Vacuum sealing dried foods in mason jars
If you're trying to stock your pantry full for whatever reasons, were you aware that you can vacuum-seal dried (dehydrated) food in jars to preserve it longer? If not, then continue reading and I will walk you through the steps on how I vacuum-seal my dried goods in mason jars.
Storing food items such as dry oats, dried beans, dried pasta, dried rice, dried fruit, etc. will last longer when stored in mason jars with lids. However did you know that these food items can last even longer if you were to vacuum-seal the jars?
Before I go into the details about vacuum sealing jars, the first obvious step is to fill clean jars with your dried foods, leaving at least a half inch to one inch of headspace in the jars. Use a clean cloth to make sure that the rims on the jars are clean before placing the flat canning lids on.
Jars can be vacuum sealed with a mason jar sealer such as the DAIKA jar sealer or the FoodSaver jar sealer. They're really simple to use. All you need to do is place a flat (canning) jar lid on top of the jars. Set the vacuum seal attachment on top of the lid, and either use a hand-held pump as I use or connect the hose to a vacuum sealer machine, then press the start button on a vacuum sealer to suck all the air out of the jars. You don't have to use the screw on rings, but after I have vacuumed sealed my jars, I like to use them on the jars so that I don't misplace them.
Note:
Vacuum sealers that are made for mason jars are only meant to preserve dried food goods. Not for storing cooked or fresh food long-term.
The mason jar vacuum sealer can be used on wide-mouthed or regular mouthed jars.
To help save money on buying empty mason jars, buy food items such as jarred pasta sauce, pickles, jelly, etc. Wash those jars out and reuse them.
The DAIKA vacuum jar sealer attachment hose is only compatible to use with the electric FoodSaver vacuum sealer appliance; however, it is offered with a manual air pump and the manual air pump is what I prefer to use.
Notes:
Should you need to open one of your jars to use some of its contents, you can gently open the lid and later reseal it again by using the same lid with the vacuum sealer.
You can also use the manual vacuum sealer and vacuum sealer machine with vacuum sealer bags. I prefer using glass jars because I think they're a better way of protecting food and they're better for the environment.
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