Can you make MRE type packages with a food saver?

[gunwhatgun]

We got a food saver today and started putting up some veggies from the garden. That got me thinking. Can I precook some food and store it like MREs? Meaning does it have to be frozen or will it keep in the pantry?

[Jamie Jackson]

Just my opinion here.

Can I precook some food and store it like MREs?

Meaning does it have to be frozen or will it keep in the pantry?

No my friend, you couldn't pre-cook food, vac seal it and store it at room temperature. It's a non-sterile environment and anerobic bacteria would start growing. That's why we pressure can foods with very strict procedures and guidelines.

Vac sealing is a good method for storing intermediate term very dehydrated fruits and vegetables. Vac sealing meats and then freezing them helps prevent freezer burn and prolongs frozen food storage life.

A clarification: I use the term "intermediate" because,from my experience, vac sealed bags will most likely leak at some point. I have vac sealed items...like dried pasta in my rotational food stores that have remained sealed for 3-4 years...other vac sealed items have lost their seal within that time period.

Regards "Home made" MRE type meals: if you choose your intended items well...like extremely dehydrated fruits and or veggies...and intend to rehydrate them for a meal like a soup...it'd be doable. There are quite a few commercially prepared items you can put together for homemade MREs that suit your taste.

I'm including a few links below to some sites with info on homemade MRE's.

btw...the Food Saver is a great Prep Tool.

http://selousscouts....e-made-mre.html

http://bisonrma.blog...emade-mres.html

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[/media] Edited August 1, 2012 by prag

[peejman]

What prag said. I have a food saver too. It's great, but you will have a small percentage of bags that won't seal properly. It may not be obvious at first, but after a few weeks in the freezer, you'll notice the bags has lost it's compression.

A few things I've learned with my food saver... moisture is the enemy. If you're trying to seal up anything with significant moisture content, it's best to freeze it before vacuum sealing. The pump will suck the moisture out of the food and interfere with the heat sealing.

Be meticulous about keeping the open end of the bag clean before sealing.

Make the bags at least twice as big as you think they need to be.

Seal them with the textured side of the bag up. I don't know why, but we've had much less problems with poor seals that way.

If you're a mechanical/wrenching type... the sealer is also very handy for packaging small parts. Bearings, seals, o-rings, and any other items that need to be kept clean.

[Jax970]

I've found that double and triple sealing the opening helps too.

[gunwhatgun]

Thanks for the input guys. We are looking forward to putting up some more garden stock.

[Guest Baron]

+1 for some of the things mentioned above. Id say about 25% of my first bags sealed leaked.

1. Make sure the seal is flat and has no creases or folds in it.

2. Put a second seal above or below the first.

3. Anything that you think "might" put a hole in the bag, will

[Jonnin]

cooked meat, dehydrated, sealed does well. Frozen on top of that even better.

Dehydrated stuff does not spoil easily. Whatever else you can do on top of that is great.

MRE last so long because they are (or were?) radiated to kill all bacteria/etc and sealed to keep everything out, and are preserved in several ways.