Storage of cereals at home. How to store cereals, spices and bulk products? If the bugs are still wound up

Groats are an extremely necessary food product. Groats are crushed or whole grains of mainly cereals and so-called cereal crops: oatmeal, buckwheat, semolina, barley, rice, millet, pearl barley, wheat groats. There are also several types of cereals from legumes: peas, lentils.

Why are cereal dishes so useful? The thing is that food from cereals is a rich source of energy and nutrients! Porridge and other cereal dishes are especially necessary for our body in winter - the complex carbohydrates contained in them can warm our body no worse than a fur coat!

The benefits of cereals originate in the growth of cereals and legumes. Each ripe grain, filled with solar energy, is a valuable help to the life support of the body. Whole grains are an inexhaustible source of fiber, dietary fiber (i.e. substances that cleanse the intestines) and other elements. Those people whose diet includes at least 3-5 meals a week made from whole grains have a 20% lower risk of experiencing heart disease. The more dishes that include cereals in your diet, the more tangible this relationship is.

Each cereal has its own beneficial properties, and almost each of them can be used in dietary and preventive nutrition. Many cereals contribute to the removal of cholesterol from the body, strengthen the walls of blood vessels, improve the functioning of the heart, as well as the liver and gastrointestinal tract. Different cereals have slightly different beneficial properties, this must be taken into account when choosing cereals for your diet.

How to choose cereals?

How not to get lost in such a variety? How to choose the right cereal and enjoy this valuable product?
If you buy low-quality cereals, then dishes from it will be bitter and unpleasant, so be careful when choosing cereals.

If you decide to buy packaged cereals, then first of all check the integrity of the package. Pay attention to the expiration date. The "older" the cereal, the more bitter it will be after cooking. Take a look at the appearance of the cereal: there should be no sticky lumps, otherwise this indicates the presence of food moths in it. There should be no foreign impurities in the groats.

It is very important to know the true color of any cereal. Semolina is white or cream, oatmeal is gray-yellow, regular millet is bright yellow. Fresh buckwheat is beige with a yellow tint. And if buckwheat has a brown color, it means that the groats have undergone heat treatment and there are few useful properties in it.

Rice is usually chosen according to the shape of the grain. The shape of the rice determines its taste. Long, transparent and thin grain will not stick together during cooking, the dish from it will always be crumbly. These rice grains are ideal for salads and side dishes. Round-grain rice is completely boiled, so choose it for cereals, desserts and casseroles.

The color of the rice also matters. Polished white rice cooks quickly, but it contains almost no vitamins. If you want to make a quick side dish of rice and get the most out of it, feel free to opt for clear yellow (parboiled) rice. The grains of such rice must be uniform in color. Brown rice is not a spoiled product at all, but on the contrary, brown varieties of rice are the most useful.

If you buy grits by weight, then you have the opportunity to smell the grits. The smell of mold and dampness is definitely not a sign of a quality product, especially cereals.

If you decide to check the quality of cereals from home stocks, then rinse some of the grains and taste the grains. If they are sweet and not bitter, congratulations, you have a fresh product in front of you.

Before use, the cereal must be sorted out and washed under running water, even if it is purchased in perfect packaging.

How to store cereals?

Many young housewives at first do not particularly bother about storing cereals, especially since now almost everyone buys it in special packages, and they store it in them.

True, from time to time such packs tend to tear, diverge, after which all the cereal is outside, falling asleep in the cabinet in which these packs were, or even scattered throughout the kitchen, if at that time the pack was simply on the table or in hands.

But this is not the main problem, much more serious - these are bugs that can start up in various types of cereals, and then there is nothing left to do but just throw out a whole pack, because porridge with insects is not the most pleasant sight.

Since cereals are a very useful and necessary product that should be present in the diet of any person who wants to lead a healthy lifestyle, we usually store them in considerable quantities and in various forms: buckwheat, rice, pearl barley, oatmeal, semolina, wheat groats and any other.

But, unfortunately, not everyone can boast of a large space where all this could be placed and arranged, because standard kitchens in our apartments do not allow much roaming around.

To avoid all these problems, as well as to be known as a good housewife, you need to figure out how to properly store cereals, because it turns out that even for such a case there are useful recommendations and tips.

