Food Storage: Should Dry Goods Be Frozen Before Packaging for Storage? 

I am fortunate that my log cabin is on sand. Sand makes it easy to bury plastic barrels of food, four feet deep, below the frost line. Freeze-dried meals, white rice, dry beans, oatmeal. In case the good Lord takes me home before I need to use it, I'll have a treasure map, engraved on the back wall of my shed. From top to bottom, the treasure map will read, "4' W 4' down" My grandmother did that same thing here, back during the Cuban missile crisis, she buried quart-sized Mason jars, filled with peaches.

The vacuum sealing lets you know that your bag is intact. Pinhole defects are occasionally found in brand new Mylar bags, which can let the oxygen diffuse in.

I have been freezing once- 3 days minimum in freezer. take out and let stand at room temperature for 2 days. Package with moisture absorbers. Store in cool dry place. Has worked for me

What about condensation? Even items in a waterproof container will get condensation during thawing. I do not freeze anything first. I go straight from package to Mylar with an oxygen absorber. Who has the space in their freezer for days of the freeze, thaw, freeze method? Glad you mentioned that there’s no need to freeze with O2 absorbers!

You are always a trusted voice for the person trying to store food for long term use

Great info ,we have some things like rice,oats ect.. sitting in their original package because we were dreading the freeze/ thaw method do to lack of freezer space thanks so much for clarifying 👍😊

There are a few truly excellent and informative prepper channels on RU-vid. I have learned the most about food storage from you two. You have taught me much over the years, and I'm still learning more all the time. I imagine you've helped countless viewers improve their knowledge and skills. Thank you so much for taking the time from your obviously busy lives to share your hard-earned knowledge with others!

I've been prepping slowly over the last 10 years. Bug out bags, freez dried food extra water and food in the house. Defense supplies, totes with first aid gear as well as multiple ways to filter water and start fires , etc. Ive been telling my close friends and family for years to start and they always seem to get overwhelmed. I tell them i didn't aquire these items in a month its been over the better part of a decade and ive made sure to try and include these things in my budget. When covid hit and everyone was freaking out and hoarding food just seeing the calmness my three kids had knowing that dad was prepared and we were safe and would be ok and just having the peace of mind knowing i could take care of them made it worth every penny ive spent over the years. I am nowhere near where I want to be but I'm soo much further than I was 10 years ago. I love and appreciate your videos and will definitely be directing everyone to your channel! Very informative, simple, calming and caring family you have.

The comments are worth a read. I've been using DE and Bay leaves here and there. Also just throwing bags o flour in a freezer. Guess I need more research. Thanks for the vid.

I watched almost every flour preserve video on RU-vid and this is the best one. I did this system today. The o2 absorbers I had on hand were larger but I used them anyway.Just made a larger slit. One suggestion. After you insert the absorber, wipe off the bag before you tape it. The tape doesn’t stick well to flour. I used duct tape. Overkill but I already had some. Flour at Walmart today about $1.75 for a five lb bag of their brand. For this purpose quantity exceeds quality within limits. One bag is about 7500 calories. Thanks for a great vid.

I can tell you bay leaves do help, I am using rice today from.2020 n 2021. Still got couple pails and rice perfect as bought today, however i did freeze first.. Bay leaves do keep the bugs away, i live in the tropics n nothing keep bugs n other critters as bay leaves, I vacuum seal my dry good n still use lots bay leaves in barrels n totes to keep critters away..A great n informative video, I love listening to you guys, such a calming effect.

You can also vacuum seal your jars in a freeze dryer.

Good to know! I was always leery of the bay leaf thing. Now I know! 👍🏻

The 11 day rule was one answer I was looking for when I came across your video! Well done’ I’m a new subscriber!

Just in time! 😊 Thanks we were just debating this very thing.

You remind me of my parents, I can 100% see the trust you have in each other. Great info!

