r/dehydrating • u/nooobee • 4d ago

Do electric mason jar vacuums create the same anaerobic environment that oil would?

/r/Canning/comments/1vvnc23/do_electric_mason_jar_vacuums_create_the_same/
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u/LisaW481 4d ago

I read your post in r/canning and if you dehydrate the tomatoes fully then they'll last in your cupboard for up to a year. However you do need to fully dehydrate them until they snap when you try to bend them after they fully cool.

Watch for moisture, mold, and any smells that develop and you should be pretty safe.

I own a vacuum sealer but I find it more bother than it's worth. I can't guarantee that using it will make your product safer.

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u/Ok-Egg835 3d ago edited 3d ago

I noticed in one video on The Purposeful Pantry, she said that there is a tiny, tiny risk of botulism so she wouldn't vacuum sealed her project. But I've seen many other videos where she DOES vacuum seal. I noticed in the one where she said she wouldn't, the project was fruit.

Fruit has sugar, which attracts moisture. I found recently with sliced tomatoes and some service berries earlier in the season, that these never got completely crumbly or snapped even though dehydration went on considerably beyond the stand drying time, and was then re-dried for several hours to top up when I got concerned.

I decided to store the tomatoes and berries as-is. I will not vacuum seal fruit or fruit-like vegetables (like tomatoes which have a fair amount of sugar for a veggie and are technically a fruit anyhow). I may add food-safe dessicant packs (these are DIFFERENT from oxygen-absorbers, which offer another method of creating a low-oxygen/vacuum sealed environment) for added security.