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Food Item: Flour

Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 4:05 pm
by Readymom
FLOUR

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(Scroll down to section on flour):

From Alan's Stuff-Prudent Food Storage
http://captaindaves.com/foodfaq/the-food-storage-faq-version-4-0/chapter-2-common-storage-foods/grains/

All Purpose Flour: Of all the flours in the retail market all-purpose flour is the one most subject to major differences between brands, regions of the U.S., and/or other nations. This refined flour is typically made from a blend of hard and soft wheats with a protein content that can range from as low as 8% to as high as 12%. The regional brands of the Southern U.S. have traditionally been on the lower end of the protein scale. This is due to the fact that historically only soft wheats were grown in the South and the resulting flour was best used is in making biscuits and other types of non-yeast raised breads that did not require high gluten levels. The regional brands of the Northern U.S., and Canada are typically at the high end of the protein scale at or approaching 12%. This is because hard wheats are primarily northern grown and are well suited to making yeast raised breads which need higher gluten levels as were customarily made there. The national brands either differ by region or are in the 10-11% range in an effort to try to satisfy all markets. ---CONTINUED---

Discussion: Flour vs Whole Grains

Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2009 4:08 pm
by Readymom
From a conversation over at Pandemic Flu Information:

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** This forum is no longer available on line, so no link available

Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2009 9:14 pm

:?: (Alfie the Wombat):
Ok, a question already: in the material above, at one point, ACM, you recommend storing the whole grains, then grinding them, rather than buying already-ground grains. But I thought that whole grains, like brown rice for example, go rancid sooner? So if you grind brown rice or another whole grain, won't it also go rancid sooner?

:arrow: (Average Concerned Mom):

Whole grains go rancid more slowly than ground whole grains; but refined flours and grains (white flour, white rice) will last the longest as they have had all their oils removed.

If you want whole wheat flour, then it is better to store the whole grains and grind the flour at the time you will use it. You can only store whole grain flour for a short period of time, maybe 1 to 3 months. You can store the whole wheat kernels much longer -- up to a year or longer if you take care to keep moisture out (using O2 absorbers, etc.) I think.

One advantage of refined white flour is that it has all the oils removed from it. So it is less nutritious than whole wheat flour BUT will store much longer -- at least 6 to 12 months or much longer if you take pains to specially store it (O2 absorbers, etc.)

White rice will store much longer than brown rice, again because most of the oils have been removed. I think you can only store brown rice for about 6 months, unless you have special packaging. And if you want brown rice flour, that will probably only store a week or two!

:arrow: (Hillbilly Bill):
I am currently consuming white flour that I bought over 2 yers ago. My treatment consists of a 3 day stay in the freezer when it first comes home, then I seal the 5lb bags in a gallon ziplock. No problems at all concerning taste or nutritional quality.

:arrow: (Average Concerned Mom):
I didn't mean to make it sound as if white flour would go bad after 1 year! I was just looking up official reference for food storage and they mostly said white flour stores for 1 year "or longer with proper packaging".

I found one reference that said you could store white flour "indefinitely" which was defined as 2 to 3 years! I am sure though that people store white flour for five to ten years in those buckets.

Anyhow, there's really not much in white flour that will spoil as long as you keep it dry and in some kind of air-tight container. My point was that whoel wheat flour doesn't store well for any length of time, so if you WANT whole wheat flour, best to buy the kernels and grind them yourself.

:arrow: (MountainBiker):
On the question of how long flour lasts, my non-expert thoughts are that it partly matters on where you store it. If in a dry enough and bug-free environment, my experience is that this stuff lasts almost indefinitely. I have never frozen flour or any other dry goods and have never had any kind of bug problem, nor have I had flour or other dry goods go bad even after years of storage past the "date". Crackers kind of stuff might get stale but that's different than going bad. In my case my basement is bone dry year round without needing any kind of dehumidification and to date I have not had any bugs down there. The house stays dry all winter because the air is so dry in winter but we also keep it dry in the summer via air conditioning. We turn the system on in April and don't touch it until it gets turned off in October and never open the windows all season. When it is warm enough for the AC to run, it runs. If not, it doesn't. Come a grid failure situation where we no longer have AC, the basement will still be dry year round.

:?: (tammy):
What happens to flour that hasn't been frozen first? I have flour over a year old, no sign of any bugs and it is straight off the shelf. Can it go off? Mine is mostly white plain flour or self raising flour. I also have bread flour, white and wholemeal. Also yeast - I have some sachets of yeast for bread making. Can they be used past their best before /use by dates? Or will my bread spoil?