Great discussion. Oxygen absorbers will leave the insect eggs unhatched, it likely would not kill them. So at the end when you open up the container you would still need to be concerned then. But you are correct that introducing freezer moisture is not good. I do tend to vacuum seal and use oxygen absorbers if I can. It makes for a smaller stored package is the food can be happy with it. As well coarse food like FD mango chunk will have more air between the chunks than raw rice and hence more oxygen to remove. While one could use a bigger/more QAs, I figure the vacuum seal helps the OA get the excess. I will likely have to wait 15 years to check this out,

I apologize for going off topic, but I just wanted to tell you guys that I just ate almost a whole can of Denison's Chil from 2017! The taste was the same. The only difference was that I needed to add a bit of water. I'm really impressed! 🤗 PS: The can was in good condition, was not dented, and the lid was not concaved. It was a pull top lid, amazingly..

I am on a crash course, increasing my knowledge of various food preps, while continuing to use what I have on hand to preserve as I go through the growing seasons. I mostly dehydrate for now, but just bought an electric vacuum sealer to enjoy unless the grid goes down (then the brake bleeder comes out). Also just bought the Instant Pot pressure canner and am super excited about it! Tomorrow, I dehydrate eggs for the first time.

This is the video that I’ve been waiting for! Thank you! You answered all my questions about freezing verses not freezing. Now I feel more confident about storing food for my family. And thanks for the resource guide. I’m printing it out to keep on hand when I have a question. It’s good to have a hard copy in case the internet goes down.

You guys are great. Thank you for keeping me from making a mistake.

Thank you! I had some small packets of food like baking mixes and I tossed them in my freezer no bag or anything now I think a mylar bag\oxygen absorber labeled with contents would have been the best way.

We have an old non-defrosting freezer in the basement - anything which can get buggy gets put in there for 72 hours: grains, pasta, dried beans, cornstarch, and rice. Everything's left in the original packaging. Then it sits out at room temps for 24 hours before vacuum sealing. I'm not sure on just vacuum sealing alone since (rumor says) the plastic bags aren't 100% impermeable to oxygen. Everything's been creepy critter-free, even 6 years after storing that way. I'm with you on storing in original packaging! Nutritional info and cooking instructions are right there. If you're storing in clear vacuum sealer bags, you also don't need to make labels. I have to admit a little OCD kicks in when foods are stored long-term - I add a desiccant. The #10 cans of long term food has both an oxygen absorber and desiccant usually, so that works for me, too :-) Thank you!

Thank you for your channel and content...it is very important and essential for everyone....💯👍

Last year I put 25 lbs of oatmeal and flour in mylar bags with o2 absorbers. I thought I would have to redo them. Thank you for the info showing I don't have to redo them.

I’ve never heard of freezing letting dry then re freezing again then drying then storing I’ve only heard of freezing for a couple days then letting it come back to room temp then storing with oxygen absorbers in mason jars or Mylar bags or those clear food storage bags too I believe.. Some people even throw in a bay leaf too. People swear by it and it makes sense all this stuff didn’t exist back then and food storage has been around for a long time. Anyway, I love your guys videos!!! It’s so informative!!! Thanks and God bless you guys!!! 🙂🙏

Hi just received my package of mylar bags and oxygen absorbers yesterday afternoon! This video was right on time! I’m spending the afternoon working on my preps, thanks so much for sharing!

Thank you for this🙏🏽.. I just placed my first order for Mylar bags and your discount code worked perfectly.

I’ve never kept dry goods in the bag. I really like the idea. And it makes perfect sense. Thanks!

Blessings to you from Portland, Oregon. I am thankful for the wealth of information you provide so concisely!! Its so helpful to learn from you !

THANK you for clarifying much of this for me; I was getting so confused with all the contradictory instructions from various preppers...