Surely, many of us remember grandmother's mezzanines and kitchen cabinets, in which whole rows of three-liter bottles were lined up, filled with various cereals and pasta.

In fact, the idea is still the same, it’s just that progress is moving forward and the containers for storing cereals have changed and changed somewhat, they can be selected in accordance with the decor of your own kitchen, for every taste and color. But what containers are best suited for such purposes? Let's figure it out.

What are the storage containers for cereals?

• Metal jars. Of course, they look stylish and of high quality, but such containers have their own minus - they can easily rust, and this will not happen from water ingress, but simply, over time. Not only does it look ugly, but also the harmful oxidation processes will dissipate on your cereal, thereby not adding useful and taste properties to it, but rather the opposite. Another option is stainless steel jars, but such containers will most likely make your wallet much easier, which is also not always appropriate.
• Plastic - quite convenient and appropriate option, they often have an attractive appearance, and also boast an important plus - they are very light, which is why the load on the lockers is minimal. When there are 10 jars on one shelf, then, you know, this fact will play a significant role, in the truest sense of the word.
• Glass containers. Probably one of the best and optimal options. Modern glass jars for cereals have a stylish design, they may differ in price, but if you do not chase brands, you can choose a decent option at a very reasonable price. And in general, it is believed that ordinary jars with lids can also be used as containers for storing cereals, it’s not for nothing that our grandmothers and mothers did this, and in order to make them look beautiful and unusual, they are even decorated with their own hands, which we’ll talk about a few Later.
• Ceramic containers. Also a great and very stylish option, it is considered that this is the best solution for storing any bulk products.

Naturally, all these containers must have a good airtight lid that will close tightly without leaving gaps. By the way, in addition to special containers, ordinary linen bags are excellent for such purposes, which must first be soaked in saline and then ironed. You can put the cereal in a bag directly into a glass or any other container, so you will definitely forget about bugs and other annoying insects.

secrets of storing different cereals

We figured out the containers, everyone made their choice, but that's not all. It turns out that in order for the cereals to be stored for as long as possible, and at the same time everything was done without bugs, as well as the occurrence of unpleasant odors, you need to resort to some tricks.

It turns out that not all cereals are stored equally long.

For example, rice can easily be stored for years, nothing will happen to it, but buckwheat groats can be stored for no longer than 20 months. Millet is not at all a long-liver, so that the porridge turns out tasty, it can be stored for no more than 4 months, otherwise the cereal will then be bitter and give off an unpleasant odor. Oatmeal also does not lie for a long time, optimally 4-5 months, especially if it is muesli with various additives.

In order to avoid bugs in rice, and also it does not give off a musty smell, put a pod of hot pepper in a container with it. If there is no pepper, then a few cloves of garlic will do, and you do not need to peel off the top skin from them.

Another method that is suitable for all cereals is the use of gauze bags of salt, which can be placed on the bottom of the container. Some housewives put dry bay leaves or lemon zest, which is also very effective.

It is also necessary to process the locker itself, where there are jars of cereals, so that some living creatures do not start in it. To do this, simply treat it with vinegar, and then lay out the pads soaked in lavender oil. Don't worry, the smell will go away quickly.

Another sure way, the success of which does not depend on what your semolina, buckwheat, rice or oatmeal is stored in, is not to be lazy immediately after buying the cereal, heat it in the oven, and then sift through a sieve. Another way is to put a bag of cereal in the freezer for a day, then the likelihood of insects is reduced to almost zero.

Damage to cereals affected by pests

Pests of cereal stocks, eating your cereal, pollute it with excrement, skins after molting and corpses, thereby filling the product with toxic properties. In such cereals, the content of protein, vitamins, lipids decreases, uric acid appears. Once in the human body, such cereals reduce the number of red blood cells and hemoglobin in the blood, increase vascular permeability. Also, there are changes in the parenchyma of the liver, kidneys, there is a possibility of allergies and disorders of the gastrointestinal tract.

Groats are a product of long-term storage. However, if the proper conditions are not met, then it can become moldy, suffocate or absorb foreign odors, and pests sometimes start in it.

