.
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txcatlady said:
I have about 12 bottles of water in freezer. Some from soda and some whiskey plastic bottles. Have about 30 pounds each of rice and beans in bottles, gallon jars, large juice bottles etc. my husband said I can't buy any more,,,, so I have to sneak it in the house.
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Momma used ta "go long with" storing foods. She weren't never real hip on it. She liked fact we could just go down stairs an get what she needed fer supper, but she never really had her heart inta it. Then I got laid off an then disability. That be when she found out just how valuable them supplies was. Now we be slowly rebuildin or stash cause I don't have money like I did when I worked, but we still keep addin ta it. She be totally on board now.
 
txcatlady said:
I have about 12 bottles of water in freezer. Some from soda and some whiskey plastic bottles. Have about 30 pounds each of rice and beans in bottles, gallon jars, large juice bottles etc. my husband said I can't buy any more,,,, so I have to sneak it in the house.
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I wonder how many days of food that amounts to? If you had your way about it, how many days would you be prepped for? Besides beans and rice, what other foods do you have stored?

Me? I have sugar, salt, tea, wheat, oatmeal, potato flakes, pasta, canned meat, soap, t.p., spaghetti sauce, dried fruit, canned fruit, dried onions, and more. I always buy things when they are on sale.
 
I have salt, sugar, flour (stored in freezer) , dried milk (keep in freezer), coffee, and canned veggies and fruit. I would like bigger surplus on some things, but with our house for sale, don't want to have move a whole bunch of filled jars. I probably have 25 cases of empty jars and 3 cases of filled jars under my bed that won't fit in pantry. I do dehydrate a lot of fresh produce and fruit.
 
Weedygarden said:
I wonder how many days of food that amounts to? If you had your way about it, how many days would you be prepped for? Besides beans and rice, what other foods do you have stored?

Me? I have sugar, salt, tea, wheat, oatmeal, potato flakes, pasta, canned meat, soap, t.p., spaghetti sauce, dried fruit, canned fruit, dried onions, and more. I always buy things when they are on sale.
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I'd say at this here point, we got bout 6 month's a food. Had bout twice that much then life happened. We store what we eat an eat what we store. Much a it be bought when it be on sale. Canned goods, boxed goods, shelf stable milk, home canned goods, canned meats, flour, salt, sugar, drink mixes. We don't really buy what ya would call weekly groceries, we buy what be on sale. Momma goes ta storage an pulls out what she needs fer meals. I got lots a oatmeal cause at one time I had a connection fer it real cheap. That been stored in mylar bags and vacuum sealed. Never really put a end amount on foods an such cause nobody knows how long a problem could run. More always be better. The soda bottles hold about 5lbs a bean er rice. Used ta vacuum seal rice, but this be a cheaper option an should work just as well.

Store lots and lots a water. 55 gallon drums, 5 gallon buckets an the soda bottles. Another ya can never have to much. Also have ways a treatin water.
 
tiffanysgallery said:
I just can not keep food from going stale when repackaging them from their original packaging. Is that what the nitrogen is used for?
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I use a vacuum sealer, O2 absorbers, cannin an yup, nitrogen drives the oxygen out ta prevent oxidation.
 
OldCootHillbilly said:
I'd say at this here point, we got bout 6 month's a food. Had bout twice that much then life happened. We store what we eat an eat what we store. Much a it be bought when it be on sale. Canned goods, boxed goods, shelf stable milk, home canned goods, canned meats, flour, salt, sugar, drink mixes. We don't really buy what ya would call weekly groceries, we buy what be on sale. Momma goes ta storage an pulls out what she needs fer meals. I got lots a oatmeal cause at one time I had a connection fer it real cheap. That been stored in mylar bags and vacuum sealed. Never really put a end amount on foods an such cause nobody knows how long a problem could run. More always be better. The soda bottles hold about 5lbs a bean er rice. Used ta vacuum seal rice, but this be a cheaper option an should work just as well.

Store lots and lots a water. 55 gallon drums, 5 gallon buckets an the soda bottles. Another ya can never have to much. Also have ways a treatin water.
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I think this is wise, but I started storing food and eating habits have not always matched what is easily storeable. I like fresh foods and salads. I can save seeds forever, but in the depth of winter, growing fresh veggies will not be easy.

I took a food storage class at an LDS church decades ago. At that time, the most basic plan involved wheat, salt, sugar, oil. I have some of that, but I also have rice and beans. These are not things that I eat regularly, but would if I was struggling to find food to eat.
 
Weedygarden said:
I think this is wise, but I started storing food and eating habits have not always matched what is easily storeable. I like fresh foods and salads. I can save seeds forever, but in the depth of winter, growing fresh veggies will not be easy.

