Flour can spoil mainly because flour contains natural oil. These natural oils in flour can turn rancid if air, heat, and light expose the flour. If the oils in the flour turn rancid, the flour will develop an unpleasant smell and taste.
To prevent the flour from spoiling, you must understand the differences between the various types of flour. For instance, refined white flour, such as all-purpose and bread flour, contain very little oil. Due to the low amount of oil in these flours, you can store them in the pantry for a longer period of time.
Why Flour Spoils and How to Store It
However, whole grain and nut flour contains a higher amount of oil, especially in the bran of whole grains or the meat of the nuts. This high oil content causes these flours to spoil very quick if stored in a warm environment. Flours such as nut flour and seed flour contains a very high amount of fat.
To prevent these flours from spoiling, you should store them in the refrigerator or the freezer. Additionally, the container in which you store the flour can drastically impact the length of time that flour remains fresh. Paper bags allow air and pests to enter the flour.
Therefore, you must store flour in airtight containers, such as glass jars or plastic bins. Additionally, using freezer safe bags and removing as much air as possible from the bags will prevent the flour from spoiling quicky. Last, vacuum sealing is another method of preserving the flour in the bag.
By removing the oxygen from the bag, the flour will not undergo oxidative processes that will result in the spoilage of the flour. By using vacuum bags, the shelf life of your specialty flours can last longer then use another method of storage. Before using flour in your recipes, you should check the quality of the flour.
You can do this by smelling the flour. Good flour will have no strong smell, but spoiled flour will have an unpleasant odor indicating that the oils in the flour have turned rancid. Additionally, you can examine the texture of the flour by rubbing it between your fingers.
The texture of good flour should feel dry and soft. However, if the flour feels greasy, it may have spoiled. Check the color of the flour.
Good white flour will be a white color but may turn yellow or gray if spoiled. Additionally, look for any pests that may be in the flour, since they can ruin the flour. The environment in which the flour is stored can impact the shelf life of the flour.
Store flour away from heat sources, such as stoves and ovens. Heat will make the flour spoil more quick. Store refined white flours in a cool, dark cupboard.
However, store whole grain and nut flour in the refrigerator or the freezer. Store flour in airtight containers and label each container with the date that you open the flour. In addition to preserving the flour in airtight containers, if you live in a humid climate, add a desiccant packet to the flour container to remove moisture from the air in the container.
If you stored your flour in the freezer, allow the flour to thaw at room temperature. Do not use a microwave to thaw the flour because condensation will form in the flour. Once the flour has thawed, sift the flour to aerate it to ensure that the flour clumps dont form.
If you used a kitchen scale to portion flour into smaller amounts prior to freezing it, you can thaw the amount of flour you need for your recipe. By properly storing your flour based off the type of flour and by preserving it in the appropriate environment and container, you will prevent the flour from spoiling and waste.