Good Wheat?

[Dr.Jride]

Tonight I cracked open a can of wheat from 1967. The wheat came from my grandpa's food storage. It looks good but how can I tell for sure? Anyone with any info on this would be appreciated.

[Cowboy]

Eat it. If you die, send your guns my way. If you live, then it was good.

[thermocouple]

I refuse to believe that the wheat container was not full of rot, mold and bugs since there were no oxygen absorbers or mylar vac-seal bags back then.

[prairiemom]

No, back then they used dry ice before sealing. When we see "30 yr shelf life" on LDS, other FS sites, how do they arrive at the number? Don't they actually test 30yo wheat? So somewhere there must be wheat from the 60's and 70's that is good, right? And we know they have found wheat stored in Egyptian tombs that is fine. No mylar bags or oxy-packs there, either.

I would ask your county extension. I had some questionable wheat and called my county ext agent that is the wheat expert (and also happens to be my SP) and he said if it smells fine, make a loaf of bread. If it rises OK and still smells good, it's OK. Nutrition content is another matter, but safety is OK.

[Charsee]

I've been told that you don't really have to worry about what you use to store wheat as long as the temperature never rises above 70 degrees. A specialist at the cannery told me that...

[NRA]

I've been told that you don't really have to worry about what you use to store wheat as long as the temperature never rises above 70 degrees. A specialist at the cannery told me that...
Well, unless they keep their storage in an air conditioned room, then everyone in Utah has bad wheat. Hum, I wonder if the church's grain towers a block away from my house are air conditioned? If not, that's a lot of grain wasted. And what about that wheat they found in Egypt that was still good. Pretty sure desert temps get higher than 70, and that's for a low. I would have to question what this specialist told you.

[BackBlast]

There is possibly somebody somewhere at BYU that would love to test your wheat and get data on it's storage conditions.

[LoudmouthMormon]

From Providentliving.org: (http://www.providentliving.org/content/display/0,11666,7636-1-4104-1,00.html)


The Web site and the family home storage pamphlet state that longer-term storage items can last 30 years or longer. Isn?t that a much longer period of time than previously thought?
Yes. Properly packaged, low-moisture foods stored at room temperature or cooler (75?F/24?C or lower) remain nutritious and edible much longer than previously thought according to recent scientific studies. The studies, which are the first of their kind, increase the estimated shelf life for many products to 30 years or more (see chart for new estimates of shelf life). Previous estimates of longevity were based on ?best-if-used-by? recommendations and experience. Though not studied, sugar, salt, baking soda (essential for soaking beans) and Vitamin C in tablet form also store well long-term. Some basic foods do need more frequent rotation, such as vegetable oil every 1 to 2 years.
While there is a decline in nutritional quality and taste over time, depending on the original quality of food and how it was processed, packaged and stored, the studies show that even after being stored long-term, the food will help sustain life in an emergency.
<TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=3 align=center bgColor=#ffffff border=2><TBODY><TR vAlign=top align=middle bgColor=#d6c7b5></TR><TR vAlign=top align=middle bgColor=#d6c7b5><TD>Food</TD><TD>New "Life Sustaining" Shelf-Life
Estimates (In Years)</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=middle><TD>Wheat</TD><TD>30+</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=middle><TD>White rice</TD><TD>30+</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=middle><TD>Corn</TD><TD>30+</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=middle><TD>Sugar</TD><TD>30+</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=middle><TD>Pinto beans</TD><TD>30 </< td> </TD><TR vAlign=top align=middle><TD>Apple slices</TD><TD>30 </< td> </TD><TR vAlign=top align=middle><TD>Macaroni</TD><TD>30 </< td> </TD><TR vAlign=top align=middle><TD>Rolled oats</TD><TD>30 </< td> </TD><TR vAlign=top align=middle><TD>Potato flakes</TD><TD>30 </< td> </TD><TR vAlign=top align=middle><TD>Powdered milk</TD><TD>20 </< td> </TD><TR vAlign=top align=middle><TD>Carrots</TD><TD>20 </< td> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

LM

[Kapriel]

If it isn't obviously rotten then you only have two concerns: will it sprout? and will it rise when you bake it?

If it doesn't do those two things, keep it for hot cereal.

If it turns out it was rotten, tho, and you die...can I have your flat screen? (looks like the guns are spoken for)

[Cowboy]

I also want his drum set and all his RUSH CD's. I'll be set for life. Or until I eat some of his wheat bread he brings over for Sunday dinner.

[mirkwood]

I also want his drum set and all his RUSH CD's. I'll be set for life. Or until I eat some of his wheat bread he brings over for Sunday dinner.


:l0 (20): I've already got them so I won't compete with you for them!

[Dr.Jride]

I also want his drum set and all his RUSH CD's. I'll be set for life. Or until I eat some of his wheat bread he brings over for Sunday dinner.

All Rush Cd's are heirlooms! You'll have to get them from my kids! (That may not be too hard in a few cases.)

[Charsee]

Some of my ancestors came across the plains and when they got to the end of the trip the money they had given the captain to of the company to keep for them was gone and so they were destitute. All they had to eat was wheat that was old and had fungus on it and they lived out of the wagon boxes in the winter. They really suffered but survived.

[Charsee]

Well, unless they keep their storage in an air conditioned room, then everyone in Utah has bad wheat. Hum, I wonder if the church's grain towers a block away from my house are air conditioned? If not, that's a lot of grain wasted. And what about that wheat they found in Egypt that was still good. Pretty sure desert temps get higher than 70, and that's for a low. I would have to question what this specialist told you.

I bet the wheat inside the pyramid was kept pretty cool from the thickness of the walls, but then I don't know for sure. I don't know whether the church uses anything in their silos or under what conditions it is stored. Do you know if they store wheat for long periods of time without rotation?...I don't know that either.

Sometimes I don't communicate very well. Sorry. But what I was trying to say is that if you are keeping your wheat in a cool dry place that never gets above 70 degrees your wheat probably will be okay regardless of how you store it. But if you are going to store it in less than perfect conditions you need to store it pretty much as the church recommends you store it. I have read research from the makers of Permaguard and they say that DE works for a year or two. Oxygen absorbers with plastic is not supposed to work well. The only ways that the people at the Welfare Square Cannery have said truly work are metal cans with oxygen absorbers, plastic sealed containers using dry ice, or the mylar liners with oxygen absorbers. But if you can keep the wheat in optimal conditions you really don't have to worry which way it is stored, it will still probably be all right. Don't quote me on that because I don't know that either. But it does seem like there are people that have stored a variety of ways who's wheat turns out alright and I wonder if that is because it was stored in optimal conditions...

[fwiw]

So...did it raise up when you made bread from it?

[waif69]

I think the emphasis from chart from Providentliving.org is the plus sign after the 30. As for me, I wouldn't worry, but I wouldn't open a can and not use the wheat for a few years either.

Oh, if you do die from the wheat, are your tools spoken for?

[Dr.Jride]

I think the emphasis from chart from Providentliving.org is the plus sign after the 30. As for me, I wouldn't worry, but I wouldn't open a can and not use the wheat for a few years either.

Oh, if you do die from the wheat, are your tools spoken for?

I'm still looking for someone to take my vinyl Snakes & Arrows should I die.:yikes:

[mirkwood]

I'll take it just for the novelty! I have everything up to Presto on vinyl.