I have a book on nutrition that says you should freeze flour for 2
weeks, then keep it in the refrigerater in a tightly sealed jar to
prevent it from going rancid. Is that true? I kept my corn meal and all
purpose bleached flour in the their paper bags in the kitchen cabinet
for a few months more or less and there didn't seem to be anything
wrong with them.

wrote:

>I have a book on nutrition that says you should freeze flour for 2
>weeks, then keep it in the refrigerater in a tightly sealed jar to
>prevent it from going rancid. Is that true?

Unless it's whole wheat flour, it's not going to go rancid (there's so
little oil left in AP flour). If you live in an area where there are
mealbugs, freezing and then refrigerating the flour will keep the bugs
out of your flour.

--
Jenn Ridley :

> wrote in message
ups.com...
> I have a book on nutrition that says you should freeze flour for 2
> weeks, then keep it in the refrigerater in a tightly sealed jar to
> prevent it from going rancid. Is that true? I kept my corn meal and all
> purpose bleached flour in the their paper bags in the kitchen cabinet
> for a few months more or less and there didn't seem to be anything
> wrong with them.
>

The freeze/refrigerate directions may be fine to prevent insect infestation.
For high fat flour like whole wheat, chilling would slow down oxidation.
Buying flour in quantities that you use quickly is a good idea and precludes
having to chill or freeze it. I also keep mine on the shelf at room
temperature.

My farmer friends tell me that the reason to freeze all wheat flour is
to kill the bug eggs that are an unavoidable part of the flour you
purchase. Flour that has not been frozen and which is stored for a
long time doesn't "get" bugs, but rather hatches the little bug eggs
that are already in the flour from the start. Freezing kills the eggs
so they never hatch. [Of course, you can also attract bugs from
outside the flour, depending upon storage method, and whole wheat flour
can go rancid.]

wrote:
> I have a book on nutrition that says you should freeze flour for 2
> weeks, then keep it in the refrigerater in a tightly sealed jar to
> prevent it from going rancid. Is that true? I kept my corn meal and all
> purpose bleached flour in the their paper bags in the kitchen cabinet
> for a few months more or less and there didn't seem to be anything
> wrong with them.

I read that one needs only to put flour into the freezer for one or two
days to destroy the bug eggs. It seems like 2 weeks is longer than
needed.

In article . com>,
wrote:

> I have a book on nutrition that says you should freeze flour for 2
> weeks, then keep it in the refrigerater in a tightly sealed jar to
> prevent it from going rancid. Is that true? I kept my corn meal and all
> purpose bleached flour in the their paper bags in the kitchen cabinet
> for a few months more or less and there didn't seem to be anything
> wrong with them.

I have never heard of flour going rancid. Is this maybe a humidity and
temperature rated thing? (I live at about 57 Degrees North and far, far
from large bodies of DHMO. So not much heat 6 months of the year, and
except for wet summers, a place you need humidifiers all year round. I
see a lot of things happen in places like Louisiana to food that will
never happen here, solely due to climate.)

And on the egg thing, I have been buying flour for decades and storing
at room temp. Only once did a 5# bag of flour develop insects, and I
think that was white flour. And that was years ago. I stopped buying
that brand, and the problem has not ever come back. And I will keep
flour maybe a year on a shelf at room temp.

?

H.