# Whole wheat flour and rancidity
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whole-wheat-flour-and-rancidity/346604
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [March 1, 2006, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whole-wheat-flour-and-rancidity/346604 "2006-03-01T13:08:45Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2006, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whole-wheat-flour-and-rancidity/346604/1 "2006-03-01T13:08:45Z")
I know that whole wheat flour includes the oily bits of the grain, and thus tends to go rancid if you let it sit long enough. Back in the day when I used to bake bread a lot, I went through whole wheat flour fast enough that this was never a problem.
Nowadays, I don’t bake bread as much, and as such, I tend to buy whole wheat flour in small amounts when I bake. At some point, though, I must have bought a 5 pound bag of it, because I just found it in the back of one of my cupboards. I pulled it out, thinking it must be bad, because I don’t even remember buying it - it could be as much as a year old.
I opened the bag. Doesn’t smell rancid. I tasted a bit of it. It tasted fine.
Come to think of it, I never remember flour tasting or smelling rancid.
So what’s the deal here? Is it somehow rancid and I can’t tell? If I bake with it, will I end up with icky tasting bread? Or is this another old cooking adage that is no longer valid?
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### Author:  [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2006, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whole-wheat-flour-and-rancidity/346604/2 "2006-03-01T13:14:04Z")
> [@Athena](#):
>
> So what’s the deal here? Is it somehow rancid and I can’t tell? If I bake with it, will I end up with icky tasting bread? Or is this another old cooking adage that is no longer valid?
I know the first time I baked bread, back when I was 14 or something, it came out totally foul and inedible. In hindsight, I think there were two problems. First, the yeast was many years old, and dead. Second, the flour was many years old, and rancid. (At 14 I had no idea what flour should smell like, so the nasty rancid odor didn’t tip me off).
You say your bag of flour is as much as a year old. That may not be long enough for it to go rancid under the conditions of a cool, dark, dry cupboard. Leave it there another three years and see how it is.
Daniel
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### Author:  [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2006, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whole-wheat-flour-and-rancidity/346604/3 "2006-03-01T13:49:12Z")
I don’t keep flour for more than 3 months.
One word for you: weevils.
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### Author:  [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2006, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whole-wheat-flour-and-rancidity/346604/4 "2006-03-01T13:52:48Z")
Flour is cheap enough - spend $2.50 and treat yourself to a fresh bag.
StG
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### Author:  [@The\_Big\_Cheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Big_Cheese)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2006, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whole-wheat-flour-and-rancidity/346604/5 "2006-03-01T13:53:11Z")
I keep mine in a container in the fridge. Mine has never gone bad, and I keep mine way longer than 3 months.
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### Author:  [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2006, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whole-wheat-flour-and-rancidity/346604/6 "2006-03-01T14:09:37Z")
I’ve never seen weevils 'round here. Maybe the wrong climate?
If I were going to the store, I’d buy a new bag. But I can’t get to the store this morning. So I’m gonna wing it, and I’ll let you know how it goes.