Storing Grains

I recently heard the shocking news that you will be on the list for being a potential terrorist if you have more than seven days worth of food stored. So I guess that makes us Pantry Terrorists.   God Bless America! 
That's crazy, right?  (Vote for Ron Paul!)  It's also crazy to have any LESS than seven days stored up! All through history, humans and animals have stored up the harvest.  It's common sense. You can't even buy wheat in a bag that lasts less than seven days, unless you're feeding an army.  And I'm trying to feed a small army.
I've already told you about my grain mill, which I dearly love.  I grind wheat almost every day so I buy it in bulk from a semi-truck that comes through our area from somewhere in Montana.  There's lots of different places that you can buy bulk grains.  I order from here.  It's much cheaper that way.  But it does take a while to use it up. That's why we set out to learn how to store it properly so that it stays fresh until I'm ready to use it.  Here's what we came up with.... the most economical and effective method that we could find.

 Here's what you need:

some grain...and a cornball.  ; )

5 gallon buckets.  Lowe's had the best price.

Mylar bags , oxygen absorbers,  tape, Sharpie, and scissors.

Some helpers!

So, basically, these bags fit inside the buckets and make it possible to get an airtight seal.  Also, the buckets aren't food-grade, so they need a liner.  The bags we used have a zip-lock top, but that's only for short term storage.  They need to be heat sealed for longer storage.  You can order a lot of the stuff here.

Having a strapping young teenager available is helpful, too.  : )

We place two oxygen absorbers in the bottom of each bag. Pour in the grain to the top, shaking and pressing down (sounds biblical, right?) to get it settled in nice and tight.  Air is what causes spoilage or bugs to survive, so you need to get as much out as possible.  The little oxygen absorbers are just packets of iron filings that bond with the oxygen and pull it out of the food.  You need 2000cc for a 5 gallon bucket, that's four 500cc packets.  Two in the bottom, two on top of the food.

 

 Check to make sure you have room to fold the bag over inside, and the lid will fit.  Then you need to heat seal the bag, above the zip lock.  We used a regular iron and a thin board.  It was super easy.

Now, just pound the lid on tight.  We used a rubber mallet. You can use your hands, but it gets painful if your doing lots of buckets.

Ta-dah!

Label your buckets with the contents and date. That's all there is to it!
Supposedly, this grain will stay fresh for at least ten years this way.  I don't know if that's true or not, though.  Mine was exactly the same after one year of storage and several moves.  Whole grain is so good for you and easy to store and prepare, it's worth the effort.  Oh, I almost forgot, you'll need one of these...

a lid lifter.

Before we tried all this, it seemed so complicated to us.  But it's not at all.  It's a lot easier than canning!
Time to get the pantry ready.

Feel free to leave a comment if you've got any questions or suggestions.