Stored Flour & Sugar Review

[Starlady]

I don't think anyone has done this yet so here goes:

I've stored my buckets in an unheated/uncooled garage for the past 11 years.  I've been a little worried about the heat (gets to 85F quite often in the summer, but it never freezes) since it does reduce the food value of whatever you've stored.   So instead of going 20 years, I decided that when I need flour last week I'd crack open one of my buckets and see if I had any clue what I was doing with those O2 absorbers, LOL.   I had put about 30 lbs of regular old Great Value (WM 's house brand) white flour in a mylar bag with the absorbers and after I sealed it, there was room for a 10 bag of sugar so I tripled wrapped  the original bag in plastic and threw it on top.   That was July 2012 and it was only the 2nd bucket with the absorbers, so I was a little nervous about not using enough, etc.    I later learned that ground flour is usually only good for a couple of years so I switched to berries, although during the Covid lockdowns I did add some more ground for ease.  It was a 5 gallon Home Depot bucket.  Since all the food was going to be otherwise wrapped, I didn't worry about food safe plastic, I just needed to get it done.

Opened the bucket, the mylar bag was still well sealed and scrunched down, the sugar was quite lumpy but not a brick, so it didn't get too humid in there.  No bugs.   Used the flour in my new-ish bread maker and it was EXCELLENT!   Of course, I smelled it and tasted it to be sure there was nothing weird going on but it worked perfectly normal.  I've since also used it breading meats, for cookies and more bread.   So, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the 'few years' rule probably applied to regular shelf storage.   I'm really glad I did this, now I can stop worrying about my buckets being too hot and all that stored flour being no good!

Going to try the beans in a few weeks, I've read a lot of things saying they take forever to get soft once they've been stored but we'll see how it goes.

[RWS]

I did 24 lbs of sugar today.  I find that 2 ea 10lb bags and a 4 lb bag will fit in a Home depot bucket.  So the wife decides that we have sugar so why buy it.  She uses it and I keep storing it.  A never ending circle.  That's why I inventory and replace it frequently.

[Starlady]

I almost never put just one thing in a bucket, this way I don't have 50lbs of something to use up before it goes bad once I open the bucket.   I try to put a lot of baking things together, stuff I use all the time:  choc chips or cocoa powder,  salt, flour, sugar, baking soda, corn meal,  etc.,   3-4 kinds of different beans with the rice, you get the picture.

[ProGeek]

Some things never go bad. Sugar, salt, vinegar, etc. Store bought bleached white flour has almost no nutritional value, only carbs and fiber. Flour looses most of it's nutrition in a few days after grinding. I don't know how long white flour lasts vacuum packed. The LDS #10 can of packed flour says 5 years.

[Abigayle]

I may have made this comment in the past, is so, forgive my ramblings.  Sugar, was the last food product to have the rationing removed after W.W.II.  It was actually lifted in 1948.  It took me years you understand my grandmother's use of sugar, which I loved, but came to realize was "somewhat excessive".  Rice, milk and sugar was a regular staple in our extended family home. There was homemade pies on a regular basis along with recipes that I now recognize to have been early Prepper food.  Nothing was wasted and you cleaned your plate.  I used to sneak my dinner dish under the table to my grandfather, who deftly scraped the remaining food on to his plate before sweeping it back to me. Grandma was always trying to put some meat on my bones.  Grandpa, on the other hand was well padded.
Items that last forever....If bleach is included, the powdered, without added fragrance will keep.  Cheap Dollar Store brand liquid will break down and be less effective.  There have been studies done on this.  If you rotate, no problems, not the best for long term.

[John Galt 1]

Cheapest calories for Long term storage bagged or buckets of sugar is king assuming you don't want to keep a few honeybee hives which is a lot of work.

Flower is a bit more expensive which means 5 gallon buckets to store wheat kernels my neighbor harvests every other year and gives me what I want..       But grains like wheat also requires a grinder.        We've found that a hand crank grinder works well if you're seriously into an arm and shoulder workout.
We've moved on to an electric grinder.