Flour Storage

[chuckster]

Hey Y'all,

I'm thinking of buying 50 lbs of Caputo OO flour. It will take me some time to use it all up and my questions are:

How do you store your flour to keep it fresh and prevent those little moths from getting in it?

Will 50 lbs of flour fit in a 5 gallon bucket? Just trying to get a picture of the size of that much flour.

Thanks,

Chuck

[Xabia Jim]

Re: Flour Storage

For years we've used the large tupperware cylinder containers with handles that seal really well.

..... you could also freeze batches in a container or large ziplocs.

[RTflorida]

Re: Flour Storage

Chuck, there really are only two ways to get the moths you are talking about:1) The flour came from the mill with the moths/larvae already in it
2) Coming in contact or is stored near other contaminated grain/flour products

# 1 cannot be avoided...any grain product could potentially have the moths/larvae when you buy it.
# 2 can be minimized by storing you products in some kind of sealed container - tupperware, 5 galon buck with lid, tin or glass cannisters...you get the idea. Simply rolling up the top of the bag won't do, the "bugs" can/will get in.

RT

[dmun]

Re: Flour Storage

Four cups of flour is approximately 500 grams, so a gallon would weigh two KG
A five gallon bucket would weigh 10 KG, so you would get two and a half of them in a 25KG bag. It's a lot of flour.

[Xabia Jim]

Re: Flour Storage

RC....I'll second that.

I bought a bunch of whole wheat pasta last year because it was hard to find. It was in it's original packages and then stored inside ziploc bags too. We had larvae on the ceiling and web's everywhere, including inside the sealed original packages and all my flour storage. the larvae were in my ziploc's, between garbage bag layers, etc.

Threw out a lot of bags and food...painful learning experience.

That's part of the reason I mentioned the freezer....if you have space it's a good place to store and the flour will last longer too.

[chuckster]

Re: Flour Storage

Anyone use one of those vacumm sealers for flour? I was wondering if it would get sucked up into the vacumm and ruin it.
Chuck

[gjbingham]

Re: Flour Storage

I'm thinking that 2 - 3 five gallon containers might hold it, at least if it's the same size bag as the 55 lb bags of barley that I use for brewing beer. CJim probably knows for sure. Certainly, air tight containers are a must for the moths.

I read somewhere that you should buy smaller quantities of flour so that you can use up it faster. I think it becomes stale or goes bad somehow over time.

Anybody know a surefire way to get rid of those pesky little moths? I brought them back from Japan with me. I keep thinking I finally got rid of them, then we get a new hatch of grey flyers flitting around the kitchen. They seem to eat anything with any type of grain in it. I've found them in my bulk spices too.

[chuckster]

Re: Flour Storage

Oh look! I just got promoted to a Pheasant!!

[pjones]

Re: Flour Storage

I bought a large bag of Caputo flour last year and it fit into two 5 gallon plastic food grade buckets. I have had the flour for about 9 months and have not had any problems. I to am worried about it going stale and the next bag I buy I will store half in the freezer.

[egalecki]

Re: Flour Storage

Anybody know a surefire way to get rid of those pesky little moths? I brought them back from Japan with me. I keep thinking I finally got rid of them, then we get a new hatch of grey flyers flitting around the kitchen. They seem to eat anything with any type of grain in it. I've found them in my bulk spices too.[/QUOTE]

Nasty creatures, those things. I had them gifted to me when I moved into a new (old) house. I suppose they're better than roaches, but geez.

There are "panty moth traps" available (check "gardens alive", and my local co-op has them too). They work pretty well to get the ones that are flying, but my experience was that EVERYTHING had to be checked and anything with that funny grainy residue (if you have them you'll know what it looks like), cobwebs, etc. had to be thrown out. And I had to really clean out the cabinets too.

If you are worried about bringing them home with you from the store, you can also put things in the freezer for a day or so. If they're in there, that will stop them. We do that with the birdseed for the parrot. Anyone want a parrot, by the way??? I'd be happy to open the cage and let it fly to wherever you are!

[CanuckJim]

Re: Flour Storage

George,

I think your calculations are correct. I go through flour pretty fast, so I don't usually take extraordinary measures to protect it. A food grade container with an airtight lid is your best bet, or into the freezer in scaled amounts. Ziplocs (freezer type) are very good for this as XJ points out. With the exceptions of whole wheat and rye, bread or AP flour shouldn't smell like anything. There are natural oils in flour that can go rancid. If it does, you'll know it soon enough.

Jim

[jengineer]

Re: Flour Storage

"There are "panty moth traps" available"

Oh I can just go places with this typo - but I will show restraint

[egalecki]

Re: Flour Storage

Oh good grief. I looked and looked at it before I posted. You'd think I would have noticed that one!

"panty moths" indeed. I'm sure Mr. Bingham doesn't have that problem.

[gjbingham]

Re: Flour Storage

Don't worry egalecki, just funnin' ya!

[RyH]

Re: Flour Storage

Hi
I also brought a large quantity of Caputo flour and have stored over half of it in the freezer.

Anybody know how long will it last in sealed containers in the fridge and also how do you know when it goes off?

Thanks

Ryh