Thank you for this!!!! I have been discussing this with a few friends who all freeze their food before long-term storage, but I've always been afraid of the condensation/moisture ruining the food and causing mold. Instead, I have been using the oxygen absorbers in either Mylar bags or vacuum-sealed jars. However, I'm just loving your idea of using the oxygen absorber in the pre-packaged food by inserting it and then putting it in the Mylar- it can otherwise be so messy! Thanks again for all your videos!

It is ALWAYS worth pre freezing all grains / beans first . I freeze everything 10 days , than bring it to room temperature/ 24 hours to be safe . ALWAYS worth using oxygen absorbers even if U feel there is no need . That extra back up / assurance is vital .

Very good and informative video. Would this method also work for garden vegetable seeds to extend the life of them for a few years? I’m not wanting to save seeds for twenty-five years or anything like that, however I’ve read just storing seeds in a box etc., will only keep for a couple of years. Thanks so much for sharing such great information! 😊

For our long term storage needs we are inventorying what we have on hand and meal planning to use items that are far past expiratory recommendation. We are setting realistic goals and being frugal in purchasing due to our limited income. It is great to know what products and foods have no expiration. And we are doing our spring cleaning of our pantry.

In reading the pamphlet you referred to, I found something very telling that was omitted by you (and many others on the internet). It is recommended to do the freeze method to rid insects if there is an infestation, not as a preventative measure. Many are recommending this as something preventative and it's a waste of time and resources in my opinion. It's also something that really dissuades too many from storing food as it is overwhelming to many to add those extra steps (and cost). I completely appreciate wanting everyone to have everything they need and be in an ideal state. Personally, though, I would rather they be storing something, anything than to be frozen in their inability to act because it all seems like too much. Now is really the time for people to get as much food as their budget allows stores up for use over the next year. If they have the ability, financial and other, to store for longer-term that would be ideal and removal of oxygen is the best method for sure!

Thank you, Kylene and John, for providing clarity once again! You are wonderful!

Thank you so much for this information!!! I have been asking other You tubers the question that you answered here, but you're the first I've found that have the answers.

Thank you for including a link to the information and I will check that out after watching the rest of the video. One question, though: Doesn't the oxygen absorber kill the insects but leaves the eggs unaffected? This is why I always used the freeze and O2 absorber storage methods. Also, I guess my question just answered your question of the day! As always, great information! Thanks and God Bless.

Ive subscribed to around a dozen prepper channels and this one is my new favourite, a great channel. 👍🏻

Thank you all so much for the clarification!!! There are so many people online that swear that you must freeze first even with oxygen absorbers. It drives me crazy and was stressing me out so much. I don't have the freezer space to freeze every bag of food I bring in. I just use oxygen absorbers and mylar bags. Thank you again!!!

This is the most intelligent, well done instructional video for storing dry goods that I've seen. BRAVO! Love your channel, chock full of the best information available. Thank you, thank you!

This answered so many questions in one video. Great stuff thank you!

Nicely detailed explanations. The summations you guys include really help too.

Thank you so much -this is exactly the information I needed. It was clearly explained!

Thank you for this video. I will download the USU manual right away! :) One technical issue with the video: the sound is predominantly coming out of the left channel for some reason.

Thank you for this video! I was so on the fence about this one with so many mixed answers but you I trust and this is so much easier than the freezing process!! Thanks again for all your help!!

First, I must say that I enjoy your videos. I would like you to think about the use of vacuum sealing. It does NOT reduce the percentage of oxygen in the air remaining inside the container. It does reduce the amount of air that contains 21% oxygen. The oxygen absorbers actually reduce the percentage of oxygen by binding it to the iron. That being said, vacuum sealing reduces the work the absorber has to do by reducing the amount of air inside the container. Thank you for all the excellent information in your videos.

Really good info! I always do this. Also works for fleece/wool and hands-on wool

I have a friend who is Dominican-Haitian, whose family farmed in a remote area of Dominican Republic which had no electricity and no running water. He told me that each year when his father sold their harvest of yams and cassava he would buy a 100 lb sack of rice and preserve it in pails with just olive oil and bay leaves until next year's harvest. These people survived year after year in a place with no electricity, no running water and no EBT/food stamps with what you state that cannot be done. It must be done correctly. Most people skimp on bay leaves and olive oil.

