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storage Powder Storage

Pepperfreak

Pepperfreak

I have started grinding up my dried pods and after making powder out of half of my cayennes (I still have many more varieties to grind). I was hoping that you guys here might be able to tell me the best way to store all of this beautiful powdery heat. I was thinking of using standard mason jars with the rings, but do not know if they will keep out moisture/air without being processed.

Does anyone know if mason jars will work? Or...Is there a better more preferred storage method?

BTW, half of my cayennes so far has equaled about 3/4 of a quart of powder ;) I can't wait to get the rest of my dried pods ground into powder so I can get to experimenting with powder blends.
 
try to store them somewhere super air tight. if you have a really big batch I recommend you have a main stash and for daily use a smaller container. I'm always worried about spreading powder/dust around when I'm opening and closing large containers of powder because I'm clumsy and that's what usually happens.

I reckon mason jars would be fine, they are water tight so should be ok for powder, just make sure you are careful when filling, opening, removing powder and closing, esp if you're all thumbs like me...
 
I am not grinding my dehydrated peppers all at once. I bought a vacuum sealing machine and am going to vacuum seal the whole dehydrated peppers and grind them when I want to make fresh powder...I figured it was the best way to preserve the dehydrated pods...

I agree with CH and CM, though, mason jars with new lids should work fine...I would put them in 1/2 pint containers and only open one at a time of each for daily use (kinda like what CH said)...
 
hey AJ, I've got a vacuum sealer machine also but I've not used it to bag powder. have you ever tried this or does the powder get extracted into the machine because of the small particles?

are you also happy with the way the pods are kept once vac-sealed? freshness, colour etc?
 
CM...have not even unpackaged it yet...just got it last week...I would think that when the machine is pulling a vacuum on the package it couldn't help but pull some of the powder with the evacuated air...that is why I am going to just vacuum seal the whole pods...

in theory, air/moisture is the culprit for things losing color and freshness...so what better way could you store something that won't spoil at room temperature?
 
I've dried and vac-sealed jerky and have found that the sharp edges of the jerky pierce the plastic bag on occasion. I've found it better to double bag whole meat jerky for that reason. let me know if your dried pods do the same to the soft bags.

those little machines are great fun! I've even bagged minced pods and sauce. I posted a bag of sauce to bentalphanerd a while back and he said it arrived ok.
 
rodger CM...will keep you posted...I am going to try and seal some Sunday...

I had not even thought about using it for anything else at the moment but I am sure there are a zillion uses for it....
 
I grind chipotle powder then run it through a grain mill for super fine powder and store it in Mason jars and some in ziplock bags. So far have two quarts of powder, live in a very humid area, no problems. I'll try the sealer, never thought of that.
 
Put your powder in a regular ziploc bag then seal that up. No powder will get into your machine that way. Heck if you want you can seal the mason jars. I'm a big fan of my sealing machine.
 
You can also seal without pulling vacuum on the contents. You should be able to press most of the air out and then use the heat sealer to finish the job.
 
Same here, the dried pods will keep their aroma longer than the powder would, so I am only making as much powder as I need unless I wanna try a new mix.
 
I try to keep all my bulk dehydrated pods and powder in bags or jars which are in a sealed mouse-proof conainer with some silica gel in the bottom to absorb moisure. You can get silica gel that turns pink when its full of moisture and then can be dried in the oven and re-used.
 
POTAWIE said:
I try to keep all my bulk dehydrated pods and powder in bags or jars which are in a sealed mouse-proof conainer with some silica gel in the bottom to absorb moisure. You can get silica gel that turns pink when its full of moisture and then can be dried in the oven and re-used.
Click to expand...

Very cool. You have any more info on where to find these bags? Thanks POTAWIE
 
I have used ziplock bags for powdered pepper storage for alot of years, although, you need to store the bags in something that is bug-proof.

Years age, I stored whole dryed pepperes in plain plastic grocery bags. One day, I noticed a moth-like looking bug feasting away and laying eggs in the bag of peppers!! They had no problem eating through the ziplock bags.

Since then, I put the bags of powder in giant plastic (pretzel) jugs, anything to keep the bugs out. As for daily use, I use recycled plasitic spice bottles.

My dos centavos...............
 
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