How should I store flour/cornmeal bargain?

[danville]

I purchased several 5lb bags of flour, self rising and all purpose, and a few 5lb bags of cornmeal at the grocer that were marked down to $1/bag. I don't use much flour but will now be baking alot. I have enough to last 2 years. The use by dates are mainly in the late 2009 range. My mother says put it in the freezer, my mother in law suggests putting the bags in sealed food grade buckets and store in a cool dry place. Closet? Which will work best for long term storage and will it actually be ok for two years stored either of these ways? It will only be a bargain if I can successfully store it long term.

[sbemt456]

Danville I think I would opt for the freezer to prevent insect invasion and also helps keep the flour from getting rancid. We just had fresh cornmeal ground from our own corn and I stored it in the freezer because the amount will last more than a year. And if the power goes off you wont need to panic as it will do no harm.
Hope this helps some.

stella

[Shamrock1121]

I purchased several 5lb bags of flour, self rising and all purpose, and a few 5lb bags of cornmeal at the grocer that were marked down to $1/bag. I don't use much flour but will now be baking alot. I have enough to last 2 years. The use by dates are mainly in the late 2009 range. *My mother says put it in the freezer, my mother in law suggests putting the bags in sealed food grade buckets and store in a cool dry place. Closet? Which will work best for long term storage and will it actually be ok for two years stored either of these ways? It will only be a bargain if I can successfully store it long term.

Commercial flour has a shelf-life of 6-12 months, so you may want to freeze it, as already suggested, to extend that time. The colder the temperature, the longer the storage time...so 0°F will extend storage time a bit. It won't stop the foods from degrading, it just slows the degredation down.

Commercial white flour is NOT good for long-term storage. "Old" flour won't perform well in baked goods and is often the reason for failed yeast breads. When I judge foods at County Fairs I can always spot foods made with old flour :P.

Commercial corn meal has about the same storage time as commercial flour, so since it's already been warehoused and shelved for a long time, I'd absolutely keep it in the freezer as well, and use it quickly. Any remaining oils in it have long since gone rancid.

Rancid oils don't have to smell rancid to BE rancid. Wheat germ oil begins to degrade in as little as 3 hours after the wheat has been milled. By the time these oils smell rancid, they have been so for a long time.

Both of these foods will have little to offer in the way of nutrients after long storage. You have no idea how long it's been since they were milled. They have had the corn and wheat germ removed, and that's where much of the nutrients are located. Light, heat and oxygen all take a tremendous toll on grains that have been milled. Flours that have been left on the shelf for many months will have already lost most of their B Complex and C Vitamins. This is why it's important to store wheat and corn and mill your own flour and corn meal. Freshly milled is the only way to get the full amount of nutrients possible from these grains.

"Dead" foods (i.e. commercial white flour and commercial corn meal) never nourished anyone. They are nothing more than empty calories.

-Karen

[lsg]

I wrap my 5 lbs bags of flour in a plastic shopping bag and freeze it until I need it.

[silvergramma]

first get some bay leaves and put one or two in each bag then reseal.. if you are goin to store in buckets make sure the space is very cool.. in southern climates critters hatch out before you can use them and loss of product just keeps right on comin,,, if you live in maybe middle part of the usa and have a basement probably coldest corner of the basement on ground level out of sunlight away from windows also place a saltine cracker in each bucket... will help with moisture problems