I have always been afraid of freezing then thawing, due to fear of developing condensation. Thoughts?

This is exactly the subject I’m investigating… my biggest worry is condensation after removal from freezer?? Then you have moisture inside your bag… 🤷‍♂️

Great tutorial about things I did not know.

I'm an experienced user of freezing flower etc. for a few days and storing in Mason Jars vacuum packed with an Oxygen Absorber. I use Food Grade Diatomaceous earth for it's Silica to reduce aches and pains. It really works. I know it's off topic but I couldn't help sharing.

Yes.. freeze your dry goods but make sure that you leave them out for a while so the condensation dissipates. Don't put anything in a sealed container while it's still wet!!

Thank you! I bought diatamaceous earth but hesitated to use it. I won't now. I thought putting some in with bagged dry goods would create an unpleasant environment for bugs making their way into the buckets with the understanding that the substance is sharp and cuts their exoskeletons. You can't believe everything you hear! I don't have a freezer and it is just as well I didn't use the freeze method either because the added moisture can cause more problems than it solves.

We store grain in 55 gal steel drums. Place Mylar bag inside the drum Fill bag with Nitrogen to form it to the drum Insert Nitrogen tube. Fill bag with grain Refill bag with Nitrogen tube inserted to the bottom of the bag. Remove Nitrogen tube Vacuum Seal the Mylar bag immediately Place drum lid on barrel and secure. Done.

I have watched many of your vaccum sealing, freezing drying, oxygen absorbers videos. But what I am looking for is an answer to my question....do I have to freeze/thaw rice and beans?? Or can I just vaccum seal them in glass jars??

Just found this video {subbed} and agree 100%. Moisture is a big problem with the freezing method. No O2 is always the best way if you have the ability.

thanks so much for being there

This was so helpful! Thank you!! Iv been seeing so much conflicting info and was just about ready to freeze flour. I’ll just do the o2 absorber now with the Mylar. Can someone point me in the direction of the shelf life for flour with the o2 absorber and Mylar? TY!

You guys are my go to source for Food preservation. Thank you so much. I have a question, Can ParBoiiled rice be stored long term? Also, I add a teaspoon of Diatamaceous earth (food grade) to my mylar storage. Probably will stop doing this after watching this video! Very dangerous to newly hatched critters.

Question: I've heard you should not leave flour, etc in original paper packaging for long term storage because it breaks down. I love not having to freeze flour, etc. Thanks.

I've heard so much about O2's, freeze/thaw method to kill bugs that may be in there and vacuum sealing. I have yet to hear anything about how to get the dead/alive bugs OUT of the product. I mean to me, I'm thinking there could be alive/dead bugs before/after freezing, vacuum sealing or with O2's. That topic has yet to be discussed since I started watching prep vids last year. I'm talking the entire prep community and on youtube, not just this channel. So how do we get the dead/alive bugs out if they're there to begin with? The "cooking them will solve that problem" or "won't hurt you" comment won't do me a bit of good cuz that simply doesn't answer the specific question I'm asking. What's everyone's take on this question I have? It's been bugging me for quite awhile now, many times over the years I've thrown away rice/pasta and cornmeal simply cuz I saw weevils crawling around in my canisters. I'm still new to all the prepping thing and just want to know cuz I don't wanna eat or feed my family anything with dead/alive bugs in there period. Thanks for any positive feedback you have on this subject.

Great Info As Usual! Have A Blessed Day!🙏💜🙋🏻 NW GA

Great video! Does this include dry beans? I can't see any in the video.

I freeze my flour then wait a few day, check for bugs and then store in infood grade plastic square container with bays leaves,. I then check the flour as I use it, so far so good T. G.

