Storing white rice in high humidity area

4655 Views 10 Replies 4 Participants Last post by paraquack, Mar 31, 2013

albaghani

Discussion Starter · Mar 21, 2013

Hi

I live in Penang Malaysia, Penang enjoys a year-round tropical rainforest climate which is warm and sunny, along with plentiful rainfall, especially during the Southwest Monsoon from April to September.

Temperature (day) 28–33 °C
Temperature (night) 22–25 °C
Ave annual rainfall 2670 mm
Relative humidity 70–90%

I want to know how to store white rice for long term storage (30 years +) and avoid botulism. Should i store my rice in glass jar bottle and put oxygen absorber + silica gel?

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paraquack

· #2 · Mar 21, 2013

Check out the site below. Has good advice and they sell aluminized mylar bags for long term storage. The oxygen absorbers are a must. I suppose the silica gel dessicant would work to absorb the high humidity but be careful. The is gel out there that is colored blue when it good and turns pink when it has absorbed as much moisture as it can. The blue stuff is toxic, stay away from it for the food. It's great for use in ammo, etc. I've gone one stp farther and use a nitrogen gas purge before adding the oxygen aborbers and sealing the bag. Glass is fine but sunlight will degrade the food, and if you have an earthquake, you probably loose it. If earthquake aren't threat, wrap the jars in alunimum foil to keep the light out or stor away from light.
usaemergency.com: The Leading Emergencies Site on the Net

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grinder37

· #3 · Mar 21, 2013

If available,I would use sealed mylar bags with o2 absorbers,then you are protecting from moisture,air,light,and pest.When properly protected in a near zero o2 content container,it will guard against bacteria,mold and fungus as well.The glass would work provided the jar is protected from light and the lid is air tight (such as a canning jar).

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albaghani

Discussion Starter · #4 · Mar 21, 2013

Thanks for the info, i'm thinking of storing rice, chickpeas (dried) in glass jar, put some oxygen absorber + silica gel, and the wrap the bottle with mylar bag or aluminium foil, then store in a dark place. what do you think?

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grinder37

· #5 · Mar 21, 2013

albaghani said:
Thanks for the info, i'm thinking of storing rice, chickpeas (dried) in glass jar, put some oxygen absorber + silica gel, and the wrap the bottle with mylar bag or aluminium foil, then store in a dark place. what do you think?

Think bigger,like a 5 gallon bucket with a gasketed lid,then fill one large or several smaller mylar bags with absorbers and you're good to go.I have a few "mixed" buckets where I have stored smaller bags of different but like items (different types of beans for example in one bucket).I use the gamma seal lids,but they are just a preference of mine for easier access in and out of the buckets,however a gasketed lid will do the same job.

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albaghani

Discussion Starter · #6 · Mar 31, 2013

I just bought this airtight container, it's made of plastic, the label said 100% airtight, is has some kind of rubber/silicone thing under the lid. i'm thinking about storing dried fettucini in this container and add some oxygen absorber.

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paraquack

· #7 · Mar 31, 2013

At www.usaemergency I found 1 and 5 gallon zipperlock bags. You put your food in, toss in an Oxygen absorber, (I went one step farther and purge the bag with nitrogen) and then heat seal the bag. When you open if in the future. you can close and reseal it against dirt, bugs, etc. Only cost a few pennies more. They the bags go into 5 gallon buckets with lids for easy handling and stacking. The biggest degrader of food is oxygen (get rid of oxygen, bugs die too), the second is sunlight.

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albaghani

Discussion Starter · #8 · Mar 31, 2013

you mean plastic zipper lock? well, in my place i've a plastic zipper lock brand GLAD.

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albaghani

Discussion Starter · #9 · Mar 31, 2013

Dry Canning the Easy Way - American Preppers Network

wow i didn't know that i can dry canning using mason jar +oxygen absorber

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Inor

· #10 · Mar 31, 2013

We use the 5 gallon bucket method (gamma seal lid, mylar bars, o2 absorber, etc.) for storing larger quantities of things - rice, flour, sugar, salt. For smaller quantities (herbs, spices, etc.) we put them in 1 or 2 quart mason jars then my wife has an attachment for her FoodSaver machine that will suck the oxygen out and just uses a normal canning lid. We have only been doing the FoodSaver method for about 3 years, so I do not know how it will work long-term. But so far, it has worked for up to 3 years.

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paraquack

· #11 · Mar 31, 2013

Obviously the info I'm talking about was on the internet so it must be true. Guy on You tube was demonstrating aluminized mylar bags and oxygen absorber, and an easy way to heat seal bag with a clothes iron. Said he had put up rice and beans in 5 gallon pail without the mylar bags. Said he opened them about 10 years later and the rice had discolored but otherwise looked ok. Sent some rice and beans in for "testing" and the results were "suitable" for consumption but had "degraded" quite a bit. Reason: he found out the poly buckets allow oxygen to migrate thru the poly. Mylar bags are oxygen barriers. The aluminum coating prevents ultraviolet light from getting to the food and thus helps preserve it. The oxygen absorbers do what they say. As long as the oxygen absorber is big enough, it absorb the 21% oxygen, leaving 78% nitrogen and 1% trace gases. If you look at the big name brand food prep companies that say their food will last for 15-20 years, they say the bags are nitrogen purged (also saw this on a you tube, and copied it for my preps). The aluminized mylar bags I bought had "ziplock" (registered trade mark of Ziplock) type seals for after opening, but it also makes filling and nitrogen purging easier. Only cost a few pennies more. It is better to put too many oxygen absorbers in the bag then not enough. The oxygen absorbers work by causing iron powder in the packet to "rust" or oxidize due to the moisture in the bag, consuming the oxygen and bonding it to the iron in the form of iron oxide. Normal humidity is necessary while processing the bag. Mason jars with sealing caps/lids work great but keep out of the light. If you open one those jars, you will notice it has a slight vacuum in it do to the 28% oxygen being consumed. Old 2-3 liter soda bottles work too. You will notice the bottles get sucked inward in about a day or so. Again keep out of the light.

I have used the food saver for about 18 years now. Love it for the freezer, etc. The bags are mylar too. I have stored small stashes in the vac bags, with an oxygen absorber for safety sake and wrap in aluminum and then into the brand new 5 gallon pail and lid. I've only opened one pail out of curiosity after 3 years and tried rice, beans and pasta. All were fine. I doubt I would push past ten years. Around then I will pull up the foods and put them in the pantry and put out new food.

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