How long will flour keep in the freezer in Food Saver Vacuum Sealed Bags? [duplicate]
I found some flour in my freezer that I stored 5 years ago in Food Saver vacuum sealed bags. Do you think it's still safe to use?
Best Answer
I'm reasonably sure that flour stored this way is safe. Obviously, if there are any obvious issues with the flour - off colors, tastes, or textures, or evidence of poor storage that allowed the flour to thaw and refreeze, or leaked moisture into it enough for quality concerns - you would want to be safe and discard it, but it should be reasonable to expect the flour to still be safe if it was properly stored.
Flour has a shelf life of 5-10 years if well stored. On top of that, freezing usually doubles the shelf life of grains - and that doubled time is best-before time, the flour may still reasonably expected to be safe after that amount of time, just with reduced quality or nutrition. Storing foods in the freezer, if kept consistently at temperature and well wrapped against moisture, is often about loss of quality rather than safety in any case.
So if the storage was uncompromised, flour stored in the freezer should be best used before 10-20 years. As for how long after that your flour may be edible for, well, hardtack has been known to last fifty or a hundred years, and still work for rations without killing or starving the eaters - I would guess probably modern freezers intended for food preservation are at least as efficient as baking the flour into dry dehydrated cakes (which is really all that hardtack is). That may explain why flour is said to last indefinitely if properly stored in a freezer.
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Quick Answer about "How long will flour keep in the freezer in Food Saver Vacuum Sealed Bags? [duplicate]"
Flour and sugar, for example, may last up to six months in the pantry, but storing them with a vacuum sealer increases that range to about one to two years.Can you freeze vacuum sealed flour?
Shelf Life: IndefinitelyIf you have room in your freezer, freezing flour is a great way to store it.Can you store flour in vacuum sealed bags?
Flour can be frozen in large or small batches, depending on need. Because flour contains little to no moisture, it will not harden in the freezer, so you will be able to remove small quantities from a larger bag easily. Freezing will not affect the taste or texture of the flour.Can you freeze flour in freezer bags?
You can leave your flour in its original bag, but for long-term storage, it's best to move it to an air-tight container that can protect against smells (flour will absorb odors) and liquids from the freezer walls.Vacuum Sealing Flour for Long Term Food Storage
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