Thank you for clear and concise instructions. Question: Would it be over kill to vacuum seal in mason jars (without oxygen absorbers) and then put them in the freezer just to make sure the bugs are dead? Thank you in advance for your answer.

Thanks for your clear instructions & advice I don’t have the freezer space needed as suggested by many However I do have a good vacuum sealer Back to prepping So happy I’ve already begun

I am a subscriber and I love your channel. This video is awesome. Would you please advise your viewers whether store-bought, packaged barley is a good food to store in Mylar bags with oxygen absorbers. I like barley as a soup and stew extender as well as a breakfast cereal with cinnamon and milk. However, I don’t want to put barley in my long term food storage if it is not going to last.

I do the freeze , thaw, heat process. I freeze the dry product. Then let it thaw to room temperature. Then put in ball jars and then heat to 240 degrees for 1 hour to dry it and to heat to a temperature that will kill any bugs. Then put in an oxygen absorber, put the lid on, and vacuum seal it while it is still hot.

I know this an old video but hopefully someone will answer my question: I have 25lb bags of white rice. (The kind that come in a plastic bag from walmart,Walmart) I threw one in the freezer just yesterday to kill the bugs. Is that not enough of a moisture proof container? Should I have made the package smaller?

Completely agree that the freezing option is there for folks without vac sealers or oxy absorbers, but I would worry that during the multiple freeze / thaw cycle there is a great chance of getting moisture from the condensation even while in an air tight container during the process. But if it's all you have, it's effective against the bugs. Wonder where some of these "alternative packing" methods came from. Chewing gum? Hand warmers?! 🙄

My grandmother never did... She would open up any dry goods to make sure nothing was in them... separated them from particles then stored... I never saw her store sugar, flour, cornmeal....

thank you for your videos.I really was interested in this

So much information. Thank You both

Bugs in your survival food in a SHTF = additional protein! Bugs are safe to eat. Just cook them well. People all over the world eat bugs.

THANK YOU so much! I'm very new and learning was told freeze for couple months then a bay leaf. I didn't know and put flour in original packaging, how do I know if moisture got to it? I love yalls videos ❤❤❤

No... you really can't. She doesn't tell you if you freeze certain dry goods in the freezer and then remove them to bring to room temp, foods such as corn meal, flour, and some other types of foods will build up sweat inside the foods within the containers,, of whatever so called moisture proof container you have them in, and the moisture from thawing will cause mold to form within 24 hours and this is a known fact and has happened even to me and other people who have reported this happening. I experience this happening to me with an entire moisture proof container of yellow corn meal that also had added oxygen absorbers and moisture absorbers to protect the dry product from creating moisture inside the container while thawing to room temp after removing from the freezer.. I lost 5 entire pounds of cornmeal because it started getting flecks of black inside the container around the edges and it was mold starting to form after only 24 hours after the unopened protected container was taken out of the freezer..... You can vacuum seal, suck the air out, use oxygen absorbers, do whatever you want to with the containers before sticking them into the freezer even using plastic soda bottles the way they reccomend..., but it won't make a difference because the food inside will still have to thaw to room temp once you pull it out of the freezer, and that temp change will still cause moisture buildup inside the container as the food thaws. So don't trust everything you hear from people who pretend to be smarter than you but omit the fact of what happens when you pull food out of the freezer even if it's popcorn, flour, or corn meal.... they are only focusing on preventing bugs from forming in store bought flours, and other dried goods but they completely ignore the consequences of freezing these same foods which causes moisture build up and danger of molds forming.

Great explanation :-)

So glad I found your channel. I’m a senior adult and have never really stored food for long term. My husband bought a foodsaver for me. I bought bulk rice and put about 5 cups in one bag then vacuumed sealed. I then was going to put a couple of oxygen absorbers in my food grade bucket before screwing the lid on. Do you think that is a good way or should I be doing it another way. I was going to do the dried beans the same way. Thank you so much. This is all new to me.

