I'm having a hell of a time getting anything. 32oz jars are unavailable at walmart. my frys and safeway dont carry them. I've read everywhere to ask baking depts for frosting pails but have had no luck...
I've been looking at getting some 5 gallon pails but those suckers are expensive shipped. I go through beans and rice like crazy so I wouldn't mind having a couple hundred pounds of them around
Anyone have any frugal tips?
Thanks Frens
Thank you very much for taking the time to write this up!
I didn't know I had a Tractor supply in my area until now! Is $4.5 around what you get a bucket for in your area?
Local big chain store bakeries all sell them for .50 cents to a buck or two. Make sure the lids have the rubbery gasket still in them. If they currently don't have any on hand have them save for you and come back to pick up the buckets when you say you will. Take home, rinse and dry completely and you're ready to go. Grab dry ice from same chain grocer and place a quarter size [25 cent piece] chunk [NO LARGER!] on top of a folded paper towel on top of grains/whatever in bucket and seal up tightly. Place where you will not need to disturb for several days because your buckets will get a little bulgy.. The dry ice molecule is larger than the oxygen molecule and it drives the oxygen out of the bucket, leaving nothing for bugs to breathe. Dry ice is consumeable. Ex-Mormon here and this is how they did it for decades. I never cracked open a bucket of anything buggy or spoiled, even a decade later. Any more details needed - just ask. I edited to add this: Don't use dry ice that has sat in your freezer long enough to attract regular ice/water to it. You will see if a lot of ice has attached to your dry ice [ a little is unavoidable]. It is best to buy the dry ice on the same day you plan to use it. I have used this method with powdered milk/grains/pasta/sugar - you name it. If the bucket is smaller than a 5 gallon cut down on dry ice chunk size. I never had a bucket explode but I had a few that looked like they should have. The buckets resume normal pressure after a few days.
WOW. I will have to do some reading on this dry ice method. Just the other day I was looking up local LDS canneries to talk to some people about prepping. I only recently downloaded the LDS food supply handbook. What a wealth of information.
By big chain bakeries, do you mean used from a grocery store bakery (kroger, WM) or like an Einstein bagels location?
Thank you so much for this info!!!
I worked for a year in the Denver LDS Cannery when ti first opened up.
The dry ice method was how they all did it 20+ years ago before all the oxygen eater tabs they have now.. I remember the first time I placed that chunk of dry ice on top of my grains [ some Mormons place it at the bottom of the bucket and others placed it on top of folded wax paper] I was afraid I would pop the lid and find a chunk of grain near the top that was all moldy - never happened.
Yes...I mean I have never been turned away for buying buckets from any big chain grocer bakery and the last bucket I purchased was a month ago [Walmart]. If you ask nice they will do it. I once went to a store where someone had asked them to hold buckets and then never came to get them. It pissed off the bakery manager a bit. Make sure you let them know you want the lids that go with the buckets.
Thank you Fren! I will keep up the hunt on my regular grocery trips.
I bought a bunch of O2 absorbers from Amazon. I hate to buy from them, but it's 200X300CC packs for $27. The best deal I could find.
LDS powdered milk is non-instant, but it is the best powdered milk out there. Reconstituted and cold you almost can't tell. The only reason I could is because it tastes like a 2% milk and I was used to drinking whole milk.
Non members can buy from the church [the last time I checked].
I want to add a water storage consideration. We have a coca-cola bottler in town and they sell their 16 gallon soda syrup barrels. At one time I had bunches of those. They are obviously food grade and somewhere online you can buy spigots for them.
jimmy johns usually gets rid of old pickle buckets that are food grade.
THANK YOU FREN!!!
I avoid walmart as much as possible, I buy 5 gallon food grade buckets from Tractor supply. I also bought some 6 gallon beer brewing buckets awhile back I can use if needed.
Also, depending on what you are storing food wise and how shelf stable you intend the food to be, you could get some food grade Mylar bags. You would likely need some equipment to allow you to seal them, and it would be a good idea to get some food grade oxygen absorber packets. Vacuum seal the bags with an oxygen absorber packet and store in your 5 gallon bucket
For sure, I mainly keep rice, beans, flour, sugar in them. I do vacuum seal most into smaller portion size because I buy the bigger bags. It adds up pretty quick if you buy just a bag of beans, and a bag of rice even just once a month. You'll have your 5 gallon buckets filled in no time. Also the silica packets you get in other stuff are worth hanging onto.
you can use an iron to seal them with. Or a hair straightener - usually pick either up at a goodwill type store for $3-$4
Ask for 5 gallon pickle buckets from local fast food restaurants- they throw them out. Wash them and let them sit in the sun to get the pickle smell out.
I have been buying food grade 5 gal buckets for $1 each (no lid) from WalMart.
Locally (NoVa) I can still find jars at ACE and Tru Value and usually Tractor Supply and sometimes Walmart.
What area of the store are these typically in? (don't see them online though they may be out of stock)
Thank you!
If you have a Target nearby, you can check them for mason jars. I just got some there a couple weeks ago.
I FORGOT TARGET EXISTED AND THEY HAVE THEM IN STOCK!!!!! THANK YOU!!!
Lowe’s has food grade white 5 gallon buckets. You can buy a food grade lid separately that has a really easy to use screw in lid.
Restaurant Supplies, Food Packaging Supplies in Stock - ULINE https://www.uline.com/Cls_35/Food-Service-and-Packaging
https://www.homedepot.com/s/food%2520grade%2520buckets?NCNI-5
Not bucket related, but if you live near any Mennonite, or Amish and they have stores close by, they normally have great deals on spices needed for pickling, seasoning, baking ....you name it. I had bags of cucumbers to pickle and not a single container of dill seed....go to the local Mennonite store payed $1.26 for their container of it, and filled 2 containers I would have spent 4 bucks on each at walmart.
At Lowes they have their blue 5 gallon buckets for $3.78, but have to buy the $1.98 lids to them seperately. Crazy you have to buy the damn lids to go with them.
LOL I can't find damn near anywhere that sells them together!
home depot has those big buckets for paint (the orange buckets you can buy empty) , if you get a liner they can work?
I wouldn't use. Some contaminates are vaporous and would leech off, even through other packaging.
Not sure what you consider expensive but I’ve bought items from pleasanthillgrain.com and they have free shipping. I don’t buy actual grain from them because it’s very expensive shipped but the containers seem reasonable.
5 gallon bucket with air tight lids. Amazon sells them for $10.
Try lo carb ;-)
not sure the category, might be hardware. They were pretty near (but not in) the paint section. Also had buckets that were not labeled food grade, but if you are vacuum sealing or using mylar bags it shouldn't matter.
canning stuff you gotta buy in spring...best prices.
For a $3 dollar donation at Firehouse Subs they will sell you a 5 gallon pickle bucket Assume it is food safe Does smell like dill pickles though for some that is a plus 😛
The key to success is keeping it airtight as much as possible. There is a pet item called a Vittles Vault, e.g. https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/gamma-vittles-vault-plus-966509 which come in a variety of sizes, are stackable, watertight, airtight, bugproof and mouse proof, and a much better grade of plastic than the buckets. However, whenever you open your 25# container, whatever it is, you are letting most of it be exposed to air so the airtight feature becomes pointless. And O2 absorbers would not be workable. Get aluminized mylar bags, absorbers, an iron or curling iron to seal the bags, and divvy your food. Then it's good for years. Store in vittle vault or bucket. Glass is best though. If you aren't pressure canning them, you can use any empty jar with a tight lid, and the absorbers.
Check out Azurestandard.com
Lots of storage food in bulk and storage options available.