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Old 25-04-2011, 17:39   #1
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Dry Goods Storage - Flour etc.

Anyone have problems with items like flour, cornmeal, etc. getting bugs or mold?
Thank you
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Old 25-04-2011, 17:42   #2
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Re: Dry goods storage, flour, etc.

Sealed storage bins. Rubber Maid, Ziplock. Loy of good products out there.
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Old 25-04-2011, 17:50   #3
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Re: Dry goods storage, flour, etc.

I've used lots of stuff but for price, shape and size I like these the best;
Amazon.com: Lock & Lock HPL838SA 17-Piece Rectangular Food-Storage Container Set with Lids: Kitchen & Dining
I buy them at the Big Lots Discount store when they have them. Really cheap ; -)

The translucent sides lets me see whats in them, I can write in sharpie on them and the lids (unlike the XO's) are flat, not bulky and they stack really well.
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Old 25-04-2011, 17:50   #4
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pirate Re: Dry goods storage, flour, etc.

Wot he just sed....
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Old 25-04-2011, 17:53   #5
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Re: Dry goods storage, flour, etc.

Yeah Lock'n'Lock! Absolutely great stuff. I've had flour in one floating in seawater and the contents remained dry. They also don't have USB (or BSU? - whatever most plastics have...)

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Old 25-04-2011, 18:09   #6
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Re: Dry goods storage, flour, etc.

we have tubs that fit in the microwave,with suspect 3rd world,flour beans,lentils we give the contents 3-5 mins at full power to kill any eggs,larvae or bugs then seal and store.
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Old 25-04-2011, 18:36   #7
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Re: Dry goods storage, flour, etc.

I think the bugs (Weevils) live in cornmeal and flour. I've bought it at the store on several occasions, put it in a sealed, gasketed glass canister and the bugs were there about a month later. Rumor has it that their eggs survive the milling process and when exposed to warmth they hatch.

If you ever see your flour moving all by itself, that's what it is. It's not some flashback from a bad acid trip in the 60's. If you freeze your flour for a few days before storage the little warm blooded little beasties will die. They are harmless to humans so you could just bake them up and forget about it.

Is that more than you needed to know?
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Old 25-04-2011, 23:43   #8
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Re: Dry Goods Storage: Flour, etc.

I use Click Clack storage bins. They are a bit pricey, but the only decent thing I could find here in NZ. They seem to keep opened sugar/flour/rice/beans fresh and bug free. They also look nice, stack well, etc.

I find that the humidity in the tropics wreaks havoc on flour, even if it is stored in its original package in a double ziplock bag in a rubbermaid container. I've started vacuum sealing flour as I buy it, usually only once a year. I try to buy good quality 1-2kg bags and just seal those, but I've had to buy 25-50lb bags and separate into reasonable sizes. I do rinse and re-use the bags for other things once opened, so there is only a little waste (unless you count those vacuum sealing hours I'll never get back). This has kept whole wheat and white flour fresh for extended stays in the tropics.

Same story as the others on weevils: freeze or microwave as soon as you buy to kill the eggs...or just eat em! I've heard weevils will eat through plastic containers so I prefer to just kill them with the microwave first. I don't know if there is any reason to buy pre-packaged over loose bulk. I try to go pre-packaged where I can, but mostly that's a convenience and laziness thing.
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Old 25-04-2011, 23:51   #9
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Re: Dry Goods Storage: Flour, etc.

Being a cheapskate, I use icecream containers. They have great sales, and we have them around in abundance... And our fave brand even comes with labels that peel right off!! I tend to stick sellotape on them and write in permanent pen on that...
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Old 26-04-2011, 00:43   #10
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Re: Dry Goods Storage: Flour, etc.

We live in the sub tropics and put a few bayleafs into the flower and rice containers. In the house and in the boat.
It works.
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Old 26-04-2011, 04:21   #11
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Re: Dry Goods Storage: Flour, etc.

Quote:
Originally Posted by reiner View Post
We live in the sub tropics and put a few bayleafs into the flower and rice containers. In the house and in the boat.
It works.
Indeed.

Freeze the flour. As soon as you bring flour home, seal it inside a freezer bag and put it in the freezer for 96 hours (four days). Remove and store as usual. The freezing process will kill off any eggs and weevils already present in the flour.

Don't microwave the flour; weevils survive and simply run everywhere. If you want to use heat, use the oven. Place the flour in the oven at 130ºF/54.4ºC for half an hour, or 120ºF / 48.8ºC for one hour.

Place a dried bay leaf in each container or bag of stored flour. This will discourage weevil infestation.
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Old 26-04-2011, 04:24   #12
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Re: Dry Goods Storage: Flour, etc.

If you have the capacity to freeze the flour or rice overnight, that'll kill the bugs, if any.
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Old 26-04-2011, 05:24   #13
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Re: Dry Goods Storage: Flour, etc.

Thank you for the advice! Don't have freezer on boat. I will freeze for 4 days before sailing then pack with bayleaf.
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Old 26-04-2011, 12:27   #14
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Re: Dry Goods Storage: Flour, etc.

A word of caution. Flour can go rancid, particularly whole wheat flour. I store mine in old whey protein jars I got from the weight lifter next door. Perhaps one wasn't sealed well or maybe it was, but when I opened it about 6 months later, it was rancid. Uck.


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Old 26-04-2011, 13:49   #15
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Re: Dry Goods Storage: Flour, etc.

The best luck we've had so far was with <gulp> glass containers. Plastic containers can be 'eaten' through and thus spoil other foods in the vicinity. The Container Store had some nice heavy ones with a rubber seal on the lid. so we did an experiment over a year. Flour in a plastic container, flour in a glass container and then we added dry ice. Before people say bomb yes we were aware of that please read before jumping to conclusions.

We added a chip (quarter or half dollar size?) to both a pair of glass and plastic containers and gently closed the lid but did not latch it (for the glass container with a rubber seal we put just enough weight on the lid to close it, a 2lb scuba weight.) The theory is that the dry ice will sublimate and replace the air in the container thus suffocating anything (eggs included) and remove the bulk of the free oxygen which helps spoilage go faster).

15 months or so later neither of the containers with the CO2 chip were spoiled or had bugs, but the others had spoiled. This kind of surprised us since plastic was supposed to 'breath' slowly. We also did it with corn meal and it was still good too. Not that your going to find a lot dry ice in the wide open world, but before you split it might be worth it to pack some deep provisions that way.

We haven't tried ziploc bags that way but the vacuum sealer can't seem to keep a seal in the freezer.
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