Can I store flour in a mylar bag inside a bucket?

[wheezie]

Maybe that's a dumb question but I asked an ebay seller a question about the size of their mylar bags (to use for flour) and he replied back that you should never store flour (white) in a mylar bag.



I thought you *could* use a mylar bag (w/ O2 absorber). Am I wrong?? This is my first time using the mylar bags and I don't want to mess it up. (And I know that wheat berries are better, but I'm starting w/ what I know for right now).

[13FoxTrot10]

You need to store wheat berries, not flour, it's not about how it's stored, it's about how long it will store.

[Wombat]

You can buy all purpose in Superpails and #10's. I'm sure ya can do it yourself, just dont count on it after 5 years.

[goose3]

Yes, you can--though it's not optimal.

Flour doesn't have a particularly long shelf life. If you're looking for a long shelf life, store wheat berries and grind whole wheat flour as you need it.

You can, if you store wheat berries in Mylar w/ O2 absorbers, and you store it in a cool place, expect to get 30 years or more out of them.

Flour? Not so much. If you are planning on storing flour, plan also to use it and rotate it.

Or, if you're expecting the S to HTF any time soon, then you might well get the necessary shelf life from flour.

[survivalistmomma]

Think about it... white flour is kept in a paper bag under normal conditions. It is not THAT fragile or it wouldn't be stocked that way. Pasta is flour that has been mixed with water, and sometimes salt, then compressed. It is then shaped and dried back out.

Dry white flour dry, will store fine for at least 10 years if NOT stored in the heat. The trick is to "pat it down tight" and get as much air out of it as you can. Use 2000cc o2abs too.

Whole wheat berries last thousands of years because the hull protects the inside, especially the wheat germ, from air, moisture, and light. You are simply doing the same thing, but without having to protect the germ which has been removed.

You do want to be sure to start with fresh flour.

White flour is pretty much a "non food." All of the wheat's natural goodness has been stripped from it. I don't even consider it a "survival food." It is more of a comfort food.

Be sure to at least get the "enriched flour," that is "all purpose." I suggest you only store enough for deserts and gravies, maybe some to make pancakes and biscuits fluffier when mixed with fresh ground whole wheat. Your fresh ground whole wheat will have the vitamins and minerals, as well as the healthy fat of the wheat germ. It also has more fiber.

[wheezie]

Thanks all! I'm reading up on wheat berries now. It's never been anything I would even consider, until now, so I have a lot to learn.

Anyone have a good, cheap place to buy wheat berries online?

[MIL-DOT]

Originally Posted by wheezie

Anyone have a good, cheap place to buy wheat berries online?

I, and many others here, can vouch for Honeyville Farms. The LDS (Latter Day Saints) is also a reputable,economical,and popular source, though last I checked, they only sell red wheat

[OldSchool]

I have flour stored in mylar with 02's and desiccants. It keeps fine as long as it stays sealed. It will not keep 20 years like the freeze dried but will work for a year or so.

[goose3]

Originally Posted by wheezie

Thanks all! I'm reading up on wheat berries now. It's never been anything I would even consider, until now, so I have a lot to learn.

Anyone have a good, cheap place to buy wheat berries online?

Try the LDS Catalog website:

http://tinyurl.com/3xs5994

You can buy 33# of wheat berries for $28 delivered; it's already packed for long-term storage in #10 cans, w/ O2 absorbers.

As a point of reference, 33# is about what I can get in a 5-gallon bucket w/ mylar bag and O2 absorber.

That's how I do my wheat berries. It costs probably $2 or so for the mylar bag, maybe 80 cents or so for the O2 absorber (depending how many you buy at once), and if you have to buy bucket and lid, another $5 or $6. So to get the wheat, delivered and packed, for what is essentially $42 per 50# bag isn't bad, if you ask me.

Now, that said, i don't buy it that way, because they deliver it in boxes that say "WHEAT" on the side in big letters. I don't want to violate OPSEC by having my delivery man (UPS, Fedex, I don't know who) know what I'm getting when 10 or 20 of those boxes show up at my house.

If I could get it delivered elsewhere....I dunno.

Last time I bought wheat I paid about $24 per 50# bag. I'm getting my mylar bags for $2 each, O2 absorbers for 80 cents or less (a new batch from Sorbent is en-route, 1500cc in 50-pack for $14.90, yeah, you read that correctly). Buckets if new are maybe $6.50 w/ lid.

So $6.50 plus a 1500cc O2 absorber (50 cents w/ shipping), plus $2 mylar bag, plus $16.00 for 33# of wheat--it's $25 for me to do that. Or less if I can find the buckets for free.

So you can get it already packed from the LDS website for $28, which is comparable to my costs, since there is no labor involved.

[MikeK]

I think the worry about storing flour in mylar comes from the fineness of the flour and fear that it might foul the seal. Even sealed, it just doesn't store well long term though. Whole wheat store better and has a LOT more nutrition. Unfortunately, to make flour requires a grinder. But a grinder doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg, and it gives you great versatility. With it you can turn simple popcorn into the best cornmeal (and grits!) you've ever tasted. You can grind beans to make them cook faster, or to augment the nutrition of other foods, included breads and even cakes!

This is why wheat has long been the main staple of most long term food storage programs. The Mormons are probably the most reknowned experts on food storage and their basics have always been wheat, powdered milk, honey and such.

[BlueRider]

I vacume seal 5lb bags of flour and then freeze them. I have about a years supply but that is for two people that don't use much flour. the 5lb bags are not the most economical way to buy flour but it is how we use it and It is easy to fit into odd spaces in the freezer.

