Tess, I have purchased my Mylar with the oxygen absorbers. I did what you said about storing the food, but now my oxygen absorbers are spent. I clipped the bag in between buckets to keep the air out. Is there a secret to keeping the absorbers from turning blue or do we only get one time after opening the bag? I hope this made sense.
Thanks Deb
Answer:
Hi Deborah,
Your question makes complete sense. I don’t know of a secret way of preserving oxygen absorbers, but there are a few tricks I have learned along the way. When I’m packing food, I pack everything at once. I have all of my lids close by for quick assembly. Right before I am about to seal the food up, I open up my sealed bag of oxygen absorbers, take out the exact number of absorbers that I need, and then immediately seal it back up with a vacuum sealer. This prolongs their shelf life.
Another method of preserving your oxygen absorbers is to place the remaining absorbers into a glass canning jar that has a metal lid with a gasket. A 1 pint jar (500 ml) will hold approximately 25 absorbers. A good rule of thumb is to limit the amount of times you open and close the container holding the absorbers. If you leave oxygen absorbers exposed to air for 15 minutes or longer, then they will more than likely lose their effectiveness and need to be discarded. Here is an article on oxygen absorbers that may be helpful in case you need more information on the subject.
Thanks so much,
Tess