Vacuum sealing dried herbs and spices

[rotuts]

Im sure many do this.

 

I had a weston sealer when I started SV  years ago.  after an initial repair of the pump due to moisture, I moved to a chamber vac.

 

but to the point :  most of my dried herbs and spices come from Penzey's  and I like the 4 oz as they are significantly cheaper at that size

 

Only recently on some new purchases did I realize i could seal  ' excess ' win the chamber vac and either keep in the freezer or the refit,

 

indeed taking out ' a portion' let me use that same bag for a reseal.

 

talk about Cheeeeeeeep !

 

however, I eat a lot of turkey / chicken and use a lot of Bell's seasoning.  in that yellow box with the Turk on the front  ' Full of himself '

 

I got " a number ' of boxes this thanksgiving, as well , way give Bell an extra Buck a Box  as im a Steady user  

 

to get to the point :

 

 

I put my extra boxes this Thanks in vac-bags.  kept two boxes in a jar in my Spice Cabinet.

 

I finally used 2 boxes so went to open a Vac-bag  from the freezer :

 

you guessed it  :  night and day  were the differences between the last amount I used from the Jar  and the aroma and taste from the newly opend

 

FzVacBag.   so i made smaller bags and 

 

Im very impressed with myself, I should say so.

 

 

so if you don't do this, and can, well, think about it.

[Lisa Shock]

I have some Tahitian vanilla beans vacuum sealed. I bought a pound on eBay, extract-grade cheap, in 2007. I just open them, take what I need and re-seal. I do make an extra-long bag, so I can get several seals out of it. Anyway, the beans are still moist and fragrant.

[Okanagancook]

I do this also.  Sometimes the bags lose vacuum for no apparent reason.  Try to store them in a place that doesn't jostle them.  As you say, it makes a big difference.

[rotuts]

nice

 

maybe this works with peak of the season fresh ( hearty )  herbs :

 

rosemary   sage   etc

 

bag, freeze . use from time to time and refreze

[Deryn]

Lisa - Do you freeze those vanilla beans too? I heard that was not good for them. I have a couple of pounds and they are fine at room temperature so far but they are only about a year old right now.

 

I use mylar bags and 02 absorbers for most of my dried herbs and spices (so I don't vacuum) - so far so good and that method saves freezer space - but I am sure freezing them in airtight containers/bags would also work.

Edited March 22, 2016 by Deryn (log)

[Lisa Shock]

2 minutes ago, Deryn said:

Lisa - Do you freeze those vanilla beans too? I heard that was not good for them. I have a couple of pounds and they are fine at room temperature so far but they are only about a year old right now.

 

I use mylar bags and 02 absorbers for most of my spices (so I don't vacuum) - so far so good and that method saves freezer space - but I am sure freezing them in airtight containers/bags would also work.

 

No, I don't freeze them, they're just in a kitchen drawer. Seems to work just fine. I just have them wrapped in the bag they came in and place the bundle in a FoodSaver brand bag. So far, the drawer does not smell like vanilla, either.

 

I do not open the bag very frequently, I have two batches of extract I use for much of my baking.

[Okanagancook]

I vac sealed my vanilla pods and it dried them out.  Cannot even split them.

[Lisa Shock]

2 hours ago, Okanagancook said:

I vac sealed my vanilla pods and it dried them out.  Cannot even split them.

What type of bags are you using and how old are they? Sounds like you're not able to get good seals, or parts of the bags are breaking down somehow or getting jabbed.

 

I also have raisins vacuum sealed from an enormous wholesale package I purchased a couple of years ago, and they are fine. I take what I need and reseal. I'd also like to note that the overall humidity of the air here in AZ Sonoran desert is very, very low.

[Tere]

This all looks fantastic. I am a complete convert to the ziplock sous vide, so I now have a vacuum sealer not doing a whole lot... I see a visit to the Indian cash and carry next time I am in Manchester. Although I always buy Natco spices from Sainsbury's as usually 100g of whateveritis is cheaper than a rinky dink jar of home brand or Schwartz or whatever. Makes no sense to me but it's how it works.