:arrow: (Hillbilly Bill):
The freezer treatment is only to prevent bugs in the flour. Freezing for 3 days kills any bugs in the flour, as well as any eggs they may have laid.

I also take the precaution of packaging my dry goods in individual airtight plastic bags (ziplock freezer). That way, if there is a problem with one bag, it doesn't contaminate a lot of other goods.

:arrow: (Greenmom):
My basement is NOT dry- in fact it tends to flood during heavy rains. Even so, I have not had any thing spoil, and its remarkably bug-free-save for Lady bugs!

I do HB's trick of freezing flour (and rice) then transferring to Zip- bags then I put the zip bag in metal pop-corn tins- a tin will hold about 20 lbs of flour -I think I get about four lbs of flour to Zip bag then, the tin holds five bags.

Ive stored flour (white) oats, and powdered milk this way. Rice and beans I store in glass jars. I pasta sauce jar will hold 1 pound of rice or beans.

I recently used some flour that Ive had stored since 05- it was fine.

Re: Food item: Grains & Grain Products

Posted: Wed Aug 18, 2010 2:43 pm
by Readymom
Whole Wheat Flour

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How to Grind Your Own Whole Wheat Flour
http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Grind-Your-Own-Whole-Wheat-Flour&id=4814963

There are several things to keep in mind when making the decision to grind your own flour. When making the choice to grind your own whole wheat flour, you should remember that once ground, flour loses most of its nutritional value after just 72 hours. In fact, it loses about 90% in the first three days with 45% lost in the first 24 hours alone. So why would you want to grind your own flour? The answer is simple: freshly ground whole wheat flour not only tastes good, but carries essential vitamins and minerals that if you miss out on them, you will have to supplement with vitamins. ---CONTINUED---

Re: Wheat & Flours

Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2019 6:45 pm
by Readymom
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Types of Wheat Flour
http://www.wheatfoods.org/resources/wheat-facts/types-of-wheat-flour/

An Easy-to-Reference Guide for Home Bakers

Flour. it is one of the most important ingredients in home baking, if not the most important. its origins go back to the beginnings of civilization. how can so many different types of wheat flour come from just this one grain? There are six different classes, or types, of wheat. Each class is used for specific purposes to get the best possible finished product. Hard red and hard white wheat is best for yeast breads. Soft wheat is best used in cakes, pastries and other baked goods, as well as crackers and cereal. Durum wheat is the hardest of all wheat and makes the best pasta. This information will explain the different types of flour and how they are best used. ---CONTINUED---

Re: Wheat & Flours

Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2019 6:48 pm
by Readymom
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Flour 101
http://www.wheatfoods.org/wheat-101/flour-and-baking/flour-101/

If you want to flex your baking muscles, think flour — there’s a lot more than “all – purpose” out there. Many of the flours listed below can be found in the baking aisle of your favorite grocery store. ---CONTINUED---

Re: Wheat & Flours

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2020 12:30 am
by Readymom
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A Forgotten Wild Edible: Pine Bark Flour
https://www.askaprepper.com/a-forgotten-wild-edible-pine-bark-flour/

Bark pealing was a traditional practice amongst the Sami people of northern Scandinavia and of many different indigenous tribes of North America. Some researchers argue if the bark was used as a common food in their diet or just used in a dire starvation survival situations. One can even find visual evidence of the bark peeling practice in old growth forests in Europe and North America. Many different species of pines were used in harvesting. The cambium layer in pine bark contains carbohydrates, minerals and vitamin C. ---CONTINUED---

Re: Wheat & Flours

Posted: Sat May 23, 2020 3:15 pm
by Readymom
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Facts on Flour and Wheat
https://www.sunoven.com/facts-on-flour-and-wheat/

Like all grains, wheat began as a wild grass, and may in fact have been the very first crop in history. Historians believe the wheat kernel originated in the “cradle of civilization,” the Tigris and Euphrates river valley, near present day Iraq. In their natural state growing in the fields, whole grains begin as a dry, one-kernel seeded fruit. Also known as the”caryopsis” or wheat berry, the kernel is the seed from which a new wheat plant grows. It is also the part we grind to produce flour or semolina. Each kernel contains ... ---CONTINUED---

Re: Food Item: Flour

Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2020 4:14 pm
by Readymom
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Know the difference between all-purpose and self-rising white flour
https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/know_the_difference_between_all-purpose_and_self-rising_white_flour

Self-rising and all-purpose white flour serve different baking purposes. Don’t use self-rising flour in place of all-purpose flour or results may be disappointing. ---CONTINUED---

