Timberline Homestead A self sufficient homesteading life
I’ve used the mason jar sealer attachment for our Food Saver a few times, but only recently started using it to vacuum seal dried food goods. In the past I had placed dried food items in the Food Saver bags and preserved them in that fashion with few complaints. After sealing almond flour that way, I decided flour would be better preserved in jars to prevent the flour from caking together. I finally got around to another bulk flour preservation project and tried the mason jar technique. The jars are the way to go in my opinion. Of course the cost is higher, but they store so much more neatly and the flour doesn’t get clumped together. There is also the added benefit of the jars and lids being completely reusable. This is especially nice if for some reason you don’t get a great seal the first go round. With bags I had a few occasions where the seal was lost for one reason or another and there wasn’t enough room to reseal so the bag was tossed.
Here is what I did:
I used the largest mason jars we had (sterilized of course). Otherwise, I think this project would’ve been too tedious for my taste.
And of course the Food Saver with the mason jar sealer attachment. The one I used is for wide mouth jars.
The flour I was vacuum sealing is an organic sprouted buckwheat flour husband found online.
I filled each jar leaving about an inch below the rim of the jar.
When using the mason jar sealer, the lid is placed on the jar followed by the jar attachment. Air is sucked out of the jar and a strong seal is created with the lid alone.
Once the Food Saver switches off, the jar sealer is removed and replaced with a band to hold everything snug. I tried to get a picture showing the depression in the middle of the lid. It really is an impressive seal.
I loved this project so much that I started brainstorming other applications for the mason jars with dried goods… I’m thinking homemade baking mixes. Measure out the dry ingredients for frequently made recipes such as muffins, breads, pancakes, cookies, etc. and sealing them this way. Pop them in the pantry or slap a cute label on them with the rest of the recipe instructions and give as a gift!
