Commercially Canned Potatoes Do Serve a Purpose

Sliced Canned Potatoes 

Before I was able to find a great deal on fresh potatoes, and before food prices skyrocketed, I started buying sliced canned potatoes, and a few other veggies whenever I could find a fantastic deal. They had to be 50¢ per can or less for me to purchase them. 

Happiness is a Big Bag of Onions

50 Pounds of Onions

I got frustrated trying to put together dehydrated one-dish meals and casseroles because I never seemed to have enough onions. The out-of-season prices for onions here at our local grocery store are astronomical. Finally, Mike suggested that we go ahead and buy a big bag of them. 

Canning Jars Are Not Essential to Storing

Extended Light Exposure Damages Dehydrated Foods

The cucumber slices on the left were exposed to regular room light for about six months.  The cucumber slices on the right have not been exposed to constant light. 

If you are considering buying an attachment

for your vacuum pack machine in order to store your foods, please think again.

 

Average Shelf Life of Dehydrated Foods

Sadly, when I found this chart, it was during my very early days of prepping, I did not think to cite the source. My apologies to the author. Looking at some of the ingredients in the list, I suspect that some of them are commercially prepared freeze dried foods. 

Below is a chart to help you determine the shelf life of food stored in airtight containers at constant temperature of  70 degrees. **

All of the following products will store proportionally longer at cooler temperatures if kept at lower storage temperatures. Shelf life of 30+ years is perfectly feasible for many products!

     

BEFORE YOU SEAL THAT FOOD!

WARNING:

IF YOU DO NOT ALLOW YOUR FOOD TO BECOME COMPLETELY COOL BEFORE BAGGING, IT WILL SPOIL.

Hi Folks,   I set up this document because we are getting too many people who are making a simple but dangerous and costly mistake. We have so many new-comers to dehydrating, that I'm thinking they are missing some important information.    

After you finish dehydrating your food, you must make ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that it is COMPLETELY COOLED before you seal it into a bag or container of some sort.

Whether or not you vacuum pack it, or simply put it in a jar in the cabinet, it must be completely cooled first. You can use whatever method works for you.   Sometimes, if I have finished dehydrating an item and don't need to start something else right away, I simply leave it in the machine until the next day.   But usually, I dump the food from the dehydrator racks into a large cupcake carrier.