# Shelf life of flour?



## NYBrit (Jan 29, 2007)

We have a bag of flour in the pantry that is unopened and inside a plastic bag.  We have had this flour I think for about a year (give or take).  How long is flour good for?  My wife says to just buy a new bag! LOL


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## Alix (Jan 29, 2007)

Its unopened? And in an extra layer of plastic to boot? Its fine. Use it.


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## jennyema (Jan 29, 2007)

If it's white flour, I agree -- use it.  

Whole wheat four will go rancid after a while.

Smell if first.  If it doesn't smell "off" use it.


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## Katie H (Jan 29, 2007)

I've had some flour nearly that long that was just fine.  And, since yours was also enclosed in a plastic bag, I would think it should be okay.  I say, use it, but perhaps you should put it through a fine sieve before you use it to make sure there aren't any unwanted critters in it.


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## Alix (Jan 29, 2007)

Katie E said:
			
		

> I say, use it, but perhaps you should put it through a fine sieve before you use it to make sure there aren't any unwanted critters in it.


 
  Oh urk!


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## NYBrit (Jan 29, 2007)

I say, use it, but perhaps you should put it through a fine sieve before you use it to make sure there aren't any unwanted critters in it


That's what my wife was afraid of that something might be living in there  Apparently bugs can grow from the flour?


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## Alix (Jan 29, 2007)

NYBrit said:
			
		

> I say, use it, but perhaps you should put it through a fine sieve before you use it to make sure there aren't any unwanted critters in it
> 
> 
> That's what my wife was afraid of that something might be living in there Apparently bugs can grow from the flour?


 
Nope, they only way you can have critters in there is if they got in somehow. The flour itself is only food for the critters and not the producer of said bugs.

Edit: so being that the flour was sealed up well you *should* be bug free.


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## NYBrit (Jan 29, 2007)

Ok thanks everyone we'll try the sieve idea to be safe.


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## CharlieD (Jan 29, 2007)

If it was, say 10 years in the pantry, then I'd start woriing about


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## YT2095 (Jan 29, 2007)

add a drop of gravy browning to the mix and pretend the bread is Wholemeal, most folks will ignore the crunchy bits then


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## NYBrit (Jan 29, 2007)

YT2095 said:
			
		

> add a drop of gravy browning to the mix and pretend the bread is Wholemeal, most folks will ignore the crunchy bits then


 
LOL! YUCK!!


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## subfuscpersona (Jan 29, 2007)

Since it is unopened, the bag will have a "best used by" date stamped on it - look on the top or the bottom (or possibly the back). This date indicates the time it can be stored *unopened*. Generally, unopened white flour will be fine even if you've gone 6-9 months beyond that date.

The only thing that might adversely affect the flour is if you went through an extended period of *humid* weather (a long, hot, humid summer spell???). Since the flour was inside a plastic bag, the plastic could have trapped moisture which would have been absorbed by the flour.

I agree with others that it would most likely be fine to use.


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## Aria (Jan 29, 2007)

Flour is NOT a very expensive item.   "we are what we eat".....I would not use it.    All the other ingredients you will be using?  Recipe?  etc.


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## amber (Jan 29, 2007)

NYBrit said:
			
		

> I say, use it, but perhaps you should put it through a fine sieve before you use it to make sure there aren't any unwanted critters in it
> 
> 
> That's what my wife was afraid of that something might be living in there  Apparently bugs can grow from the flour?



Yes bugs can be found in old flour, more specifically, critters that look like small worms that are dried.  I'd chuck it.  Flour is cheap, so I agree with your wife.


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## Katie H (Jan 29, 2007)

subfuscpersona said:
			
		

> The only thing that might adversely affect the flour is if you went through an extended period of *humid* weather (a long, hot, humid summer spell???). Since the flour was inside a plastic bag, the plastic could have trapped moisture which would have been absorbed by the flour.
> 
> I agree with others that it would most likely be fine to use.



I cook using an electronic scale and, since our house isn't air-conditioned, our environment can get pretty humid in the summertime, which affects the weight of many foodstuffs.  Of which, flour is one.  Even though I store my flour in sealed Tupperware, I still see slight variations in weight of my flour.  So, if absorbed moisture is a concern, perhaps scale cooking would be in order here.  I still think the flour would be just fine.

As for the cost of flour, it can range from 99 cents for a 5-pound bag to over $3, so tossing it is something to weigh.  Pardon the pun.

