yet another food storage question

[lancecolonel]

i have 5 gal buckets with gamma lids. can i place 5 lb flour bags or 5 lb rice bags directly into the buckets or should there be another protective layer inside the sealed bucket? to be clear-the food will be in it's original container inside the bucket.
thanks in advance.....also, any other storage tips you can offer up will be appreciated.

 

[NewGunGuy]

I wouldn't really go for storing flour for long term storage, you are better off finding hard white/red wheat and purchasing a hand grain mill. Flour degrades after long term storage. The rice you should get some mylar bags and oxygen absorbers and seal up bag first with some o2 absorbers then put some in the bucket and seal that. That's what I do anyway.

Charles.

 

[coastie]

AS above store wheat not flour for long term storage. The way we store all our bulk long term food is in 5 gallons in mylar bags with O2 absorbers. I get roughly 30 lbs in each bucket. This is rice, corn, wheat, pasta, beans and sugar. I dont put an o2 absorber in the sugar.

 

[JayMcB]

If you are going to store flour, it needs to be put in a freezer first. That will kill off some of the cooties that live in it. Then you can store it in a gamma seal bucket with 02 absorbers. The Mormons say flour they can will last 10 years. http://providentliving.org/bc/conte...ge-center-order-form-usa-english.pdf?lang=eng

It's a good idea to get a grain mill and store grain. It can grind more than just wheat. Also look at the ratio of they types of wheat you plan to grind to make your flour. It's usually a mix of hard red and white to get you the 'softness' you want out of flour. PS. it is a workout to hand grind flour.

 

[coastie]

If you are going to store flour, it needs to be put in a freezer first. That will kill off some of the cooties that live in it. Then you can store it in a gamma seal bucket with 02 absorbers. The Mormons say flour they can will last 10 years. http://providentliving.org/bc/conte...ge-center-order-form-usa-english.pdf?lang=eng

It's a good idea to get a grain mill and store grain. It can grind more than just wheat. Also look at the ratio of they types of wheat you plan to grind to make your flour. It's usually a mix of hard red and white to get you the 'softness' you want out of flour. PS. it is a workout to hand grind flour.

Buy a good quality grinder and it is not a lot of effort. Corona or a back to basics it is a lot. Country loving or a retsel not so much.

 

[JayMcB]

^ Well there's a mistake I made....

 

[Hiltonizer]

the bucket is an o2 barrier, hense the use of mylar liners.

As others have stated, flour isn't really a long term thing... but 2 years is generally considered OK. We personally store it in 1 gallon mylar bags and rotate it and keep 2 years worth of regular usage on hand. This would probably be like 6 months if we needed to live off it as a result of baking our own breads and so forth more often. Buying a 50lb sack of flour from Sams Club etc usually saves enough money to compensate for the mylar bags you're using up.

 

[jpdeal]

Mylar bags is the way to go for any food product you intend to store. I fill the bag, toss in O2 absorbers and then seal the bag 9/10. Then use a vacuum cleaner to suck out the remaining air and seal the bag shut.