Even selected, expensive cereals or pasta can lose their appearance and taste due to improper storage. Especially unpleasant for housewives is the situation when various insects start in these products, which can be difficult to get rid of in the kitchen. To avoid undesirable consequences and not to throw away spoiled foods, it is important to observe the 7 main principles of storing cereals and pasta.
Post-purchase check and processing
When choosing cereals and pasta in the store, it is better to give preference to goods in transparent packaging, through which you can visually assess their quality. A good product should not contain a lot of debris, lumps, blackheads, traces of mold, and even less insects. It is also important to check the tightness of the packaging.
After purchasing cereals and pasta, it is advisable to sort it out again at home in order to exclude unpleasant surprises in the form of beetles or moths. Unfortunately, insect larvae are not always detectable. To protect yourself from their possible appearance, you can carry out preventive treatment of cereals: calcined in the oven or in a frying pan without oil. The same effect is achieved if you send the product to the freezer for a day or to the balcony during the winter season. All these measures will not affect the gustatory properties of cereals.
The correct choice of packaging
It is not recommended to store cereals and pasta in their original packaging, since after opening its tightness is broken, and the product may deteriorate due to moisture changes or the ingress of insects from the outside. It is also undesirable to use plastic bags for these purposes: they often have a greenhouse effect and mold and an unpleasant odor are formed.
How to store cereals and pasta? Plastic, glass or ceramic containers are available. It is best if these containers are transparent so that you can always quickly assess the quality of the product. In addition, it will be an additional plus if the containers provide for a minimum air supply for ventilation.
For storing cereals and pasta, ordinary glass jars or plastic milk and juice bottles are also suitable. They also need to make some small holes in their lids to prevent the greenhouse effect. However, metal containers are best avoided as they can rust and give food an undesirable aftertaste.
Processing of containers and kitchen shelves
Do not mix cereals and pasta from different packages. They can have different expiration dates and even differ from one manufacturer in taste or cooking duration.
Before pouring new packaging into the storage container, it must be washed with soda, or at least doused with boiling water and dried. In order to prevent the appearance of pests, you should regularly process kitchen shelves and drawers where pasta and cereals are stored. To do this, they are wiped from the inside using vinegar. You can also arrange matchboxes with salt in the corners, in which several holes have been made with a needle. The salt will absorb excess moisture and serve as an additional disinfectant.
Compliance with storage conditions
Of course, without observing the storage conditions, one should not count on the fact that the product will not lose its consumer properties for a long time. The ideal temperature range for cereals and pasta varies between 18-25 degrees with a relative humidity of 65-75%. These products should be protected from direct sunlight.
Choosing the right storage location
Based on the storage conditions, you need to choose the right place in the kitchen for cereals and pasta. Rooms with high humidity - cellars or basements - are not suitable for this purpose. For the same reason, you cannot store bulk products in the refrigerator.
If the house does not have a separate pantry with good ventilation, give preference to the kitchen cabinets farthest from the battery, sink, stove. Between the upper and lower shelves, it is better to give preference to the latter, since vapors and warm air always move upward. And below the products will be more reliably protected from moisture and sunlight.
Folk remedies for insects
The experience of past generations offers many folk remedies to prevent insects, unpleasant odors, and mold from appearing in cereals. To do this, in the container where bulk products are stored, it is necessary to place several pieces of bay leaf, or a bag of rock salt, clove buds, dry orange or lemon peels, unpeeled garlic clove, mint gum pads. To preserve freshness and pleasant aroma, you can add a pod of hot pepper to the rice grits.
Compliance with expiration dates
No amount of measures and tricks will help when pasta or cereals have expired. Therefore, when purchasing a large batch of bulk products, you need to take into account the speed of their use. For example, pasta with the addition of tomato paste and herbs is stored for no more than 3 months, with the use of eggs and milk - no more than 5 months. Paste made from flour and water has the longest shelf life: it is 1 year.
The shelf life of various cereals varies from 4 to 24 months. Oatmeal deteriorates most quickly, and peas (24 months), rice (18 months) and buckwheat (20 months) retain their consumer properties as long as possible.
