The joy of baking
We’ve all done it at some point in our baking careers. We’ve gotten so carried away with the joy of baking we’ve overlooked the small matter of what we’re going to do with whatever we’ve made. Outside of eating sometimes copious amounts of our baked goods that is!
In this case though, we’re talking about storing. In particular, since we’re talking about making homemade dog treats, storing homemade dog treats.
Shop-bought dog treats last and last because they’re pumped full of unhealthy and unnatural preservatives. How else can baked goods sit on your self for up to 2 years without spoiling? And that’s one of the things we’re trying to get away from with making our own homemade dog treats after all.
But all is not necessarily lost if you choose to bake your dog’s treats with my Bake & Treat dog treat mixes. You just have to be a little more creative. And accept that shelf-life issues can easily be overcome. Filling our beloved pets with harmful additives is a far less appealing prospect to anyone who truly loves their dog!
To begin with, any dog treats you make at home need to be completely dry before you store them. So bake them thoroughly and then allow them to cool before adding them to any storage medium.
(Any remaining moisture will result in the growth of mould. Something which is not exactly conducive with healthy and tasty dog treats).
And then bear in mind of course that a hard, crunchy dog treat will in any case have a longer shelf-life than a soft training treat because it has less moisture content in the first place.
Natural preservatives
One of the reasons people like myself make homemade dog treats for my dogs is because I don’t want to subject them to harmful additives and preservatives.
But not all preservatives are harmful. There are a number of natural preservatives that won’t do your best friend any harm at all. Quite the opposite in fact. These include:
Vitamin C
Vitamin E
Citric Acid
Rosemary
That said, providing you handle your dog’s homemade treats as below, you won’t need to worry about adding any preservatives at all.
Fresh Breath Biscuit Baking Mix
Bake your own healthy & 100% natural, wheat-free, plant-based homemade dog treats!
Daily Superfood for Dogs
Plant-based 100% natural daily superfood supplement
Airtight containers
Airtight containers are ideal for storing homemade dog treats. But, as above, make sure your dog treats are completely dry. Expel as much air as possible from the likes of ziplock bags and other deflatable storage containers as air equals moisture which in turn equals mould. And if, as I do, you use preserve jars, leave the lid popped open for a while before sealing.
Providing they are fully dried out, most dog treats will happily keep in an airtight container for a couple of months. Always keep an eye on them though, just in case.
Refrigerator
Most dog treats will keep for several weeks in the fridge. In an airtight container in the fridge, this ‘shelf-life’ can be extended to a couple of months or even longer.
Freezer
I would always recommend that any treats that are not going to be used for several weeks be stored in the freezer. While they will keep for longer as mentioned above, they’ll always keep for longer in the freezer anyway. This will extend their shelf-life to anything between 6 and 12 months.
That’s my take on storing your dog’s homemade dog treats. If you have your own prized method, do please let me know and I’ll share it for the benefit of everyone!
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