[justin1976]

Originally Posted by goose3

Now, that said, i don't buy it that way, because they deliver it in boxes that say "WHEAT" on the side in big letters. I don't want to violate OPSEC by having my delivery man (UPS, Fedex, I don't know who) know what I'm getting when 10 or 20 of those boxes show up at my house.

If I could get it delivered elsewhere....I dunno.

This is my concern as well. Does anyone know where to buy wheat online where they don't ship it in boxes/containers that say wheat on the sides?

[TheTexasHammer]

I have not yet started storing up carbs, so I don't want to seem critical, but my deal is that I don't want to live live crap after TSHTF. In that regard, I've eaten whole wheat pasta, and I frankly hate it. I've eaten whole wheat bread, and the whole wheat flavor is overpowering, whereas you can flavor bread flour a thousand different ways cheese, jalapenos, egg, fruits, make it into pizza crust, matzo, etc.

When I get around to it I will store up a mixture of things, but basic bread flour will be high in the list.

[MikeK]

Originally Posted by TheTexasHammer

I have not yet started storing up carbs, so I don't want to seem critical, but my deal is that I don't want to live live crap after TSHTF. In that regard, I've eaten whole wheat pasta, and I frankly hate it. I've eaten whole wheat bread, and the whole wheat flavor is overpowering, whereas you can flavor bread flour a thousand different ways cheese, jalapenos, egg, fruits, make it into pizza crust, matzo, etc.

When I get around to it I will store up a mixture of things, but basic bread flour will be high in the list.

Generally the white wheats are milder tasting than the reds. They don't have as much of that typical whole wheat bitterness. White Baker's Special is a high gluten white wheat that makes outstanding bread.

Another trick is to mill the wheat not quite flour-fine, then sift it with a fine sieve. This remove a lot of the bran, where the strong flavor is. Then you can grind it finer. You can use the bran in muffins and things where the sweetness and spices hide the flavor, and it's texture enhances them. That's a good way to be able to have milder breads and pastas, while still getting all the nutritional benefits and fiber of whole wheat.

But I guess a lot of it depends on how our tastebuds interpret it. To me, the flavor of anything with whole wheat just tastes more "wholesome" and earthy and I like it better.

[goose3]

I used to be a little down on flour as a prep but I've changed my mind on that.

White flour--not whole wheat flour which will not store near as long--can have a very long shelf life if stored properly. Mylar bags and O2 absorbers.

Here are two links about long-term storage of flour:

http://www.tribwatch.com/artStorageLife.htm#flour

http://survivalacres.com/information/shelflife.html

There are a lot of reasons, IMO, why it can make sense to store flour:

1. I've been buying it cheap; Aldi has had it for $1.19/5# bag, though I haven't been there for a couple weeks and it may have gone up. It's cheaper than the whole wheat berries I get from Wal-Mart at twice the price for equivalent weight.

2. Many recipes call for some general purpose white flour in addition to whole wheat flour.

3. Whole wheat flour ground from wheat berries may not be palatable for some appetites; some find it a little bitter-tasting (hard red wheat berries specifically). Having white flour will let me transition people into a completely whole wheat flour diet.

4. For many people, unless they've been eating whole wheat products prior, a switch to whole wheat flour can have interesting intestinal effects. White flour again can help transition.

Make no mistake, I have far more wheat berries stored than flour, but I think there's a place for it, a good place for it.

FWIW: I store my flour in those 5# bags in buckets; I can JUST get five of those bags in a bucket, inside a large mylar bag. I toss in two 1500cc O2 absorbers, squeeze out as much air as I can as I seal it, and I'm good to go.

[stephpd]

Shelf life of flour will never be as long as whole wheat berries. But you can extend the shelf life by proper packing. Metal cans are the best way to store most anything. Mylar helps too though they haven't been around long enough and no actual studies on them as a storage device.

It's the seals that are the weak point on Mylar bags. Best guess is they are good for 10 years. Eventually the seals will leak and allow air in, thus making the food subjected to oxidation again.

Nutritionally flour is a poor choice but carbs are carbs and it's a cheap filler.

I store it in Mylar and see no problem with it. I do store more whole wheat then flour though.

When I first came onto this site (1 year ago) folks were saying 1-2 years max for flour but the tests at BYU had been out for years (2004) saying 10 years or more. So at least the word is spreading lately.

These are my two 'go to' links for food storage;
http://ndfs.byu.edu/Research/LongTer...odStorage.aspx
http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm4/re...d+Food+Science

[goose3]

Duplicate post

[Zombie Hunt Club]

Yes you can and yes I do.

[wyndwalkr]

Please, if you are just starting out, go and buy a 5 lb bag of 100% WHOLE WHEAT flour (from a place you assume it to be fresh) and use it to make yourself 100% whole wheat bread and other baked goods that you like. Be sure you like the stuff before you buy lots of wheat berries and an expensive grinder. 100% whole wheat does not taste just like white flour that's just got some bran in it. If you have bought bread at the store that just says "wheat bread" and you liked it, be aware that it was made with mostly white flour, a little whole wheat flour and some brown coloring. 100% whole wheat tastes much stronger, sometimes even what I would call bitter overtones.

For survival, you will eat most anything. But you know, what if there isn't a major SHTF and you aren't all that fond of 100% whole wheat bread? You will have wasted the money AND the wheat.

Make sure you like it first!

You might want to consider more oats and barley for better, milder flavor as an alternative, too.

[FarmerJohn]

I would recomend storing the wheat and grind it when you need it it lasts much longer than flour