Interesting that older New Zealand kitchens used to have a series of under-bench wooden bins, and one was always used used for a sack of flour at a time - emptied out on the wood with no lining (almost always rimu then).
Cooks simply pulled the handle, scooped the flour and began work.
buzzy110,
Jan 21, 11:21pm
I have two of those in my kitchen. I put plastic bags in one and paper bags in the other.
Here are some quotes from an article about sour dough and flour:
"Storage methods for breads that contain no additives are very important to maintain freshness and to avoid spoilage."
This will be immaterial to those who only use steel milled, white flour for all their baking needs but is interesting anyway:
"Heat causes the fat from the germ portion to oxidize and become rancid and much of the vitamins to be destroyed (Aubert, 1989)"
And here are the results from a study done on rats fed on different flours:
"Rats were fed diets consisting of 50% flour or bread. Group 1 consumed fresh stone-ground flour. Group 2 was fed bread made with this flour. Group 3 consumed the same flour as group 1 but after 15 days of storage. Group 4 was fed bread made with the flour fed to group 3. A fifth group consumed white flour. After four generations, only the rats fed fresh stone-ground flour and those fed the bread made with it maintained their fertility. The rats in groups 3 to 5 had become infertile. Four generations for rats is believed to be equivalent to one hundred years in humans. "
buzzy110,
Jan 21, 11:28pm
Now, if after reading the results of the study done on rats you would like to maintain your stance that flour gets stronger over time and that itwill remain 'fine' (as in no loss of goodness) over long storage periods, and can provide proof, then I'll concede that my researchers are just stupid.
timetable,
Jan 22, 3:58am
how about we just each do as we feel to do or not to do re my 'heads up'... and yes share our thoughts as we believe we need to, respecting others rights to disagree and not see it our way... along with this, we will each determine how we will live our own lives, what we will or will not eat according to our own belief's and life situations.... there now that was a mouthfull lol.... i am suprised i must say by the strong personalities displayed in this and other recipe threads... we do live in a country that has afforded us freedom of choice and so therefore we will all choose to live our lives as we do - what works for us... our family has decided not to give up wheat products but if others feel too then that's fine by us... if folk wish to stock up then so be it - if not then so be it... much blessing all for the rest of the weekend...
sue1955,
Jan 22, 5:46am
Thankyou for this comment - well put.
timetable,
Jan 22, 5:47am
lol your welcome sue.... have a great weekend!!
honeybean,
Jan 22, 6:01am
You are right - Anchor butter today in Countdown was $5.57 2 weeks ago it was $4.99 . I would rather bake -like I have been doing for the past 35 years - than buy some of that crap in the supermarkets that has 15 different ingredients!!My husband worked as a baker for awhile - and he said now he knows what is in some of the stuff he will never touch it again. My house smells lovely today- good day to bake when it is pouring with rain.
timetable,
Jan 22, 6:09am
honey i am with you!!home baking all the way... and yep nothing like baking when the weather is not so great outside... i love baking in the winter lol...
tehenga288,
Jan 22, 10:43am
Put bay leaves - fresh or dried - in your pantry or flour container and you won't get weevils
evorotorua,
Jan 22, 6:30pm
Although in itself an interesting piece of research, I struggle to undertand that four generations of rats equals 100 human years. Rats are sexually mature far earlier than humans and reproduce far greater litters far more often compared to humans. If one rat's life span was say equivalent to 25 human years and average human (for ease of calculation) is 75 years, then humans ready to reproduce at say 15yrs (20% through their life span) then it would reason that those rats should not be able to reproduce until they are 5 years old (in human terms). It's like say a dog year is 7 human years. Dogs can reproduce way before they are two years old.(human 14yrs) Note: I only mention this so people can see that it is not always appropriate to measure one animals life compared to another. The results of the actual research indicate something may be going on though. To OP, I am sorry to divert from your post but I actually get a bit annoyed when statistics and research is thrown around like this. It devalues the researchers. The comfort I get from baking and still having to pay the high prices, is that at least I can control what I choose to put into my baking and I know that the commercial bakers have the same relative price increases. Also means I can share treats with my friends and enjoy the fact that they love my cooking. Erica
olwen,
Jan 22, 6:49pm
We used to have those.Sugar was bought in a sugar bag -- 50lb I think,Flour was not a full sack -- a sack of flour is huge.The third bin was for bread.
They flour and sugar didn't last long.We would have several batches of scones or pikelets a week, and one of my jobs when I was about twelve was to do the "baking".Generally something like an edmonds one-egg sponge which could be flavoured chocolate or coffee, would be iced and cut into slices.There were several batches of biscuits, afghans, anzacs etc were favorites, and some were from the book that came with the cheap cookie press, and some small cakes -- queen cakes (plain cakes with sultanas)or chocolate cakes (iced) made in cup cake papers.
