Today was bread making day. Grandson goes back to school tomorrow so I need fresh bread for his lunches.
The other day I found flour in my food storage that was packed in the food saver bags, heat sealed and then packed into a 7 gallon bucket with a stick of spearmint gum to deter any creepy crawlies. The flour was packed December 2008. I baked 4 loaves of bread that turned out beautiful. Then we tried a slice. blehhhhh. It had a strange after taste I can only assume is from the old flour.
I know that I started packing flour in Mylar bags a year or two ago with oxygen absorbers. I am going to go through the food stores and find my oldest flour from these bags and see how they have held up. 3 years in food saver bags was a total bust.
Another lesson learned before it was too late. I guess if you were really hungry you could eat this although it it has probably lost what nutritional value it may have had. Since we are not in dire straights, I will purchase more flour and bag it up in Mylar bags with oxygen absorbers. I'll make some flour and salt clay out of some of this old stuff and make some Christmas ornaments for next year. The rest I can make into hoecakes and feed to the chickens and goats so it does not go to waste.
I do store wheat for grinding. It is stored in #10 cans and supposedly will last for 30 years and is in my long term storage.
I learned this leasson (unfortunetely) 20 years ago...now I an smell it a mile away! it gives a "paaged dried" kind of taste, but it still works. I am trying to cycle through my flour, but I hate the smell and taste so much that I'm thinking I'll probably compost most of it. It really doesn't bother everyone, so who knows. I have had flour that lasted 4 years packed as you did it, but as soon as it was opened it went "off" in double quick time.
ReplyDeleteSorry that happened to you, but I guess, as you say, its lessons learned.
I haven't stored any flour for just the same reason. I figured it was better to have the grinder and stored grains. However if you find out your mylar stored flour is good I may try and pack some up myself.
ReplyDeleteI hope the new method works better. It's always frustrating to lose even part of what you've worked so hard to preserve. I never heard of the trick with a piece of spearmint gum though ...interesting!
ReplyDeleteHP... I just went through the closet in the food storage room. I should have done this last year but didn't. I have about 50 pounds of the funny tasting flour packed away. I also found out that I just started packing my flour in Mylar bags last year so I can't do a 3 year test as of yet. Do you have any experience with the Mylar and flour? I am hoping the Mylar and oxygen absorbers will make it last longer.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind grinding the wheat for bread if I have to and I know it is better for you health wise but I really prefer the white bread over whole wheat.
PP... I got some really good Mylar bags from the LDS church. They are almost as good as a "tin can" I have never seen a Mylar bag as thick as these. The web site calls them "dry- pack pouches" Mylar must be a trade mark name. They also sell the Oxygen absorbers. This is where I also got my wheat. You don't have to belong to their church to order (I am not Mormon) my neighbors who are Mormon are the ones who told me about the site. Here is the site if anyone is interested. The price you see is what you pay. Shipping is included.
ReplyDeletehttp://store.lds.org/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Category3_715839595_10557_21003_-1_N_image_0
HB...Better I found out now rather than when our lives may depend on it!
ReplyDeleteI read years ago that a stick of unwrapped spearmint gum or a bay leaf or two would keep out bugs. So far so good with the gum. I just fill up a bucket with my bagged up good and toss a stick of gum in before I close it. In the room where my goods are stored, I stuck bay leaves randomly around the floor molding.
I've always heard that grains store far better than even degermed flour. You just grind it as you need it.
ReplyDeletei'm with Mr. Smythe Mama - go with the grains!
ReplyDeleteyour friend,
kymber
GS and Kymber.....nooooooo... I like my trashy white flour!....LOL I do have the hard red winter wheat that I can grind at any time. I just don't care for it that much. Wonder if the white wheat you have to grind would come closer to the taste I like? If so, I will start adding it to my stores.
ReplyDelete