Rotating Food Storage

[Momma J]

I have a few 5 gallon buckets of rice and beans that for one reason or another have not been included in the rotations. I guess it is because they are sealed well and I did not want to mess with them (chose the easy route). I also found a bucket of flour in the stack.

This weekend I decided to break the seal and cook with some of the contents. I made a big pot of butter beans (large lima) served over rice.

I also made 4 loaves of bread using the old flour. It way past the expiration date. The date on the bucket was 7/13/2014. The flour was still white, bug free, and no foul odor. I have a cast iron stomach so I volunteered to be the guinea pig. Oh my, it was so good! I ate half a loaf with melted butter and raw honey.

I am alive today and have no ill feelings. Yet, reading on the internet... Flour has a 3-6 month shelf life and goes bad turning gray and tasting sour.

Am I just lucky or does flour actually last longer if stored well? Does anyone have ant experience with old-er flour?

[Niemand]

It depends on what the product is and the conditions it is stored in - heat, humidity, light etc.

[keeprunning]

Yes, that must be talking about flour stored in the paper bags it usually comes in, especially after it's opened. White flour should last a lot longer if sealed and not overheated. Man, 2014? Does not seem like something should be expired from then. haha! Seems like just a few years ago. Glad you got a good meal!

[Momma J]

I buy all purpose white flour. I rotate bags in the freezer, leaving them in for a week or two. I then dump the flour into gallon freezer bags, for easier use, and extract as much air as possible. My methods are not fancy, I place a straw in the corner of the bag, zipping it closed around the straw, and suck out all the air that I can. These bags are placed in a black bucket and sealed up. The buckets are kept in a climate controlled area of the house.

I honestly thought I would have to throw the flour out. I have never kept flour longer than a year after freezing.

[LostCreekAcres]

Out of the many years of storing foodstuffs, I've only ever had a few cans rust with wet-pack items, dried beans go bad and LDS canned flour go bad. When the cans were opened, there was a tinny smell. I tried baking with some and you could actually taste that "tinny-ness".

[JuneBug12000]

Out of the many years of storing foodstuffs, I've only ever had a few cans rust with wet-pack items, dried beans go bad and LDS canned flour go bad. When the cans were opened, there was a tinny smell. I tried baking with some and you could actually taste that "tinny-ness".

You just have to stir it and let it set open a day or two. That tinny-ness will go away. They actually put that on the label now.

[Momma J]

I learned through trial and error that flour absorbs odors that are near. I had an unopened bag of flour in the pantry next to the basket of onions and potatoes. The flour tasted like onions which is ok for breads and gravy... not so good for cookies

[Lexew1899]

There is a certain point regardless of how it is stored that the fats can go rancid. If your flour is giving of a rubber smell its best to not eat it. Unless you are starving to death. Why risk consuming mycotoxins, causing damage to your organs to save a few pennies.

[JuneBug12000]

There is a certain point regardless of how it is stored that the fats can go rancid. If your flour is giving of a rubber smell its best to not eat it. Unless you are starving to death. Why risk consuming mycotoxins, causing damage to your organs to save a few pennies.

I was going to post something similar. Better to store wheat and grind it, then flour.

Edit: you can grind more than wheat into flour. Beans, Oats if they are not already rolled, all kinds of other grains.

[Original_Intent]

I've found lots of things can be stored MUCH longer than advertised. Oil, crisco, peanut butter all tend to go rancid if kept too long, but how long that is can be extended a lot by keeping them out of the light and in a cooler area. My folks had a separate storage room built onto my dad's diesel shop. It was kept above freezing in the winter and maybe got as high as 70 in the summer. We ate some things out of there that had stayed good a LONG time. I had some home canned relish that was over 25 years old that was fine. (We also found some in the back that was 40 years old that we tasted on a triple dog dare, and the texture was terrible, and the flavor was not great although I do believe it was still technically "safe") I am surprised your flour was fine that long, I agree if you have a grinder the wheat stores better

[harakim]

I have eaten 50-year-old soup mix and 10 year-old cans of spaghetti-ohs. The soup was mushy, but fine. It may have lost it's nutritional value. The spaghetti-ohs were as nasty as a fresh can, but no more. I think things only go rancid if they are exposed to oxygen.

[Juliet]

yeah I would say flour that goes bad is instantly distinguishable by smell and taste.

[Lexew1899]

I’m still surprised how long sugar and honey can stay good for. My parents used to own a giant drum full of honey. Used it as a night stand. I’m not sure if my Dad still has it. But I bet it will be good for a few hundred years. Unless the metal leeches into it.

[harakim]

I’m still surprised how long sugar and honey can stay good for. My parents used to own a giant drum full of honey. Used it as a night stand. I’m not sure if my Dad still has it. But I bet it will be good for a few hundred years. Unless the metal leeches into it.

Honey never goes bad if properly stored. I imagine it's the same for sugar.