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Hello Kraft Community, we are very excited to share some great news with you. As loyal Kraft Community members we have heard your desire to do more fun things in the community and we are happy to announce in January 2010 we will be making some changes so you can connect and share food ideas in more ways than ever!
We want to let you know we will not be transferring the existing discussions to the new enhanced message boards so if there are discussions that you would like to save please make sure to either print them or copy and paste into a document that you can save to your personal files.
We will remind you again before the transition occurs but wanted to let you in on the exciting news!!
If you have any questions on how to do this please contact Customer Care at Contact Us
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Posts:
807
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Posted:
Jan 15, 2009 8:59 AM
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I use a metal half size aluminum steam pan. I stir it a couple of times in the process of heating it through - just to be sure it all gets heated enough.
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Moderator_Jane
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1,656
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Posted:
Jan 15, 2009 8:14 AM
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> According to the research I did when I had an
> infestation, bugs lay eggs in most (if not
> all) grain even before it is harvested. You
> only need to heat grain products to 150 degrees to
> kill them. (Yeah, I heat it to 200 when I can't fit
> it in my freezer... bugs just gross me out too much.)
> As for room in my freezer; I make room or don't
> 't stock up. Heat and humidity do have something to
> do with the hatching of pantry/grain bugs. I would
> just rather not have to worry about them.
Eemma when you heat your flour, how do you do it? I'm trying to picture how I would bake a 5 lbs of whole wheat flour.
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Posts:
807
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Posted:
Jan 14, 2009 10:05 PM
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According to the research I did when I had an infestation, bugs lay eggs in most (if not all) grain even before it is harvested. You only need to heat grain products to 150 degrees to kill them. (Yeah, I heat it to 200 when I can't fit it in my freezer... bugs just gross me out too much.) As for room in my freezer; I make room or don't stock up. Heat and humidity do have something to do with the hatching of pantry/grain bugs. I would just rather not have to worry about them.
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Posts:
108
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Posted:
Jan 14, 2009 9:35 PM
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> Freezer space can be an issue, but weevil eggs are
> already in your flour or cornmeal when it's
> processed. Age and the right environment allows them
> to develop.
EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay, I'm done now...and done eating cornmeal!! Any non-weevil egg sodden substitues available?
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Moderator_Jane
Posts:
1,656
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Posted:
Jan 14, 2009 10:17 AM
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> They are heavy enough to deflect pretty much any
> insect. If you have bugs that can eat through these
> containers you should consider moving.
Freezer space can be an issue, but weevil eggs are already in your flour or cornmeal when it's processed. Age and the right environment allows them to develop.
I hadn't heard that sifting was developed for dealing with critters but it makes sense.
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Posts:
38
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Posted:
Jan 13, 2009 10:17 AM
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It is a good suggestion to keep whole grain products in the freezer, the oils in the bran can become rancid if stored for long periods of time. The uber processed white flours, rices etc have had all the goodness/flavor stripped and often chemically added back; hence, enriched.
Whilst cold storage has a preservative benefit it also kills any critter eggs that may be lurking in grain products as does heating. Our ancestors clever, albeit necessary idea to sift flour was to sort out the bugs.
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Posts:
1,787
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Posted:
Jan 12, 2009 5:39 PM
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Mod Jane, use bay leaves to help keep the weevils away. Either place a whole leaf in the flour bag or crush a couple and line your cabinet with them.
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Moderator_Sky
Posts:
1,521
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Posted:
Jan 12, 2009 4:54 PM
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> If you have bugs that can eat through these containers you should consider moving.
I agree!
Who knows what else they can eat through? Clothing. Skin. lol
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Posts:
8
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Posted:
Jan 12, 2009 10:28 AM
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You can very easily buy heavy plastic flour containers. They come in sizes that fit bags of flour (like 1, 5 and 10 pound sizes). You can put rice in them too.
Who has room in their freezer for bags of flour and rice?
They are heavy enough to deflect pretty much any insect. If you have bugs that can eat through these containers you should consider moving.
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Posts:
28
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Posted:
Jan 12, 2009 8:13 AM
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I live in the North so I am guessing it is a regional thing. Yeah i guess i really never thought about it in my brown rice. This past summer I threw out my 3 bags of whole wheat flour and 1 bag of cornmeal, but they were small. Now I learned my lesson not to buy so many and to put them in the freezer.
Thank you all for your help! Laila
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Moderator_Jane
Posts:
1,656
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Posted:
Jan 12, 2009 4:42 AM
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I think it's more of a problem in warmer climates. Plus whole grains just seem to retain their freshness better if they kept cold. Brown rice or whole wheat pastas can get a rancid smell. I've only had weevils appear in corn meal or flour.
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Posts:
807
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Posted:
Jan 11, 2009 10:47 PM
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I live in both South Carolina and Vermont. It isn't the same problem in the north as it is in the south. I had some pasta get bugs in it in less than three months along with in my flour and rice - and I'm not sure where it started. I do know I threw out all my flours (including my cornmeal), pasta and rice and started over. I was just so grossed out over it. I may be overcompensating now but everything that may get bugs is either frozen or heated before I store it. [*shudder*]
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Moderator_Sky
Posts:
1,521
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Posted:
Jan 11, 2009 10:12 PM
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Is it a regional thing? I never take pains to keep my different kinds of flours and rice sealed and have never had a problem with critters in them when I go to use them.
I'm in the Midwest, for reference sake and have lived in both country and city settings here and never noticed a problem. I usually keep my flour(s) on a shelf in my cabinets because I don't have a pantry.
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Posts:
108
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Posted:
Jan 11, 2009 5:24 PM
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I keep my flour in a zip-lock and haven't had any trouble. Can they still get through??? I hate bugs, so this makes me panic!
I noticed two of you said they got in whole wheat flour and brown rice. Are they for some reason attracted to the whole wheat products?
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Posts:
807
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Posted:
Jan 9, 2009 8:03 AM
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I keep my flour, pasta and rice in the freezer, too. When I don't have freezer space I heat them in the oven to about 200 degrees. Both of these methods seem to work for me.
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