4Real Forums: Grain/dry bulk foods storage

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Topic: Grain/dry bulk foods storage

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Donna Marie
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Joined: Feb 07 2005
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Posted: May 31 2006 at 2:39pm \| IP Logged

I just got a shipment of bulk organic grains and beans that have to be stored. What is the best type of container I can get to help organize my pantry? I have shelving, but want to know what kind of containers to store this stuff in.

I am reorganizing my kitchen space (all kitchen no table) Seeing that I have to feed a small army everyday, I really want my kitchen to operate efficiently. I am thinking it needs to be a well-run hotel type or restaurant set up...I grind my own grain and bake my own bread and make many things from scratch...I want my kitchen set up to help me succeed...too bad I don't have that nifty drain in the floor...lol

Any thoughts, ideas or links??

Thank you so much!!
Have a great day!

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Donna Marie from NJ
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stefoodie
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Posted: May 31 2006 at 4:01pm \| IP Logged

the baking lists i belonged to (before we discovered allergies) recommended these buckets with gamma seal lids:

http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/gamma_seal_lids_gamma_lid_p roducts.asp

i didn't take the time to get these, figuring i'd use up everything before i got attacked by bugs. big mistake. we got bugs that very year and had to throw about 40% of our stash. they say if you can't or won't get these your best bet is to store everything in the freezer.

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stef

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Donna Marie
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Posted: May 31 2006 at 4:08pm \| IP Logged

I heard that you need to use it up within three months. I was thinking of turning alot of this into dough and freeze that for individual use as I needed it...like freezing some of it in rounds for impromptu pizza and breadsticks etc......someone also told me to store the grain in glass jars our extra fridge...

Does freezing it do anything to the quality?

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Donna Marie from NJ
hs momma to 9dc!!
Finding Elegant Simplicity

stefoodie
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Posted: May 31 2006 at 5:16pm \| IP Logged

i've heard various things like you can only freeze it for a month, that some yeast cells die so rise can be inconsistent, that you should only freeze dough "designed" for freezing, etc. personally i've had no problem with frozen dough at all -- taste or amount of rise.

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stef

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Servant2theKing
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Posted: June 01 2006 at 6:01am \| IP Logged

Donna,
We've had good luck with food-grade 5 gallon buckets that we got free from our local grocery store's bakery/deli dept. (The ones we have originally stored frosting, so there's no lingering smell like there might be if they had held pickles or such.) We have wheat, corn and dried beans that we got in anticipation of Y2K...when we recently checked the buckets everything was fine; no bugs, no moisture, no problems. Everything was as fresh as the day we stored it. Information we have says that wheat and dried beans store well for many years. I think three months may apply to freshly ground flour. As long as you keep the grains and beans whole, until you need them, you should be alright.

We've also had good luck using empty popcorn tins for flour (you know, the kind everyone gets as a gift at Christmas). We've also used empty coolers for storing 25 lb. bags of flour. We freeze flour for at least 24 hours when first bringing it home, to kill any bugs or eggs that might possibly be in the packaging. We have never had any infestations and we store quite a bit of flour, grains, beans and pastas. For beans, rice or other grains, you can also use 1 or 2 gallon freezer Ziploc-type bags or canning jars. I prefer Heavy-duty Ziploc because the filled bags stack well and take up less space than jars. We have a pantry, where we keep bulk items; when needed I fill Ziploc bags, standing inside rectangular Gladware disposable containers in a cupboard designated for baking supplies (the bags inside the containers are easier to fill and easier to reach into than canisters).
Enjoy your new supply of foodstuffs and have fun organizing!

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