If the flour you have had on your shelf is of the upper price range, I would still recommend using it.  Well, heck, even if it's the less expensive one, use it.


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## Candocook (Jan 31, 2007)

Alix said:
			
		

> Nope, they only way you can have critters in there is if they got in somehow. The flour itself is only food for the critters and not the producer of said bugs.
> 
> Edit: so being that the flour was sealed up well you *should* be bug free.


 
Have to slightly disagree. There can be larva in flour and meal products that are well sealed. They hatch and grow with the right conditions--like summer heat.


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## mudbug (Jan 31, 2007)

YT2095 said:
			
		

> add a drop of gravy browning to the mix and pretend the bread is Wholemeal, most folks will ignore the crunchy bits then



note to self: never eat granary bread at YT's house


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## NYBrit (Jan 31, 2007)

LOL! I agree with that!


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## expatgirl (Feb 1, 2007)

Not to gross  out  anyone here but I was forced to take this bug course at Texas A&M back in the 70's and I'm so glad that I did--so I feel like I have a moral obligation to inform you unless things have changed.  One thing that they taught us---if the bugs  (usually flour beetles and their eggs and larvae--but  it also could be mealy moths , their eggs and larvae(they are in the flour or other starch-based foods(rice, pasta, beans, etc.)  and are living in it, having sex in it, dying in it, and pooping in it.  You decide if you want to "recycle" that stuff in your recipes or not.  Ok, on to better things!!!!!


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## AllenOK (Feb 1, 2007)

Candocook said:
			
		

> Have to slightly disagree. There can be larva in flour and meal products that are well sealed. They hatch and grow with the right conditions--like summer heat.



Weavils.  Darn those nasty little critters.  I've heard it was actually the eggs, not larvae, that were present in flour.  The eggs cannot be processed out.  Uncooked flour products will also carry weavils, like macaroni.  Lately, I've been using, or attempting to use, flour or flour-based products that were about a year old.  BIG MISTAKE.  Weavils everywhere inside the package.  There was a thread somewhere here on DC that mentioned if you store a bag of flour for a couple days in the freezer, then move it out and store in your pantry, you kill the eggs.  NOTE:  I would place the bag of flour into a ziplock baggie before you remove it from the freezer, to keep condensation from turning your flour into dough.  I have not tried this, so I'm not totally sure.


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## Constance (Feb 3, 2007)

I keep extra flour in my basement pantry, which is cool and dark, and haven't had a problem with wheat bugs. But when I lived in southern Louisiana with my first husband, it was a different story. Flour didn't keep more than a few months.
#1 and I had a very rocky relationship. He was gone most of the time, and when he was home, we were fighting. One morning, as he was leaving for work (he was a teacher/coach), he announced he needed a couple of pies for a banquet that night, and no, wives were not invited.  They never were.
I did have fresh apples, but when I checked my flour, it was buggy. I had no car or close neighbors I could borrow from, so I went ahead and made the pies with the buggy flour. 
They turned out very nicely...the crust simply appeared to have little seeds in it. The husband brought home empty pie plates, and said the pies got rave reviews. Everyone wondered what was that "nutty taste" in the crust.


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## expatgirl (Feb 3, 2007)

Constance said:
			
		

> I keep extra flour in my basement pantry, which is cool and dark, and haven't had a problem with wheat bugs. But when I lived in southern Louisiana with my first husband, it was a different story. Flour didn't keep more than a few months.
> #1 and I had a very rocky relationship. He was gone most of the time, and when he was home, we were fighting. One morning, as he was leaving for work (he was a teacher/coach), he announced he needed a couple of pies for a banquet that night, and no, wives were not invited.  They never were.
> I did have fresh apples, but when I checked my flour, it was buggy. I had no car or close neighbors I could borrow from, so I went ahead and made the pies with the buggy flour.
> They turned out very nicely...the crust simply appeared to have little seeds in it. The husband brought home empty pie plates, and said the pies got rave reviews. Everyone wondered what was that "nutty taste" in the crust.



LOL--you Cruella Deville,

That's probably the most "romantic" pie  your exhubby's coworkers had ever eaten as the wee beasties spend their entire life cycles in the flour--love, courtship, etc.,  not to mention death.  Their exoskeletons are made of chitin which is pure protein so no wonder the pie had a "nutty flavor".     It looks like you had the last laugh!!!!!!


