# Why is flour still usually packaged in paper bags? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 19, 2013, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-flour-still-usually-packaged-in-paper-bags/653368 "2013-03-19T17:08:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-flour-still-usually-packaged-in-paper-bags/653368/21 "2013-03-19T21:46:01Z")
Towels, wash cloths, curtains, just about anything was likely to be made from old flour sacks in them thar days. The sacks must have been a pretty heavy weave to hold flour in. Now-a-days the mills may still be making their own bags, and they sell a lot more 50 pound bags for commercial use than than the small bags sold at groceries, so using paper for everything is probably the most economical approach. But the small and mid-sized mills are disappearing, the huge mills still operating would probably do anything to save a buck, and if plastic bags would do that you wouldn’t see anything else. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-flour-still-usually-packaged-in-paper-bags/653368/22 "2013-03-19T22:54:36Z")
> [@Anachronism](#): > > Most restaurants get their flour in 50 lb **paper** bags, yes it’s as much of a pain as you would think :rolleyes: That is what the [ingredient bin](http://www.missionrs.com/3600.html) is for … and oddly enough I happen to have one for my flour 😛 I schlep the flour into the bottom of the freezer for a week and then decant it into the bin. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-flour-still-usually-packaged-in-paper-bags/653368/23 "2013-03-20T01:51:28Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > That is what the [ingredient bin](http://www.missionrs.com/3600.html) is for … and oddly enough I happen to have one for my flour 😛 I schlep the flour into the bottom of the freezer for a week and then decant it into the bin. I used to think those counter-top canisters were tacky. Still do, But at $213 per box + floor space, I could deal, if I didn’t know to use a snap-blade knife with blade extended to cut a flout bag open. ---
**Author:** ![Anachronism](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@Anachronism](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anachronism)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-flour-still-usually-packaged-in-paper-bags/653368/24 "2013-03-20T01:58:30Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > That is what the [ingredient bin](http://www.missionrs.com/3600.html) is for … and oddly enough I happen to have one for my flour 😛 I schlep the flour into the bottom of the freezer for a week and then decant it into the bin. I was talking about transporting it. My first thought when I heard of fifty pound paper bags of flour was “Don’t they rip and make a mess when you try to move them?”. And of course the answer is “Yes”. But apparently not often enough to make it worth using better packaging. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-flour-still-usually-packaged-in-paper-bags/653368/25 "2013-03-20T02:14:32Z")
It was the custom for much of the 20th Century, well into the 60s, for each household to have four graduated canisters, of pottery, china, or plastic, in which flour, sugar, coffee, and tea (in descending canister order) were stored after the containers-of-purchase were opened (bags of flour or sugar, cans of coffee) ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-flour-still-usually-packaged-in-paper-bags/653368/26 "2013-03-20T02:19:00Z")
The tea in those canisters was generally loose tea, not tea bags, by the way. I THINK that I’ve seen 50 pound bags of beans in printed cotton sacks in Hispanic grocery stores within the past 20 years or so. I’ll look around and see if they still sell them. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-flour-still-usually-packaged-in-paper-bags/653368/27 "2013-03-20T02:24:24Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > It was the custom for much of the 20th Century, well into the 60s, for each household to have four graduated canisters, of pottery, china, or plastic, in which flour, sugar, coffee, and tea (in descending canister order) were stored after the containers-of-purchase were opened (bags of flour or sugar, cans of coffee) Well into the 60s? My parents _still_ have a canister set in the kitchen. I didn’t know that was passé. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-flour-still-usually-packaged-in-paper-bags/653368/28 "2013-03-20T03:20:30Z")
> [@Toucanna](#): > > Two words: static electricity. > > All that powder sliding over the plastic produces static electricity. Something you want to avoid if you don’t want your processing plant to blow up. I did not know about the static electricity thing, but I guess that makes sense. From videos I have seen, flour dust appears to be almost as explosive as pure oxygen. > [@Toucanna](#): > > Also, paper allows any moisture in the flour to evaporate. If you seal warm flour in an impermeable container, the flour will mold/rot. This is the reason I was given for why it is sold in paper bags. The flour needs to breath so that its inherent moisture can escape. If its package was air-tight, the excess moisture would promote mold growth, reducing its shelf-life. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-flour-still-usually-packaged-in-paper-bags/653368/29 "2013-03-20T03:46:45Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Well into the 60s? My parents _still_ have a canister set in the kitchen. I didn’t know that was passé. My parents used to have ugly green matching canisters for Flour, Sugar, and Rice. When they moved across the country, I ended up with them. The rice container has since cracked, but I still use the Flour and Sugar containers. ---
