How long will flour last?
 

How long can I expect flour to last in a sealed 5 gal bucket with dessicant packs included? It would be kept at average room temp....about 70 degrees. I realize that wheat will last about 30 years or so but I'm just getting started and would like to put something away this week besides Mountain House meals and Ramen noodles.

Re: How long will flour last?
 

Ground flour

does have a limited storage life...

Not sure, on long term storage.

But methinks

If frozen and vacuumed packed , it will keep for a long
time...

Others here may clear this up...

Just thinking off the top of my pointy head.

Re: How long will flour last?
 

Re: How long will flour last?
 

Good point, but it doesn't address his question in the slightest.

From what I have read (not purporting to be any sort of an expert), white flour can last up to 2 years if stored properly. You'll probably want to freeze it first to eliminate any possibility of insects. Keep it cool, dry and away from light. Make sure the bucket is actually airtight.

Re: How long will flour last?
 

I'd go with 2 years also. You could probably eat it after that, but you would receive little to no nutritional value from it. Just based on what I've been reading.

I've got a 25lb bag to chuck out myself. Just think of all the easy bread I could have made! :bawling:

Re: How long will flour last?
 

We have stored and checked flour packed in #10 cans with oxy absorbers.

We have seen noticeable degradation after approx 2 years, with at least 25% deemed not edible.

We have noticed that if we let the flour air out for a while after opening it does get more palatable, but it is just such a bad thing to eat rancid foods we decided not to chance it.

If you pack flour, only pack enough to cycle in 12 months or less would be my recommendation.

The only thing worse than throwing away storage food due to storage is not being able to eat it when you need it.

Get wheat berries and a manual grinder. Then the wheat will outlast you.

PS> search for flour in survival. I have a detailed post about this very subject somewhere....

Re: How long will flour last?
 

Flour will last a LONG Time
....................... about 100 years


IF




you bake it into a fruitcake :bear_w00t:

Here's a picture -- no joke -- of a fruitcake that was baked in 1911, making it nearly 100 years old::bear_cry:
http://www.mischiefmakersmanual.com/...uitcake-02.jpg:puke:

Re: How long will flour last?
 

Woudln't eat it then....

Wouldn't eat it now.

Re: How long will flour last?
 

Fruitcake

I for one like it, in small doses.:emotions16:
With coffee.

And it WILL keep forever!!




:111:

But true..!!

The best fruitcake in the world is made in
E-Texas!!!:biggrin:

Re: How long will flour last?
 

These were LDS cans I had.

I am continuing my experiment, and saving cans to open late this year and next. But I will go back to my original recommendation...

12 months for flour. Any longer, store wheat berries.

Re: How long will flour last?
 

I have pails about 18 months old that we are using now. By the time they are used up we'll be pushing 2 yrs. No complaint, as I paid $0.99 per 5 lb bag for it, and the cheapest I've seen in the past year is $1.69 per 5 lb bag on sale. I've never bought the wheat berries, but I have a feeling they are a lot more than $0.20 per lb. They are not readily available around here, and I have a problem pretending I'm going to be religious to get it cheap.

I buy what I use. I don't buy more than I can use. I use what I buy.

Re: How long will flour last?
 

That is the key.

wheat berries are VERY cheap, if you can get them from the graineries.

But yeah, 24 months would be max, and we are shooting for 12 month.

Re: How long will flour last?
 

Yes, I think 24 mo is about all you can ask for. I had mine hidden in the hull of a boat in the garage for 6 months before they were "pailed", so that might have some effect, too, but so far everything has been good except for 1 bag of sugar that got wet somehow while it was in the boat.

I've had to stop adding to stocks because its likely we will move in the next year or two. I don't like that, and am trying to keep the stocks up on the things that are easier/more compact to store if possible.

Re: How long will flour last?
 

I have 25lb bag of flour that expired in 2008. It was in the origional packaging. It doesn't smell different. I dont think it looks different, but it was bleached flour from Sams which was very white, so it may have yellowed a bit without me being able to notice since i've gotten used to unbleached bread flour. I have used it for dusting and it works fine for that. I may try to make bread from it just to see if its edible. There isn't a single insect, but ive never gotten bugs in any food in my cupboards. Must be my location.

Re: How long will flour last?
 

b,

You mention insects in flour. It's the wifes one bitch. Little black 'things' in flour after a year or two.

I was talking to a buddy of mine and he mentioned a 'cheat' that his mom uses.

She adds whole bay leaves. Six per 25 lb bag. For some reason, it keeps all bugs out. And it doesn't seem to effect the taste of the flour. Can't say why. He told me that his mom has always done that and they've never had any problems.

While we ALWAYS have problems and we don't live that far from where his mom lives. Same town, about ten miles or so between us.

Hope that helps folks with storage needs. I have not tried it yet, as the wife hasn't gone out for shopping to get us some whole bay leaves. Once she does, I'm going to use them as described above.

Re: How long will flour last?
 

I believe the eggs of those little beasts come
with the flour, from the factory.