I took a food storage class at an LDS church decades ago. At that time, the most basic plan involved wheat, salt, sugar, oil. I have some of that, but I also have rice and beans. These are not things that I eat regularly, but would if I was struggling to find food to eat.
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Winter time I do sprouts so we get some fresh greens.
 
tiffanysgallery said:
I just can not keep food from going stale when repackaging them from their original packaging. Is that what the nitrogen is used for?
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Getting rid of oxygen is the most important step in preserving anything... ;)

1st step... Get a bottle of nitrogen of the purest grade you can get from the welding supplier. It will cost about $10 a month rental fee... I keep one in my living room. Compressed nitrogen is very cold, in a full bottle, close to 32 degrees.


You need a regulator and a hose. Say you have a 6 gallon pail and a mylar bag to fit. Run the hose from the regulator to the bottom of the bag. Fill the bag with wheat, corn, rice, beans... dry from the field. Cold air sinks, hot air rises. I usually set the regulator on the nitrogen bottle to about 5 psi and slowly inject cold nitrogen to the bottom of the bucket. It will slowly push all the oxygen out of the bucket. When the mylar at the top of the bag gets cold... no more oxygen.


I pull out the hose and seal the mylar bag. Contents are good for 15 years...


Contents... every couple of years I take a 100-gallon plastic water trough from the co-op and put in the back of my truck.


I drive to one of the many farmers who live near me in the fall. If they are harvesting wheat, corn etc... Whatever I need I buy, 100 gallons at a time directly from the combine in the field (good price, below what they will get after they haul it to market). They still make a profit. It’s a little dirty but you can clean it as you use it.


I toss in a couple of moisture absorbers if needed. Today's combines give an accurate read out of the moisture content of grain being harvested. Farmers get the best prices for grains that don't have to be dried... I try only to buy grain that is in the safe zone. The safe zone depends on the grain you are buying. Lots of info on the net about particular grains. If the grain I’m buying is border line… That is what moister absorbers are for.

I seal up 100 gallons at a time of whatever grain I need. :)

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Granted the grain is dirty from the field but you are getting grain below whole sale prices. The farmer still gets the same profit margin... he's happy. I hate too quote the "Shawshank Redemption"... but "Easy peasy japanesey!"... Some one will use this movie line and claim I'm, or Tim Robbin's is racist.
 
Food storage just makes sense to do for so many different reason. We've always had extra canned goods and such for hurricane season but now that I grow a big garden and process the extra for storage, it does save a lot on our food bill at the stores.

My hubby goes thru these types of bottles like crazy and instead of just tossing them out, put them to good use! The old soda and juice bottles are good to use since they are a heavier type plastic and will keep out little buggies. . . not sure if it would keep out a determined mouse, but I haven't had that issue in my stockroom. . . only my back up cabinet in the kitchen. I did notice little black bugs develops in the bottle filled with rice though once. I ended up dumping it in a bowl, filled with water to get them out. Then dried in oven at 150 before refilling. I couldn't see throwing it out if it could be salvaged. They hadn't reappeared so maybe eggs were in the rice bags when I got them? Around here if your flour or rice products are not sealed in something heavy duty, you can bet you will find bugs crawling around after awhile.
 
The 02 absorber you buy at the prep stores does the same thing. Just buy a sheet of them and follow the directions. They will fit down the neck of a plastic bottle and you just cap, oh BTW reseal the unused O2 tabs in your vac seal bags after use dem iffin ya leaves them out theys be a workin layin rat there in yure room sorbin oxgen.
 
tiffanysgallery said:
I just can not keep food from going stale when repackaging them from their original packaging. Is that what the nitrogen is used for?
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I don't see Tiffany any more, but those plastic soda bottles will keep food dry and protected from dirt, but oxygen does migrate through the plastic. These soda bottles are easy to find and use, but not the best at keeping food from going stale. I keep buying half gallon canning jar to use. I also use Mylar that I keep in 5 gallon buckets.
 
I use the half gallon canning jars, too. I use the jar attachment on the seal a meal thingy to suck the air out of the jar. So I'm not going through oxygen absorbers. Was thinking about what you said about the Knorr rice mix, and pulled out my make your own rice a roni recipes. Thinking of doing those in pint jars, keeping the spice part of it separate in the jar by using the snack sized ziplocks. Then sealing with the jar sealer.
 
Beans and rice are a traditional mix as beans and a grain gives you a complete protein. My blood sugar doesn’t like rice. I mix beans and corn. I make a chicken stew with plenty of beans and barley. A pan of cornbread goes well with many bean recipes. Even bread meets the criteria when mixed with beans.
 
Mylar, in totes.

My 'normal use' beans are just in one of those pet food containers mean to hold 50lbs of dog food at one time.

Given that beans last years with no special storage, I only worry about 100lb weights of stuff in mylar. I think I would go nuts trying to store small quantities.
 
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