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## sparrowgrass (Feb 4, 2007)

Weevils and larvae are easy to see in the flour--small black/brown bugs, and webby stuff around the larvae. Sometimes there will be tiny circular holes in the paper bag, where the critters have escaped to infest your macaroni, chili powder and rice.

If you don't see that when you open the bag, don't worry about sieving. If you do find evidence of insect infestation, check ALL your grain products. 

Freezing flour/spices/other grain products for 48 hours will kill insect eggs present in the flour.

For more than you really want to know about pantry pests:

G7370 Pests of Stored Products, MU Extension

The last couple paragraphs talk about prevention and elimination of pests.


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## goodgiver (Feb 4, 2007)

When a person buys anything made from a grain you should put it in your refrigerator for 2 weeks and then store it however you want and that will get rid of all little critters. When I cooked in institutions that is what the Board of Heath suggested.


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## LadyCook61 (Feb 4, 2008)

I put about 2-3 dried bay leaves in the flour, it helps keeps the bugs out.


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## CharlieD (Feb 4, 2008)

Really, that is interesting. I usually keep my flour in refrigerator, but bay leaves, if they work, is probably a better idea.


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## browneyedgirl (Feb 4, 2008)

Several years ago I bought a 20 kg. bag of whole wheat flour that already had visible weevil larvae in it, it was opened within a week of purchase and was seriously infested. I took it back and got a refund and an apology, but never bought that brand again! Flour can come from the factory with eggs in it, depends on how long it sits on the shelf at the store whether or not they hatch before someone gets a bag with a bonus of free livestock! Since then when I buy flour I put the bag in the freezer for a couple of days in the summer or simply leave it out in my car for a few days in the winter (it was -32C. here yesterday).


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## LadyCook61 (Feb 5, 2008)

CharlieD said:


> Really, that is interesting. I usually keep my flour in refrigerator, but bay leaves, if they work, is probably a better idea.


 
works for me, I had flour a year old sitting on a shelf I had forgotten about and I checked it and no weevils no bugs so I believe the bay leaves kept them away.


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## expatgirl (Feb 6, 2008)

Bay leaves go into all of my grain products------flour, spaghetti, rice, cornflour, etc., but if the eggs are already there and hatching it's too late---bay leaves just repel the adults looking for places to breed and lay eggs in the first place


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## bevkile (Feb 6, 2008)

LadyCook61 said:


> I put about 2-3 dried bay leaves in the flour, it helps keeps the bugs out.


 
I too, have excellent luck with bay leaves, and I live in Florida. It doesn't matter how old the bay leaves are. I use them in my rice, when I buy in large quantities. It is when I don't use them that I have a problem. I trust my leaves more than I do the freezer.


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## Andy M. (Feb 6, 2008)

99 times out of a hundred, the bugs you see in flour got into the bag at the mill.  The eggs are small enough to get through the sifters.  To prevent problems, put your bag of flour into the freezer for three or more days when you bring it home from the store, then take it out and use it.  The freezing premanently destroys the critter eggs.


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## expatgirl (Feb 6, 2008)

Andy M. said:


> 99 times out of a hundred, the bugs you see in flour got into the bag at the mill.  The eggs are small enough to get through the sifters.  To prevent problems, put your bag of flour into the freezer for three or more days when you bring it home from the store, then take it out and use it.  The freezing premanently destroys the critter eggs.



Andy's right and then you can add the bay leaves to keep any future farmers out------you can also spread bay leaves around your shelves (kinda messy but does help) or you can tape them to the shelves.


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## mozart (Feb 7, 2008)

Andy M. said:


> 99 times out of a hundred, the bugs you see in flour got into the bag at the mill. The eggs are small enough to get through the sifters. To prevent problems, put your bag of flour into the freezer for three or more days when you bring it home from the store, then take it out and use it. The freezing premanently destroys the critter eggs.


 
But you are still eating "dead" critter eggs, right?


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## Michael in FtW (Feb 8, 2008)

mozart said:


> But you are still eating "dead" critter eggs, right?


 
Humm ... but it is so much more exciting when you think about it as being a source of protein that you didn't have to pay for! 

When I was a kid and we lived in GA and FL - Mom never had a problem with critters in the flour - she just dumped the bag into her Tupperware canisters, gave 'em a "burp"  - no bugs, no problems.


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## expatgirl (Feb 8, 2008)

About eating dead eggs, etc., I had an entomology prof who expounded on the fact that many people's food allergies esp. to chocolate were due to the presence of "protein based" varmints. I guess it's something that you try and not think about if you can---it's gross I know.


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