Re: Food Item: Flour

Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2022 3:10 am
by Readymom
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How to Make Flour from Beans, Nuts, Seeds and Even Corn Flakes
https://urbansurvivalsite.com/how-to-make-flour-from-beans-nuts-seeds-and-even-corn-flakes/

An old pioneer method for making flour was to use a hand-cranked flour mill to grind wheat grains into flour. That works. But a flour mill can turn lots of things into flour, from beans or rice to acorns and amaranth seeds. ---CONTINUED---

Re: Food Item: Flour

Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2022 4:37 pm
by Readymom
Core Green Power

Can You Compost Flour? (And 10 Ways to Dispose of Old Flour)
https://coregreenpower.com/2021/08/06/can-you-compost-flour-and-10-ways-to-dispose-of-old-flour-2/

Table of Contents
--Is Flour Compostable?
--Is Flour Good for the Soil?
--Can You Add Old Flour to a Worm Bin?
--Does Flour Decompose?
--10 Clever Ways To Use Old Flour Around Your Home

Re: Food Item: Flour

Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2022 5:30 pm
by Readymom
Store bought rolled oats aren't just for cereal! You can make FLOUR! :)

Andi Anne

Easy Homemade Oat Flour
https://www.andianne.com/how-to-make-your-own-oat-flour/

(SNIP) ... Making homemade flour is more nutritious (you’re using the entire grain and not a refined version) and it will save you money so it’s definitely worth it. Today I’m sharing how to make oat flour – one of the easiest flours you can make. ---CONTINUED---

Re: Food Item: Flour

Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2022 5:57 pm
by Readymom
Public Goods

How to Make Rice Flour | Easy Recipe
https://blog.publicgoods.com/how-to-make-rice-flour/

(BIG Snip) ...Each different type of rice flour has different baking uses. White and brown rice flour can be used in recipes to substitute for wheat flour, often mixed with added starch and some kind of binder. Brown rice flour has a slightly nuttier taste than white rice flour, but the texture is similar. Sweet rice flour, on the other hand, isn’t actually sweeter in flavor, but it will produce stickier textures. ---CONTINUED---

Re: Food Item: Flour

Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2022 6:10 pm
by Readymom
Hat Tip: Image to 'Rick1', over at EHP-D:

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24 Plants You Can Turn Into Flour
https://homesteadsurvivalsite.com/plant ... nto-flour/

(SNIP) ... Thankfully there are a plethora of other plants both wild and domesticated that can be made into flour. Some of these plants are gluten-free which can be great for those with sensitivities, but keep in mind they can be quite different to bake with. Gluten is what gives dough made from wheat flour its characteristic stretchiness. ---CONTINUED---

Re: Food Item: Flour

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2022 3:27 pm
by Readymom
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Vacuum Sealing Flour for Long term Storage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0ZS_b35QiY

Video tutorial at link, above.

Re: Food Item: Flour

Posted: Tue May 03, 2022 3:18 pm
by Readymom
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How to Store Flour For The Long Term
https://www.primalsurvivor.net/how-to-store-flour/

Flour . . . . . . . Flour-storage Flour is considered a non-perishable food. However, if you don’t store flour properly, it will go bad. Here’s what you need to know about flour storage and the best options, including for long-term storage. ---CONTINUED---

Re: Food Item: Flour

Posted: Fri Mar 10, 2023 4:01 pm
by Readymom
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How to Make Zucchini Flour (also know as Amish Flour)
https://commonsensehome.com/zucchini-flour/

Zucchini flour is a great way to use up those overgrown zucchini, plus it's low carb and gluten free. We'll share how to make it and how to use it. ---CONTINUED---

Includes:
*How to Make Zucchini Flour
How to Use Zucchini Flour
How Much Flour Can You Make?
Print Friendly Recipe
*Zucchini Flour
   Ingredients
   Instructions

:arrow: CROSS POSTED HERE:

Re: Food Item: Flour

Posted: Fri Mar 10, 2023 4:05 pm
by Readymom
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For info on how to make ZUCCHINI FLOUR, go here:

Food: Specific Food Item Hint Grains & Grain Products :: Flour

Re: Food Item: Flour

Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2023 3:42 pm
by Readymom
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How to Store Flour so it Lasts Over a Decade
https://urbansurvivalsite.com/how-to-store-flour/

While flour is considered a non-perishable food, it typically has a shelf life of about 6 months in its original packaging. But when stored properly, white flour can last over 10-15 years! Here is how to store flour so that it lasts over a decade. ---CONTINUED---