Therefore, when making stocks, you should create a cheat sheet: how to store cereals .

Suitable containers

Even our grandmothers, trying to properly store cereals at home, packaged them in three-liter jars. In glass jars placed on the shelves of kitchen cabinets, cereals were perfectly stored, avoiding proximity to moisture, substances that have specific aromas. And most importantly, they did not start bugs.

Modern housewives are still inclined to think that it is better to store in special containers, especially now their choice is quite wide:

Tip: some housewives prefer to store bulk products in a container, while others prefer to store them in a regular plastic bottle. It is necessary that any container be closed tightly, be clean, before use it is poured over with boiling water, dried. Canvas bags can be a good option to store in the kitchen to allow the grains to breathe. It is guaranteed that pests do not start up so that it is worth soaking the fabric with saline (4 tablespoons of salt: 1 liter of water), steam it with an iron. Sometimes, in order to save for sure, bags of cereals are still folded in containers and covered. So that the cereal does not suffocate, instead of a plastic or other lid, you can cover the container with a canvas (linen) cloth, fixing it on the neck with an elastic band.

Usefulness of cold

It is recommended to store cereals at a temperature not higher than 10 degrees. True, this cannot be achieved in the kitchen. There is a favorable place - a kitchen cabinet: on the bottom shelf, away from electrical appliances and stoves, it can be stored at a temperature of no more than 20 ° heat and 70% humidity. At the same time, cereals such as semolina, oatmeal, barley and millet require more coolness, because they are prone to rancidity. Special cool dark pantries are good for this. The temperature regime of about +5 degrees will ideally correspond to the conditions for cereals. The question arises, is it possible to store cereals in the refrigerator? Indeed, cereals on the shelf of the refrigerator with such a temperature regime in a hermetically sealed container can be stored if there is room for them and other options are unacceptable. For example, when you store them in the country and you are afraid that rodents, in your absence, can damage them. The refrigerator should be used if there is a desire to make frosty processing of cereals with a freezer. But in basements and cellars, where it is damp and there is no ventilation, it is not recommended to store.

Ways to prevent insect infestation

After purchasing cereals in a store, if no insects were found during the initial examination, you can certainly get rid of invisible larvae and doubts about their presence. To do this, you can choose the best way, after which the bugs will definitely not start:

• Freeze on the freezer shelf for 4 days. You can also take advantage of the low winter temperature on a balcony or loggia, terrace or porch in private houses with short-term freezing, rather than storage.
• Ignite in the oven. There are different opinions about this option. Some believe that it is convenient, does not harm cereals, others that it destroys the vitamins and proteins contained there.
• Processing of cereals can be done with microwave ovens. You need to keep it for 5 minutes so that the valuable properties of the products are not lost.
• Before being stored, the cereals should be sifted through a wide sieve, freeing them from debris and other foreign objects.

Shelf life

To prevent cereals from spoiling, one must take into account how much they are stored. Different cereals differ in terms:

1. Up to 2 years: buckwheat and peas.
2. Up to a year or more - corn grits and rice, semolina - in the refrigerator.
3. Up to 12 months - regular pasta (with additives no more than 5).
4. Up to 9 - all cereals, except for oatmeal and millet.
5. Up to 5 - millet and oat flakes, and with additives - the period is even shorter.

kitchen cabinets where cereals are planned to be stored should be wiped with a liquid in which vinegar is added. You can lay out bay leaves or napkins soaked in lavender oil nearby, which lose their smell after a short time. If bugs brought along with cereals have already been planted, then the shelves and corners are washed with hot water, with the addition of laundry soap. After that, insecticides are sprayed and, keeping the cabinets closed, they are then well ventilated.

Folk wisdom and experience have accumulated many recipes that help stored cereals not lose their beneficial qualities. So:

• hot pepper pods or garlic, unpeeled slices, placed in jars of rice, will save it from mustiness and pests;
• with cereals at the bottom of the jars, you can put salt poured into gauze bags, which eliminates extraneous aromas, excess moisture, or parsley, cloves, as well as chestnut or lemon zest;
• on top of the poured cereal, before closing the lid, put a mint chewing gum pad or dried mint leaves, whose smell repels cereal pests.
• inside the container with cereals, you can put foil rolled up into a tube, a metal stainless plate or a spoon;
• dried citrus peels prevent grits from ants;
• matchboxes, with sulfur applied to the side surfaces, are laid out on the edges of the shelves or on top of the cereal so that the smell of sulfur repels insects.

