What’s the Shelf-Life of Wheat?

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By Kellene Bishop

How long will your wheat last? What’s the best way to store it? How do I keep insects out of it?  What do I do when it smells like the can?

Today I was doing a training which involved going over the shelf life of various foods. One woman in attendance incorrectly stated to the entire class that “wheat goes bad easily because it has oil in it, and so it goes rancid if you’re not careful.”

I got to talking to my husband and asked him what other misinformation he may have heard about wheat. Turns out, there sure is a lot of MIS-information out there. So, I decided to help dispel some of the rumors so that you can more confidently store this vital food.

First of all, what IS the shelf-life of wheat?

Wheat does have an oil in it. It’s called vitamin E. It’s what gives the grain some fat content which makes it an even more complete food. (Nice how God is so thorough that way, eh?) In fact, by extracting the oil in wheat, you come up with the expensive oil called Wheat Germ oil. (Very healthy for you, by the way.)  However, oil doesn’t go rancid because of its mere existence. It goes rancid when it’s exposed to oxygen, primarily. 

Storing wheat for 30+ years is a drop in the bucket—excuse the pun. The key is to store it in its whole grain form. I do the same thing with dent corn. I store dent corn in its whole grain form so that I will have plenty of cornmeal on hand when I need it, otherwise just plain cornmeal would go rancid relatively quickly. In the cornmeal stage all of its oil is fully exposed to oxygen. Oil exposed to oxygen is what makes things go rancid. It’s nice that whole dent corn is easy to store for 30+ years. I’d never get that far with cornmeal. The same goes with groats instead of oats. Groats are the “whole” form of oats.  By the way, when you store grains in their whole grain form, you can sprout them—YUMM-MEE.

Use the whole grain Photo c/o uniflour.com

The ideal temperature for storing wheat for the longest shelf life is 75 degrees or cooler. However, yes, you can store wheat in a warmer environment so long as it’s packaged well. Ideally you’ve got it in a double-bagged packaging. Or in a bag and then in a bucket. Or better yet, in an number 10 can—although more expensive to buy that way (you can always buy it in the bags and then use a canner). Wheat stored in a Mylar bag in a bucket would be another good method, however, it’s also more expensive than the simple bag or bucket method. So long as you keep your wheat off of a heated cement floor, and out of direct sunlight, you’ll have success in storing it long term. Remember though, the cooler, the better and the easier the wheat will be to work with in your recipes too.

Continuing on with the temperature issue… Keep in mind that wheat was found in the pyramids, and Egypt is NOT known for its cool climate. 🙂 I had someone comment to me recently when I told them this: “yeah, but the deep dark corners of the pyramids are rather cool.” First of all…have you been to a pyramid? It’s flippin’ HOT in there. Sure it’s COOL-ER than outside of it. But it’s not a cool 75 degrees. (Although SOME have been found to maintain 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Why can’t I build my home to do that?!) Second of all, such a statement presumes that the wheat came fresh off of the stem before it was put in the pyramid. *heavy sigh* In other words, it’s presumed that it was never exposed to any heat prior to being placed in the pyramid tombs. As I’ve shared in a previous article, when I lived in the Philippines, they would frequently “dry” their grains by spreading them out on the road for a couple of days. And yes, it is extremely hot and humid in the Philippines, and yet whole grains are the most vital food source they have. Whole grains are just another one of these neat miracles that God has given us to feed us, if you ask me. They are temperamental foods that the majority of the world can’t store without refrigeration.

A metal can is the ideal way to store wheat simply because varmints can’t chew through it. But to be forthright with you, I have very, very little wheat stored this way. Most of mine is in the big, thick, double 50 pound bags. The wheat of my mother’s that we kids moved around for 18 years was also stored this way. I’m sure many of you have parents and grandparents with their wheat stored the same way. Remember, that if you do get little bugs in your wheat, there’s no need to throw it out. Simply put it in 180 degrees for about 20-30 minutes and Voila! You no longer have bugs. You simply have extra protein. (Don’t worry. You’ll get over it.)  

When you open a can of stored wheat it may smell a little “tin-ish.” Don’t worry about that. It’s natural for the ingredients to take on that smell. But the good news is that it’s not permanent. Simply aerate the wheat for a couple of hours outside of the can, and you’ll eliminate that smell just fine.

