March 15, 2018 - 10:39pm
Flour in large but airtight container?
I have been storing flour in a large container (so there is a lot of air around it) but it is airtight. However, my flour keeps smelling rancid after only a short while. Is the size of the container and all the trapped air enough to let it go bad? Or is there likely another issue I'm not realizing?
Thank you!
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How warm is the place where you are storing the flour?
I think its normal room temperature?
Oxygen and warm air cause the oils in whole grain flour to go rancid. Long term storage needs to be cool (frozen is best) and excludes oxygen, if possible. For very long term storage,people store larger quantities of flour in sealed mylar bags inside 5 gallon buckets with a screw on lid. Before sealing the bucket lid, they throw in an oxygen-eating packet that reduces the oxygen content inside the bucket. These types of items can be found at "prepper" sites-people preparing to survive extreme disasters. However, just putting the flour into a ziplock bag and storing in the refrigerator or freezer works wonders. A small dorm refrigerator can hold a good quantity, if that is an option.
How much flour and what type are you having issues with? Can you keep whole grain rather than flour and grind it into flour as needed? Whole grain stores much better but can still go rancid if not kept reasonably cool. Can you buy fresher flour in smaller quantities?
My container is about two gallons, and I usually store one bag of white flour in there, so it is less than half full most of the time. I'm currently in a dorm, so I can't really afford to grind my own flour. I think that the temperature is around 72-75ish. I'll try storing smaller quantities and in a frigmdge if I can.
I store mine in zip-lock and in the freezer, Only grind enough for a week, store the berries in vacuum pack 1kg blocks.
Grinding your own taste better then the store bought stuff in general, you dont know how old the store stuff is.