Deblyn Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 I bought a 25 lb of oatmeal and wondering if I should put it in the freezer to kill off any eggs, etc that might be in it as I do with wheat? What do you all suggest? I will permanently store it in 5 gallon bucket! Link to comment
bluegrassmom Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 I usually buy my steel cut oats in bulk and just leave them in the freezer and take out enought for one small container at a time. If you don't want to store it in there full time, I would still freeze it a bit in the beginning at least. I always give my stuff that is going into buckets 2 freezings. First I freeze 2 weeks to kill any buggies that are already in there. Then I bring it out and let it get to room temp and that gives any eggs a chance to hatch. Then I freeze a second time to kill them. After that I'll put stuff in my buckets. Link to comment
Deblyn Posted February 20, 2008 Author Share Posted February 20, 2008 Thank you so much! Link to comment
Grubby Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 Freeze first as posted above. Here's how I did mine.. I have mine sealed in food saver bags (1 lb) then those are kept in large plastic totes. Link to comment
betty Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 You can dry-can oatmeal, grains, powdered milk to last 30 or more years. After washing cans, put in oven for 30 min. at 200 degrees to sterilize and dry them. Then fill them and return to oven at 200 degrees for 2 hours. Then wipe tops with a damp paper towel, add lids and rings. These need the rings kept on during storage. Simple and easy. I have powdered milk I'm just now using that I canned years ago and it is still fresh with no funny taste. I just canned some oatmeal this week. Link to comment
JCK88 Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 At this time of year, when it's freezing, I buy my big bags of rice and flours and oats and such and put them on my porch for several days, then bring them in the house. When they are room temp, that's when to put them in the bags and containers. I do mine with sealed bags in two or three pounds and put them in a five gal bucket. I read someplace that freezing grains for at least two days will kill the bugs--but longer won't hurt the grain and maybe it gets the STRONG bugs, haha. Link to comment
Jewlzm Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 I freeze mine in the 5 gallon buckets. Then add oxygen absorbers for storage. Sits on the shelf in the garage. It stays dry and kills off the little critters. We have had ours for 2 years and tastes as fresh as if we had bought it yesterday. Link to comment
bluegrassmom Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Jewlz, what temp. does your garage stay? I have storage, but it's so hot in there in the summer I figured it would be best to not store any foodstuffs in there. Link to comment
Jewlzm Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 My garage is vented (ac or heat which ever we use) and insulated against outside heat source. So it stays roughly in the 50s all year long but has been getting up into the 70s. Link to comment
bluegrassmom Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Oh, that's awesome. That would be really nice to have. Link to comment
Darlene Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Originally Posted By: betty You can dry-can oatmeal, grains, powdered milk to last 30 or more years. After washing cans, put in oven for 30 min. at 200 degrees to sterilize and dry them. Then fill them and return to oven at 200 degrees for 2 hours. Then wipe tops with a damp paper towel, add lids and rings. These need the rings kept on during storage. Simple and easy. I have powdered milk I'm just now using that I canned years ago and it is still fresh with no funny taste. I just canned some oatmeal this week. Betty, just for reference, the manufacturers of the canning jars (Ball, Kerr, Golden Harvest) do not recommend placing the jars in the oven. Their guidelines state that they have not made the jars to effectively and safely go through that process... Just a thought to keep in mind. Link to comment
Grubby Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Originally Posted By: JCK88 At this time of year, when it's freezing, I buy my big bags of rice and flours and oats and such and put them on my porch for several days, I was thinking that I would like to do this but I have critters. (large dog, cats and who knows what comes out in the dark!) But you could but them in a large cooler. Is your porch closed in or do you put them in a cooler too? Link to comment
JCK88 Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Ooops..Grubby..my porch is closed in, not heated though. ANd I keep my four cat critterss outta there when I'm freezing things! In short, my porch IS a large cooler!! Link to comment
Grubby Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Originally Posted By: JCK88 In short, my porch IS a large cooler!! Link to comment
westbrook Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 yes heating the jars in the oven filled and then sealed works great to create a vacuum and seals quite nicely. I usually do this for food stuffs that I don't want to germinate. I don't do this with wheat or corn or anything that I may want to sprout later. It is a great way to kill bugs and eggs. I like glass because it is rodant proof! mice can chew through a plastic bucket if they detect anything to eat in it. As for storing in constant temperatures... that is so very hard to do, but if you look at passive cooling techniques, you may find a technique that will work for you. scroll down for drawing http://www.azsolarcenter.com/technology/pas-3.html http://www.greenbuilder.com/Sourcebook/PassSolGuide3.html this one has great ideas http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/Cooli...ive_cooling.htm Link to comment
westbrook Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 Here is a really great photo of a passive cooling system http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/...oling_tube.html I have a similar system in my home. I have a closet in my kitchen to store roots in that operates like the link above. The tubing runs along an inside wall from the north side of the house to the closet and out through the roof. It really does work. This system shown in the link if for cooling a much larger building. It is something to think about. Link to comment
Y.T. Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 I always give my stuff that is going into buckets 2 freezings. First I freeze 2 weeks to kill any buggies that are already in there. Then I bring it out and let it get to room temp and that gives any eggs a chance to hatch. Then I freeze a second time to kill them. After that I'll put stuff in my buckets. I'm a bit confused by this. How do you prevent the moisture that develops from freezing-then-thawing from making the oats soggy or creating mildew in the container? Are they placed in a certain kind of container or bag when you do this? Do you stir them around or spread them out on something to prevent moisture? (I wonder the same about freezing rice since that's usually in a plastic bag, which would trap moisture.) And how long does it take for the container to get back to room temp? Is it just a few hours, or do you have to leave it out for a few days (during which point new bugs could find their way in)? Thanks for your help. Link to comment
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