And not just flour.

When you bring the package into your
house, you are also bringing in unwelcomed
guests.

Hard freeze your flower and other grain based
foodstuff, it will help kill of the critters. Not all
but it will help.

Vacuum after a freeze for long term.

Re: How long will flour last?
 

This is a story from way back.
While my grandmother was alive, she did a lot of cooking. She used Robin Hood flour for some reason. To me, it's only real flour if it has that guy on the bag. At the time of her death, there was an opened bag of it in one of the cupboard, about 90% full.

My grandfather did not cook. 3 years went by. I lived one town over so I visited from time to time. Not one thing changed in that kitchen except he occasionally fried eggs. He had eggs, beer, and didn't touch anything in the cupboards. He had a severe stroke one day, and some other family members were over that day. One of the decided to cook chicken and homemade noodles.

Not realizing that the bag of flour had been there over 3 years, open, she used it. The noodles were slightly darker than expected and had an off taste, but weren't bad. No one got sick. I realized after she had used the old old flour and told her and she said it had been 'stickier' to work with but she didn't realize anything was wrong.

Re: How long will flour last?
 

This is an interesting thread! I don't mean to hijack this thread but I did some research on wheat berries and found the following website which seems very interesting.

http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/buy...ead_flour.aspx

Wheat berries are stored and sealed for long term storage and I don't think the prices are that outrageous.


Thoughts?

Re: How long will flour last?
 

they are too high...

try here:

www.beprepared.com

38 bucks vs 60.

Re: How long will flour last?
 

Awesome TechGuy! Thank you!

Re: How long will flour last?
 

Even more cheaperererer:

Go to www.ldscatalog.com . Click on Welfare Services (bottom left corner of the page), then Home Storage. This will bring up goodies packed in #10 cans (6 cans/case), along with mylar bags, oxygen absorbers,..... Free shipping, no tax (in OH, at least).

Hard red wheat costs $26.25 for 6 cans, 33# net weight. About $0.80/lb, packed in steel cans with oxy absorbers, versus $0.87/lb (+ $12/order max shipping charges) from beprepared.com .

I buy the LDS wheat in cans, and like only breaking open the smaller containers for use, rather than 5 gal at a time.

Re: How long will flour last?
 

Yeah, that is a great deal.

We have approx 50% LDS red wheat. The rest is white wheat in superpails... I really wish we could get the white in the LDS cans.

The problem with the red wheat is that it can be really heavy flavor for bread. The white is better (IMHO) for bread.. The red is good for cooking and soups...

Re: How long will flour last?
 

I normally use a mix of red & white when making bread, and sometimes even cheat & add gluten and/or eeeeeevil dough enhancers.

Re: How long will flour last?
 

http://www.mrefoods.com/cart/product.asp?proref=YCF


Yoders All Purpose Flour

Each can contains 16 oz.--$80.00

Nitrogen flushed and vacuum sealed, this will last as long as the seal on the can remains intact - which will be for many, many years!

Ingredients: Enriched Bleached Wheat Flour (Bleached Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron. Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid)

Allergen: Wheat

Re: How long will flour last?
 

That's a CRIMINAL amount of money for 12 lbs of flour, LOL

Re: How long will flour last?
 

LT: Not to disparage your post, but....

I absolutely do not believe that flour will last indefinitely.

It is the oils that go rancid in flour. If you could preserve oils in that way, don't you think they would package veg. oil as well?

Re: How long will flour last?
 

No problem TG, I have thought about the flour aspect before and then saw this thread, decided to do a little search and found that stuff, thought I'd share.

Re: How long will flour last?
 

note: if you are going to get superpails from beprepared,
there is a minimum order weight of 200#

Re: How long will flour last?
 

The problem with storing flour for long term is getting the oxygen out.

With wheat berries the oxygen is free to move through the grains. So if you use O2 absorbers, or purge with N2 or CO2 it is a relatively simple processs to remove the Oxygen. With flour, however, there are no open spaces so getting the O2 out is very hard.

I would think that if you packed flour in Mylar and then buckets by purging with dry ice at the bottom of the bag/bucket you would be able to remove the majority of oxygen. The sublimation of the dry ice is such a slow process and it being heaver than O2 it should be able to purge the majority of O2 from the flour.

But it will be slow process and you may have to do it twice. Then I would seal the bag with absorbers in it too.

Beyond that a cool place owuld really help, but you already kow that.

You may increase the life up to 5 years, or maybe even more. IDK

sb :bull-smile:

Re: How long will flour last?
 

Have a couple of vacuum canisters that hold
10 pounds of flour each.

One of them , not touching it for as long as
I can, to see how the flour will keep.
Pulled a vacuum and then shake it and re-vacuum
it.

Cannot see how any oxygen can still be
left it it.

Over one year storage and re-vacuum it
every so often. So far no color change,
and it also passes the smell test.(no difference)

compared to my working canister.
Both are clear see thru.

Think it will keep, for how long is the
open question.