Dried bean storage

[kimba]

Ok - the grocery store had 1lb bags of dried lima beans on sale so I bought a bunch.

 

Question: Should I leave them in their bags and put them in a plastic "rubbermaid" type container or...

: empty the bags into jars and vac seal or...

: Put the bags in food saver bags and seal that way (I could then seal them in mylar bags)

 

I use them occasionally - say once a month. If that matters.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

Kimba

 

[Jake]

I would think that vac sealing in jars would keep them the longest and freshest. vac sealing in bags gets expensive.

[Ambergris]

Every time I've opened a bucket of beans I'd left in their bags, the smell was awful! Nastiness! Also, the bags had changed, gotten gummy and icky. When I pour beans into the bucket, I open the bucket and smell clean (maybe a little dusty) beans. I've also used brown paper bags (lunch-sized) to separate kinds of beans. Haven't opened any of those buckets yet, but I hear the results are good.

[TurtleMama]

I empty the bags of beans into a clean bucket and top with a gamma lid. I keep different types of beans separate. Seems to work well for me, but living in the desert we have no humidity to deal with -- I don't know if that would make a difference elsewhere.