Ok so I did a bit more digging around and pulled up some interesting facts: 1) Contrary to what a lot of people say, drying seeds to 0% humidity might not be bad, according to this site: http://www.seedcontainers.net/a_guide_to_long-term_seed_preservation.html 2) Certain seeds can be dried "desiccation-tolerant": http://howtosaveseeds.com/store.php Any additional comments would be appreciated!

This brings back memories... A friend in Alaska sent me some Amish Friendship bread starter in the mail. Different issue of course since it was fermenting! But I open my mailbox and found a small box entirely soaked through with gooey, fermented fruit! I opened it and found a Rubbermaid type plastic container had exploded and the fruit and juices were everywhere! I peeled her 2 page letter from the mess and could read both sides because it had become translucent. Yuck. I don't think I'd risk it. I sure wouldn't vacuum seal them. I think just a double bagged ziploc would be fine. Pickles keep unrefrigerated pretty well! Not optimal, of course, but if you overnighted it.... Maybe call the airlines and see if they even allow it and what advice they might have. Seems like they would do fine in the pressurized cabin, but not sure about cargo area. Can you send some cukes on ice and the recipe? Interesting question. Hopefully someone has actually done it and will respond. Deanna

Welcome Trish. That only works if your sealer has an adjustible heat controller. Zipper bags are made of a different plastic, and require lower heat to work. At high heat you just burn through them. BTW, to achieve a vacumn seal in a zipper bag that's even better than the machines, close all but about a half inch of the zipper. Then submerge the bag in water right up to the zipper line. Seal the last half inch. You will have forced _all_ the air out by doing that.

I bought the cannisters at Sears. I quickly found that if you tried sealing, say, coffee grounds then little grounds would get stuck on the rubber seal on the lid, and they wouldn't seal. Now there seems to be something gumming up the "valve" part you press to let air back in. They don't seal there. They were great for the first three months. Then they stopped holding a vacuum. On the other hand, I've had vacuum in the wide-mouth mason jars for months without a problem.