Food Storage Containers

[captain58sailin]

If you are going to opt for the vacuum sealer route, it might be a good idea to go with the sealer that has the nylon piston / cylinder assembly, they can tolerate moisture being sucked out of the bags, and they seem to be longer lived than the ones with metal assemblies. They run about $325.00.

[Soft Air]

I second Pelagic L&L's are great and they come in all shapes and sizes.

I got a bunch of them on the boat and I use them to store from food to tools to sunglasses, coins, headsets. I am looking for a big one to store myself at night

[Badsanta]

I love lock and lock, even found one for eggs. Dosent make them last longer but keeps them handy and if you drop it it keeps the mess contained. Also found that if you freeze flour for awhile it kills the bugs.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Badsanta

Also found that if you freeze flour for awhile it kills the bugs.

Or microwave it

[Alibi35]

I have the bread container and it keeps the bread from getting mashed and it keeps bread a lot longer. I plan to use them in the refrig when we finally get "the boat". They do come in handy in the coolers on Lil'un to keep things from getting soggy in the slush from the melted ice. The best prices I found came from an on line company called organize.com but I have also found a limited supply at K-Mart.

[bottleinamessage]

I second what Pelargic said. You can find them at Target and Walmart. They are inexpensive as well. Combined with a vacumn packer for meats and larger quantities of flour etc for long term storage you'll have it covered. We even store such items as our Oil change pump in a lock and lock in the bilge. No problems!!

[annk]

Another vote for lock n lock. Great for storing special fittings etc.....have to hide them from the husband!

[Soft Air]

Annk I have to hide my lock n lock's from myself as I would like to have every single item in one of those containers...they should sell a gigantic one to store the entire boat when not on board

[Ramblin']

I had forgotten about the Nalgene containers, they are super good.

I use Lock & Lock and like the idea they can be topsy turvy in the fridge and not leak. I also recently bought several egg containers-great for cruising and eggs won't get smushed while bringing back in the dink from shopping. I purchased most of mine from QVC, but got the egg containers from Lucky grocery store, since QVC hasn't started selling them separately.

Lots of cruisers I know have put their dry goods in the microwave and nuked before storing, hence getting rid of any potential critters. I learned about critters when I left a roll of dried black beans (used to hold down some mosquito netting) in my dry storage while we were home for the summer.

[Dmarina]

After I purchase flour I put it in the freezer, in its bag in a zip-lock, for about a mouth and I have never had any bugs. After opening the bag, I keep refrig. I read this on a food storage site years ago.
Diane

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Ramblin'

I left a roll of dried black beans (used to hold down some mosquito netting) in my dry storage while we were home for the summer.

That must have been funny when you opened the hatch!

[Curmudgeon]

I like my rubbermaid stackable containers. You can freeze them, microwave them, put them in the dishwasher, etc. They don't leak and they don't stain when you put tomato sauce in them. You can get the ones with the vacuum pump lids, but they're not necessary. You can also get the ones with the little rack in the bottom to allow moisture to drain off produce, which keeps produce fresh alot longer.

They are a little more expensive than the Lock & Lock containers, but they take up much less space when empty and stay put when stacked, even when the boat is heeling a bit.

[GordMay]

Food Storage Information, from the Food Marketing Institute:
Food Marketing Institute - For Consumers

[Kaya 09]

I use the lock tight containers, throw in a couple of bay leaves, and then freeze the dry goods for a few days before storing. It has been four months, so far...no creatures.

[svBeBe]

No, you cannot find dry ice in the islands. At least I never saw it.

Lock 'n Lock are great containers. But be sure and get the real brand name ones. The knock-offs are terrible and totally useless.

Vacuum seal everything and it will last a very, very long time. I have found that bugs have hatched in 2 vacuum sealed containers (out of probably 1,000) but the bugs never grew. They stayed extremely tiny and and did not eat their way out of the bags before I discovered them.

FWIW, I have found that bread flour and cake flour vacuum seal well and are perfect when the bag is opened -- even 2 years later. Regular all-purpose flour, however, will clump badly if you vacuum seal it. Doesn't ruin it, but sifting will not remove all the clumps and you end up throwing out a lot of clumped flour.

I vacuum seal Pringles, cookies, crackers, flour, sugar, corn meal, dried beans; you name it.

Judy
S/V BeBe
Amel SM2 #387