[Okanagancook]

1 hour ago, Lisa Shock said:

What type of bags are you using and how old are they? Sounds like you're not able to get good seals, or parts of the bags are breaking down somehow or getting jabbed.

 

I also have raisins vacuum sealed from an enormous wholesale package I purchased a couple of years ago, and they are fine. I take what I need and reseal. I'd also like to note that the overall humidity of the air here in AZ Sonoran desert is very, very low.

I have the VacMaster 3 ml thick bags. I got a good seal however, I can't remember how long I have had them, maybe two years.  Not sure what happened.  The seal was still good.  Maybe they were a little dry to begin with.  I don't bake much so probably should only buy when I need them.  Lesson learned.  I do dried fruit also.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I purchased half a pound of vanilla beans, opened the package and resealed into many bags of a few beans each.

 

As for my take on Bell's seasoning think perhaps of celery.

[scubadoo97]

12 hours ago, Okanagancook said:

I vac sealed my vanilla pods and it dried them out.  Cannot even split them.

How long were they stored?

i kept a pound of beans for several years with good results.  Recently I went to open them they were dried but it's been over 5 or more years since I bought them and maybe a year since I last opened them. 

[rotuts]

Bell's to me is sage.  but more importantly   it  Turkey.

 

if there is celery flavor in there I don't mind.  its the C.Plant that's awful

[Okanagancook]

3 hours ago, scubadoo97 said:

How long were they stored?

i kept a pound of beans for several years with good results.  Recently I went to open them they were dried but it's been over 5 or more years since I bought them and maybe a year since I last opened them. 

I am not sure, probably at least 5 years.  Maybe they were a little dry when I bought them.  Can't remember. 

[scubadoo97]

2 hours ago, Okanagancook said:

I am not sure, probably at least 5 years.  Maybe they were a little dry when I bought them.  Can't remember. 

Seems 5 + yrs is the max life of vanilla bean under vacuum

[Deryn]

I haven't tried this but according to something I read somewhere, one can 'revive' a dried vanilla pod by submerging it in hot water for a few minutes (though I would imagine that trick is most useful when one is just about to use said pod, and not good for repackaging/continued storage). I do hope you didn't throw out your dried pods though because with a mortar and pestle (or a small food processor/blender no doubt) you can grind up dried pods and use them in 'powdered' form.

[rotuts]

maybe try putting the pods in a large sealed jar with a damp cloth in it   but not touching the pods ?  for a day or so ?

[scubadoo97]

21 hours ago, rotuts said:

maybe try putting the pods in a large sealed jar with a damp cloth in it   but not touching the pods ?  for a day or so ?

When I last pulled out my beans and found them dry I sprinkled a little bit of water on them and resealed them.   This thread made me remember and go check on them to make sure they were not moldy.   It's been a few months 

 

Good thing they were not and were even a bit softer.  Not like fresh but I think I could split one with a knife.  Considering the hardiness of these beans I moistened a paper towel and placed in the bag and did a light vacuum but did not remove all the air.  They are out on the counter so I'll now check on them in a few days.  Hopefully they will rehydrate more without molding 

[Okanagancook]

Thanks everyone for the ideas.  I do still have them. Waste not want not.

[ElsieD]

The last time I made ice cream I got out my vanilla beans and found they had completely hardened to the point that the one I took out of the bag snapped in two.  I stuck it in the cream anyway and by the time the cream had warmed up, the bean was supple.  So I scraped out the beans and carried on.

[scubadoo97]

Vanilla beans have rehydrated and with hearing this year's harvest was short and prices are rising, it's a good thing. Probably have enough beans for the next several years 

[andiesenji]

I have had large batches of vanilla beans dry out when I did not pay attention and the vac seal broke.

 

Just as I do with hardened fruits - I have mentioned this many times before - I steam those suckers!  This rehydrates and softens the beans and you can smell it throughout the house.  

I then put them in alcohol immediately - don't try to reseal them, they will develop mold.  

 

If I need to simmer one in milk or cream, I just pull the whole beans out of the alcohol, plunk them into the dairy and simmer until the intensity of flavor I want is achieved.