I don’t mess with buying the more expensive wheat. I almost exclusively store the hard red wheat. It’s more environment- hearty and tolerant to store than the hard white wheat. My bread, pie crusts, and cookies turn out just dandy with the hard red wheat. When selecting your wheat for storage, make sure that it doesn’t have a moisture content higher than 10 percent in order to successfully store it long-term.

Well, I hope this helps answer some of your grainy questions about wheat. (Sorry, I’m in a punny mood today.)

Copyright 2009 Preparedness Pro & Kellene Bishop.  All rights reserved.  You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Preparedness Pro & Kellene Bishop.

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The Truth About Expiration Dates

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By Kellene Bishop

Photo c/o barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu

What you don’t know about expiration dates may cost you a bundle. Even more importantly, it may cost you your survival. Millions of pounds of food are thrown away all throughout America every year simply because the expiration date says that the food has gone bad. Well, you need to know about the truth on expiration dates, because the prevalent thought is costing you lots of money. Expiration dates exist for one reason, and one reason only, and that’s to protect the legal backsides of the manufacturers. They rarely have anything to do with the quality or taste of the food. Just because an expiration date has come and gone does NOT mean that your food has suddenly turned poisonous, ineffective, rancid, tasteless, or lacking in nutrition. It only means that their insurance or legal liability extends to the date printed on the package.

Examples: I’ve had spices in my cabinet for 5 years and they STILL season my food sufficiently. I’ve used cake mixes over a year past their expiration date and so long as I’m using fresh eggs, oil, etc., the mixes have never let me down.

Taking a few step simple steps towards extending the life of your food storage will help you significantly.

Keep in mind that in ALL instances, storing your food items in a cool, dry place is the optimal condition.

Photo c/o indiamart.com

Did you know that sugar is a preservative? Think about it. How many fruits do you buy that come packaged in a syrup? That’s because syrup preserves items. So purchasing fruit in a syrup base will actually ensure that they last longer than a water base. If an item has sugar in it, it’s going to store a heck of a long time longer than its expiration date. Don’t throw it out willy nilly.

Items which contain oil as one of its primary ingredients will go bad shortly after the expiration date. This includes salad dressings, mayonnaise, and meats stored in oil. So pay attention to the ingredients of items which you intend to store long term.

When your stored food requires the addition of other products, such as pancake mix, cake mixes, soup mixes, etc., they will usually taste just fine so long as you add fresh ingredients such as oil, eggs, milk, produce, etc. (I mean really, just how bad can anything taste with fresh grated cheese melted on top? :))

Oats are also very hard to store long term, even under ideal circumstances. I recommend storing groats instead and then use a flaker. Groats will store almost indefinitely in a sealed container in a cool, dry environment.

Canned goods are an ideal way to store items. Number 10 cans are common for just about any food product being stored long-term. Boxed items or items in large paper containers are more challenging to extend. They get wet easily, they are porous, and they are easily infiltrated by “little critters.” While they can go as much as a year longer then their expiration dates, care must be taken to preserve their taste and overall makeup. You can seal boxed items via a Food Saver (sealer) and with an oxy packet and doing so can literally double their shelf-life.

Photo c/o naturalfamilyblog.com

The use of oxy packets in your food storage will also extend their life well past their expiration dates. But when storing food items in a 5 gallon bucket don’t use an oxy packet. Since the plastic is porous it’s essentially useless.

Don’t fall for the myth of “not placing your buckets on concrete.” That’s only applicable if the concrete gets heated. If you’re storing anything on concrete/cement that gets heated, such as with the heat of the sun, then yes, the chemicals from the concrete will leech chemicals from the buckets. However, if it’s in your cool, dry basement, you don’t have to worry about putting the storage containers on the floor.

Ultimately storing foods that you eat and rotating them is the best way to ensure they’re edible and enjoyable. But if you’re storing enough for a year, that’s not always realistic. Appetites, convenience, busy lifestyles, and restaurants come into play. I mean really, I could have a years worth of groceries, but unless the electricity is out and all hell has broken loose, I’m definitely going to make my husband take me out to dinner occasionally.

And that’s the truth about expiration dates.

Copyright 2009 Preparedness Pro & Kellene Bishop.  All rights reserved.  You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Preparedness Pro & Kellene Bishop.

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