**Author:** ![Bob\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@Bob\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob_X)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-flour-still-usually-packaged-in-paper-bags/653368/30 "2013-03-20T04:55:16Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Well into the 60s? My parents _still_ have a canister set in the kitchen. I didn’t know that was passé. So do mine. You guys need to get off our lawn. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-flour-still-usually-packaged-in-paper-bags/653368/31 "2013-03-20T05:08:18Z")
I have the same set of red plastic canisters that Alton has. Got them from my mother. Not passe at all (I hope). ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-flour-still-usually-packaged-in-paper-bags/653368/32 "2013-03-20T07:59:31Z")
Flour is available in plastic containers here, though paper bags is cheaper. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-flour-still-usually-packaged-in-paper-bags/653368/33 "2013-03-20T08:43:08Z")
We store all of our different flours, sugars and salts in glass jars (the heavy kinds used for preserves). It’s more convenient. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-flour-still-usually-packaged-in-paper-bags/653368/34 "2013-03-20T09:08:43Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > We store all of our different flours, sugars and salts in glass jars (the heavy kinds used for preserves). It’s more convenient. Yeah that’s what I do. Also because it looks pretty. Though if I could have cloth with pretty prints I would totally go for that, and make a dress out of it afterwards! 😃 What I don’t understand is the difficulty of opening the bag. The way mine are sealed is by folding the top several times, then glueing the final bit. So you gently undo the little bit of glue, then unfold the layers. This has never been a problem, and it’s good that you get the extra bit of space at the top to prevent spilling. Are your packages different? If anything, IME, plastic is far more difficult. Think of all those plastic packages that you can’t open. How do you get new scissors out of the package?! So many things you need to pierce with a knife, or rip hard. That would send the flour everywhere. Plus, plastic = bad. Landfills, dolphins, all that. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-flour-still-usually-packaged-in-paper-bags/653368/35 "2013-03-20T09:19:34Z")
It doesn’t have to be a plastic bag, it can be a canister with a screw top lid. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-flour-still-usually-packaged-in-paper-bags/653368/36 "2013-03-20T09:22:26Z")
[http://www.thehealthybaker.com.au/products/](http://www.thehealthybaker.com.au/products/) ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-flour-still-usually-packaged-in-paper-bags/653368/37 "2013-03-20T14:12:03Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > That is what the [ingredient bin](http://www.missionrs.com/3600.html) is for … and oddly enough I happen to have one for my flour 😛 I schlep the flour into the bottom of the freezer for a week and then decant it into the bin. I was so excited when I saw the link, but then I saw the price. I’ll stick with my bucket from the restaurant supply shop. But I love the tall thin aspect, along with the wheels! It’d fit so much better in my pantry. A bit smaller would be nice too. I don’t need to store 100+ lb of flour. 50lb would be just fine for me. > [@filmore](#): > > This was on a farm back in the in the olden times where the flour would have been used constantly. Likely she was making things like biscuits, bread, and pie crusts every day. They had to make a lot of their own food since the general store was a long horse ride away. As long as one was going through it fast enough, it would be much easier to do it this way. It’d also mean one less large bowl to own, and clean following the mixing of a large batch of bread. Keep in mind that they weren’t likely making bread daily, but making larger batches to use over a couple of days. Breadmaking, while not hard (but takes a long time to master) does take a significant amount of time away from other tasks. I’ve been making one large loaf per week for the past month or two, which lasts us until about Wednesday each week. Then I start another on the weekend. I’ll likely shift to my outdoor cob oven if the snow ever melts here in New England, but it’ll be less often due to the busy nature of summers. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-flour-still-usually-packaged-in-paper-bags/653368/38 "2013-03-20T14:21:52Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Well into the 60s? My parents _still_ have a canister set in the kitchen. I didn’t know that was passé. I’d always assumed glass was passe because people kept on breaking old family heirlooms and then finding plastic replacements so much cheaper. Anyways, we freeze our flour (as we don’t use it that often), so glass is out. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-flour-still-usually-packaged-in-paper-bags/653368/39 "2013-03-20T15:02:00Z")
I remember my civics teacher saying that in the olden days, stores didn’t put the cloth, flour sacks on the bottom shelf. The reason being, back in those days dogs were allowed in stores. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-flour-still-usually-packaged-in-paper-bags/653368/40 "2013-03-20T15:05:21Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > I remember my civics teacher saying that in the olden days, stores didn’t put the cloth, flour sacks on the bottom shelf. The reason being, back in those days dogs were allowed in stores. Unless they were worried about dogs peeing on the sacks I don’t see much sense in this. There could be plenty of other reasons for not putting sacks on the bottom shelf, which was probably called the floor, but I doubt dogs in the store was a big one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-flour-still-usually-packaged-in-paper-bags/653368.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-flour-still-usually-packaged-in-paper-bags/653368.md?page=3)