My grandmother's and myself been doing bay leaf for decades...

Hi - Great video, thanks. Quick question as this is new to me and I'm concerned about safety/condensation. Five days ago I vacuum sealed flour in it's original, unopened bag in a FoodSaver bag and then put it in the freezer. When I take the flour out of the freezer for 24 hours to wake up the bugs, should I take the original flour bags out of the vacuum sealed bag, OR should I keep the bags in tact and let them thaw out that way and then put them back in the freezer? I'm concerned about condensation and how to prevent it and at what stage in the proess it occurs so I can watch out for it. Thanks for any help.

Good informational video , thanks for sharing ,God bless !

I know this is an older video, so I am not sure if you will see this. I am confused now; I literally watched a video right before yours where they were talking about the foods not to use oxygen absorbers with. It is food that is not completely dry such as flour, brown sugar, practically everything that was not pasta. She said in using them in these foods, it creates the perfect environment for botulism to grow. I would really appreciate your thoughts on this. I am nervous now. Thank you.

I'm a little bit confused and have a few questions if you would be kind enough to respond... 1) Can you just use a vacuum sealer to seal the mylar bags if you're using oxygen absorbers? 2) You mentioned the risk with moist foods - I'm looking at dehydrating and vacuum sealing (with bags, not jars) various fruit and vegetables. Can i just seal these with oxygen absorbers? 3) You only mentioned vacuum sealing by canning with jars - does the same apply with vacuum sealing bags? Finally, a warning about dry curing and smoking meat - botulism is lethal and if you cure meats with the wrong type of curing salts, you run the risk of cancer or death. The following videos were really useful to me - I'm so glad I watched them as I could have made some fatal mistakes... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-m4OuOZulHUQ.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SR2ISLFEMew.html

Thank you! I want to use 10 gallon food safe buckets…..would you just use a large oxygen absorber on top before sealing?

You two ROCK!

Thank you.

Thank you

Those knife hands!

Great information - thank you.

Great video answer a lot of questions I had about grains storage and other things thank you bye. By the way, why would you store bubble Gum?

I would put the food in a mylar bag with an oxygen absorber, purge it with nitrogen, vacuum seal it and then freeze it. Why not take extra steps in case one of them fails?

I do not freeze, I vacuum seal & use oxygen absorber, in mylar bags.

In the oven technique, you reference a recipe that states heat the oven to 130F. I've never seen a process that says to use heat less than 220F. Your Thoughts on 220? Thanks.

How do save nuts like pecans or walnuts? Thanks in advance.

I took the advice from another "prepper" channel and froze my beans and wheat. After I thawed my beans, they molded in my humid Florida pantry. :( After I thawed my wheat, I got weevils. Yay!! You just answered why. I did put them back in the freezer where they still are now after several months. I would like to thaw them and store them using the mylar / bucket method. (I really need to reclaim the space). Unfortunately they are in a burlap bag and frost has built up in the freezer. Can you suggest how I can best thaw & dry the wheat prior to storing in the mylar bag? Thanks!!

Hello! Is there any other type of bag one could safely and successfully use instead of mylar to store grain and rice inside the buckets? Would cotton/hemp or any other natural material be too permeable to keep oxygen out? Do you have any other ideas? Thanks!

I listened to another prepper who has said more than once “eggs don’t need oxygen to hatch” when referring specifically to rice storage and advises freeze/thaw before sealing in Mylar with oxygen absorbers. I listened 😪 80 lbs. of rice worth. No more extra, extra work for me, thank you!!! Question, I am storing in large and 1 gallon Mylar bags. Large are easy but the 1 gallons get tedious the way I am doing it with an impulse sealer and loose rice. Can you recommend how many cups you generally try to fit into a 1 gallon bag and is there another type of bag I could wrap the rice and absorber into before sealing in the 1 gallon when portioning from a 20 lb. sack? Thank you for all your helpful informative videos 😊✨