Incidentally what has happened to cup cake papers?We never put them in muffin tins,we just lined them up on the oven tray and filled them with the mixture, these days they just spred if you do that.
evorotorua,
Jan 22, 6:56pm
Thank you Olwen for mentioning the cupcake papers. i thought it was my fault! I think the paper is thinner because if you use two for each, they seem to hold shape better.
fester7,
Jan 22, 10:00pm
Yeah cupcake papers definately much thinner, annoying to have to do them in muffin tins. We had the old under bench pull out bins and I too kept plastic bags in one and paper in the other :)We have since done up our kitchen and they had to go...they waste and awful amount of space with the gap behind them. I am rereading "little house on the prairie" and they ate ( and sometimes completely lived thru the winter) on wheat.She lived into her 90's so going on that very through research I will also keep wheat in my diet :)
elliehen,
Jan 22, 10:22pm
Maybe the foil ones one will keep their shape better?
greerg,
Jan 22, 11:01pm
Tried them Ellie and they just splayed out.I expect some of the really expensive and very pretty cupcake cases around now would be better but hardly cost effective for everyday baking.
beaker59,
Jan 23, 12:03am
Yes true but the wheat was organic home grown and then stone ground it was also stored in the larder in wooden barrels a stone structure covered in a layer of canvas and several feet of snow. It was not steel ground at high speed and temp with all the goodness peeled off before grinding then stored at room temp for months before baking.
elliehen,
Jan 23, 1:21am
And we are so lucky that we still have this choice.
buzzy110,
Jan 23, 1:25am
Ha ha beaker. That sort of reasoning will cut no ice with the lovely maidens on these boards. For my part, I am perfectly happy that everyone does what they think is correct.
When it comes to butter, which is definitely something about which I am very interested, I stocked up a whole case, just before the prices started to go into the stratosphere. Sadly I opened the last pack today so now I am going to have to begin paying the exorbitant prices being asked. I am now learning how to 'save' butter by using home rendered for cooking where once i would have used butter.
Actually lard probably has other health benefits as it has the same amount of linoleic acid (unsaturated fat) as olive oil and both medium and long chain fatty acids as well.
timetable,
Jan 23, 2:54am
hey thanks everyone for your great posts!!!i notice in countdowns specials flyer down our end of the country that for this week butter is $4 pr lb so for me i will grab another 5 and frezze... good score on the box before the last lot of price hikes buzzy!!but yeah a bummer when it runs out lol... i am with a number of posters re home baking... i love being in the kitchen on a sat mainly... down time, sainity time and just lovely to be able to bless not just our family but others also... have not started our winter preserves - fruit - yet as our prices even for central buying at the gate are still up there... however within the next couple of weeks will be a bit better so will head through and stock up... its so nice being able to crack open a jar of our own preserved fruit in the winter!!blessings all for the day and take care if you are out and about in the rain... sending up our lovely sunshine and hot day - 27 - 28 deg in gore this arvo!!
izaque,
Jan 23, 4:27am
As for sugar shortages, Brazil's productions have been hindered by excess drought last year in the north and this year have had excessive flooding in the central. Not good for the biggest sugar exporters in the world, before flooding it was expected to be 30% down on production.
babytears,
Apr 27, 8:09am
Whose stocking up??? I did make a start then it slowly depleted....start again I think
uli,
Apr 27, 9:30am
Not me :)
elliehen,
Apr 27, 10:18am
Not even for winter feeding of the nectar-eating birds??
I've got a store of second-grade sugar from a beekeeper - the tui and bellbirds are hungry feeders from now on.
lythande1,
Apr 27, 7:30pm
Most of you talking about weevils mean meal Moth. It's harmless. Won't hurt you, won't wreck your pantry goods. If it bothers you, you can sift the flour. I sure couldn't be bothered cluttering my freezer with flour. The last lot of flour I had got some moth, big deal, I sieved it.
Flour, I buy mine at $19.95 for 25kgs. 79c per Kg. But then I make bread which uses a lot, so it's worth it for me. Certainly not economical buying things from the supermarket.
uli,
Apr 27, 9:18pm
Yep those moths are totally edible according to Ruud Kleinpaste - just doesn't look so nice having bits of wings sticking out of a Crepe Suzette - nothing that sieving wouldn't solve though.
If it is wholemeal flour then I would store it in the freezer as it will go rancid within a few days in summer and weeks in winter.
It also depends where you live - in the North the humidity has been very high over the last year - so flour can go mouldy and musty smelling and wouldn't be fit to eat in a few months time.
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