Storing food questions - tried to read long thread, but got confused.

[4kiddosmama]

I have read through part of the long post on stocking up, but starting getting confused. :hehee I have a couple questions I hope someone will answer.....

I know to freeze my flour before storing it, but what else should I freeze? What about Rice? Corn Meal? Sugar? pastas?

I have bay leaves I planned on using to help keep the bugs away, but do I need the oxygen asorbers too? And do I need to put them throughout the flour, etc. or will they work if just on top?

And finally - I have some 5 gallon buckets with lids I got from our local resturant for free (gotta LOVE free!!:thumb) and they are food grade plastic with lids. Do I still need liners for them?

Thanks for any answers. After awhile, I kind of get on overload.

[Amanda's mom]

I have read through part of the long post on stocking up, but starting getting confused. :hehee I have a couple questions I hope someone will answer.....

I know to freeze my flour before storing it, but what else should I freeze? What about Rice? Corn Meal? Sugar? pastas?

grains, ground grains, and pastas should be frozen...they may harbor eggs of insects (probably do). Sugars do not harbor eggs and do not need to be frozen.

Sugar and salt will, however, absorb moisture from the air. This does not make them bad...you just have to shave off what you need from the resulting lump.

I have bay leaves I planned on using to help keep the bugs away, but do I need the oxygen asorbers too? And do I need to put them throughout the flour, etc. or will they work if just on top?
I'm not up to speed on the bay leaves thing so I'll leave that for experts. Oxygen absorbers are very useful for long-term storage. Once they are used, they are used and cannot be regenerated. You would use these when packing things in air-tight containers for bulk long-term storage; for example, if you buy wheat berries (like 100 pounds) and want to store them in 50 pound containers. You put the berries into the container, top it off with the right amount of absorbers, then quickly seal the container. Stored like this, it should be good for decades.

And finally - I have some 5 gallon buckets with lids I got from our local resturant for free (gotta LOVE free!!:thumb) and they are food grade plastic with lids. Do I still need liners for them?

Thanks for any answers. After awhile, I kind of get on overload.

I wasn't planning on getting liners for mine since they are food grade but I would listen to those more knowledgable. Make sure you clean the buckets, lids and gaskets well. I used soapy bleach water in mine (just soapy water for the gaskets because bleach will affect the rubber and break it down). I found that this took away the smell of what was originally stored in the buckets.

Hope this helped.
Sue

[4kiddosmama]

Thank you Sue! I appreciate it!

[Heartstorm]

I don't use liners in mine either. Just clean the buckets good and bleach then I let them air dry good for a few days, Fill, add the oxi-pacs, seal. I have never used bay leaves since I hadn't heard of this before this board and mine were already sealed.

[Amanda's mom]

Thank you Sue! I appreciate it!
You're welcome.

[BeNotAfraid]

That's what I did, too. Mylar bags are quite expensive, especially when you add in the cost of the oxygen absorbers and the food itself. I just stored my dry goods in the buckets with oxy absorbers. I got mine at Honeyville Grain. (http://www.honeyvillegrain.com) for $12 including shipping. I'm not sure how long the flour stores like this (I know it doesn't store as long as wheat berries) or how many years the possible light from not using mylar shaves off of the long-term shelf life. I don't plan on having them stored for too long, though, so I'm not that worried. Store the buckets in a cool, dry place if you can.

We haven't been able to get any more buckets. I guess in the last few months there has been a huge run of people asking for them (they must read this site :)! ) and the bakeries have decided it's too much trouble. Wal Mart used to give them away but now they're selling the used containers for $8. RRrrrrright.Some places have suddenly started 'sending the buckets back for refunds'. **Sigh.**Oh well.

[denny272]

I bought bags for my food storage buckets here for only $2.50:
http://beprepared.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_ZA%20B105_A_name_E_Metalized+Li ner+for+Buckets

Their powdered milk (providence) is very good. I bought one to taste with the pitcher. It tastes very close to fresh milk. It's not watery or grainy. Best I've tasted actually. I highly reccomend it. I bought 5 containers of it.

[BeNotAfraid]

You mean the bags? That is the cheapest I have seen them. :)