Even the best housewife, who is very scrupulous about the issue of cleanliness in the kitchen, can have insects in cereals and flour that will spoil food. In this article, we will tell you what you need to do so that you can store flour and cereals for a long period of time, and at the same time they do not deteriorate.

Groats storage rules

Cereals must be included in the human diet every day, because they are rich in fiber and other useful substances that we need in order for our internal organs to work properly and we feel good.

Buying cereals today is not a problem. In any store or supermarket there is a wide range of different cereals by weight and in special packages. Some people believe that cereals sold in packages are better and of better quality, supposedly they can be stored longer. However, it is not. In any case, you need to create special conditions for storing cereals in your kitchen. What is meant:

1. First you need to allocate a special place where you will store cereals in the kitchen. It can be:

• pantry;
• the lower cabinets of the kitchen set (note that the upper cabinets will not work, because the air temperature is higher there, and because of this, the cereals will oxidize and deteriorate faster);
• the open upper shelves of the kitchen set are suitable for storing cereals at home only if you have air conditioning installed in your kitchen.

1. If you are used to stocking up at once with a large number of cereals, then you should be aware of their shelf life. Each cereal has its own implementation term. Below we have attached a special table for the shelf life of different cereals for you:

1. Choose containers in which cereals will be stored. We will share with you a few ideas on how to store cereals in the kitchen:

• You can buy special plastic containers for storing cereals in the store. They come in different sizes, yet they are light, comfortable and very practical. They can be closed with a special lid so that not a single bug gets inside. If you put a lot of them in the cabinet, don't worry, it won't collapse because the weight of the containers is minimal.
• If you collect various metal jars from canned food or spices, then you can store cereals in such jars. We just want to warn you that rust can form on metal containers over time, which will negatively affect the quality of the cereals that will be stored in it.
• If you can afford it, get stainless steel cans, because they meet all the requirements for storing cereals.
• If you have a lot of glass jars at your personal disposal, for example, after sauces or preparations for the winter, you can adapt them for storing cereals. Just keep in mind that the jars must be clean, sterile and dry, otherwise they will get worms that will spoil your stocks.
• You can purchase special porcelain sets that are designed for storing cereals. If you do not make very large purchases at once, then one set is enough for you, which will not only help you store cereals correctly, but also embellish your kitchen interior.
• There is another economical option for storing cereals - these are plastic bottles. If you know how to do something with your own hands, you can easily adapt plastic bottles to food storage containers. You can simply pour the cereal into a bottle and close it tightly, but this is not very convenient due to the narrow neck. You can simply cut off the top of the bottle and connect the bottoms of several bottles with paper clips - one bottom will serve as a direct container in which the cereal will be placed, and the other will act as a lid.

1. Be sure to sign each container in which you store the cereal so that you know exactly what date and at what time you placed it there.
2. Stick to some of the recommendations that our grandmothers invented. In order to preserve cereals for a long time, they put special spices in them to protect products from pests. Let's give you some examples:

• You can first place the newly acquired cereal in a hot frying pan, warm the cereal well, and then place it in the freezer for a whole day.
• To save, for example, buckwheat or wheat porridge, place a bay leaf on top of it in a container. In addition to it, for this purpose, you can use an unpeeled clove of garlic, lemon zest or chestnut.
• To keep the rice as it should be, place a pod of chili pepper on it. So you protect the product from harmful insects, worms, and also prevent the appearance of a rotten smell of cereals.
• You can simply place salt wrapped in a small gauze bag at the bottom of each cereal container.

Flour storage rules

Everyone definitely has flour in their home, because this product can be used to bake bread and various sweet products, which significantly saves the family budget. But the fact is that flour, by its nature, is a favorable habitat for insects and worms. Therefore, if it is stored incorrectly, unpleasant inhabitants will definitely start up in it, which will simply spoil the product for us.

