# Flour shelf life

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flour-shelf-life/144568
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [December 23, 2002, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flour-shelf-life/144568 "2002-12-23T18:47:44Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![Lure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@Lure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lure)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2002, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flour-shelf-life/144568/1 "2002-12-23T18:47:44Z")

</div>

What is the shelf lfe of all purpose (labelled) flour?Does/can it get rancid?

Are there any tell tale signs/smells?Absent these what would be the consequences of using an opened,possible year old bag, for cooking/baking.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2002, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flour-shelf-life/144568/2 "2002-12-23T19:02:34Z")

</div>

Eventually bugs can get in. But if there are no weevils (tiny creepy crawly brown bugs) within the flour is good to use. (actually even if there are weevils, you can sift them out and it’s still good. But it grosses some people out!) I have at times taken more than a year to use up a bag of flour.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2002, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flour-shelf-life/144568/3 "2002-12-23T19:06:39Z")

</div>

Yep, I got weevils in flower once. Threw it away. I found that putting it in the fridge keeps the bugs away.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2002, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flour-shelf-life/144568/4 "2002-12-23T19:12:23Z")

</div>

If you use it to bake bread, old flour may not rise as well as fresh flour.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![Siemsi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b19c9b/32.png) [@Siemsi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siemsi)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2002, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flour-shelf-life/144568/5 "2002-12-23T19:30:33Z")

</div>

Flour can be stored in the freezer. No problem. It works out fine for me.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2002, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flour-shelf-life/144568/6 "2002-12-23T19:32:24Z")

</div>

Your standard white, bleached flour has had 70 percent of the nutrients removed from it (_Laurel’s Kitchen_). Therefore it doesn’t have much in it to go rancid. If you put it in the fridge, as **Jake** suggests, it should last indefinitely. Also that keeps the weevil eggs from hatching out (I know, TMI) 😉