We will share with you detailed instructions on how to store flour at home so that it does not spoil:

1. Constantly monitor the humidity and temperature of the room where you store flour. It is best if the humidity is 60% and the air temperature is 15°C. If the temperature is 3 ° C higher, it's okay, the main thing is that it does not rise above the 20 ° C mark, otherwise the flour will begin to lose its beneficial properties, mold will appear in it and worms will start.
2. Make sure that the room where the flour is stored is free from strong odors, such as paint or varnish. Flour is a product that quickly absorbs all pungent odors.
3. Consider the type of flour when storing it:

• wheat flour should not be stored for more than 8 months
• soy - no more than 12 months
• rye - no more than 6 months
• corn - no more than 5 months

1. You need to store flour at home in a container made either from paper or from high-quality fabric. Just before pouring flour into a container, it must be dried very well on parchment. If you buy flour in bags, it is better to use plastic containers for storage.
2. Even if it happened that some insects got into your flour, this is not a reason to throw it away, you can simply sift the flour and transfer it to another container.
3. Follow the wise advice of our grandmothers, who resorted to some tricks so that no harmful inhabitants would start in the flour:

• soak fabric containers for flour first in saline solutions;
• place a few garlic cloves in a container with flour, just do not peel them, remember that the flour will quickly absorb the pungent smell of this vegetable;
• if you store flour in paper containers, then place a few calendula flowers on its bottom, which will drive away all pests and allow them to get used to the flour;
• stick a few nails into the flour - the reliability of this method is not very verified, but our grandmothers did this and believed that the nails repel insects and prevent them from settling in the product (just before using the flour in which the nails were, make sure that it contains there are no fragments from them, rust and other harmful substances).

Before you buy flour in the store, immediately examine its quality. If it has a bitter, sour taste, the product has an unpleasant odor, and it is cold, then you definitely should not buy it, because it has probably already been stale, and in the wrong conditions. We advise you to purchase the product by weight, and not in a package, so that you have the opportunity to check it in all respects.

Be sure to follow all of the above instructions for storing cereals and flour in order to keep your food products of high quality and correctly. Remember that the health of your household will depend on this, which every mother and loving wife should take care of first of all.

Useful video

Although most cereals are quite cheap, many people get very upset when they find bugs and midges in their kitchen cabinets. These insects multiply very quickly: if they start up in a bag with one cereal, then in a couple of weeks they “occupy” the entire closet.

If insects are found, you have to throw out the entire contents of the kitchen cabinet. With bugs and midges, you can not only fight, but also prevent their appearance. The rules for storing cereals are quite simple, and if every housewife adheres to them, then you will not have to constantly throw away fresh food.

How to deal with bugs?

Cereals are ideal products for the reproduction of insects such as bread grinders, Suriname flour eaters, barn weevils. They quickly leave traces of their vital activity, which not only spoil the taste of food, but also often lead to poisoning. What causes bugs in cereal bags? They may already be in the cereal when you buy it in the store. Manufacturers are required to process cereals before packaging, but, unfortunately, they do not always do this.

Many housewives after buying cereals warm it up or put it in the freezer for a day. So, if you buy grits by weight, such manipulations will help reduce the risk of bug reproduction.

It should be noted that bugs appear not only in cereals, but also in dried fruits brought from Central Asia. Before storage, rinse and dry prunes, raisins and dried apricots in the oven, and then store dried fruits separately from cereals.

Shelf life

• Semolina, rice, buckwheat and flour can be stored at home for no more than six months.
• Hercules, oatmeal, unground and millet are stored for only four months.
• And polished rice can be kept on a shelf in a closet for several years.
• Millet, hercules, oatmeal and buckwheat are stored only in a cool place at a temperature of 18 degrees. These cereals contain vegetable fats that oxidize in heat. If stored at high temperatures, they will become bitter over time.

Best Packaging

The best "packaging" for storing cereals are linen bags boiled in saline. The fabric allows the grains to "breathe" and the salt keeps mold and insects out of the bags.

Another good option for storage is plastic or glass containers that are hermetically sealed with lids. So that worms do not start in the cereals, put a clove of garlic in the container with the product. In winter, cereals can be stored on the balcony in large tightly closed containers.