How are flour, bulgur and rice stored?

Dry goods such as flour, bulgur and rice keep for a long time; but when the storage conditions go wrong, they are usually all affected at once. This is why the arrangement to set up on that shelf has less to do with individual items than with the shared conditions.

What is the real risk?

The two biggest risks for dry goods are moisture and insects. Moisture makes the product clump and changes its smell; an insect problem has usually already started while the product was on its way home.

The two feed each other. In a damp setting insects spread faster; a package left open invites both the moisture and the insects at the same time and spreads them to the neighboring packages.

The third risk is odor. Flour and grains pick up the odors around them easily; a package kept in the same cupboard as detergent, spices or a cleaning product carries that trace in its taste.

What does a jar system solve?

Closed glass or tightly lidded plastic jars reduce all three risks at once. In a closed jar moisture does not get in, odor does not pass, and a problem starting in one package does not spread to the others.

Jars of the same size set up order on the shelf. When containers of the same size are lined up together you both gain space and see at a glance how much is left of each product.

Writing the name of the product and the date it was bought on the jar is part of that arrangement too. Grains that look alike become hard to tell apart in a jar; a label removes that uncertainty.

When do you move from the bag to a jar?

The right moment is the moment the product comes into the house. A package left in its bag does not close fully once it has been opened and takes in a little more air with every use.

The transferring is done in the few minutes after shopping. Left as a job for later, it usually does not get done, and open packages pile up on the shelves.

Cutting a small piece off the bag and putting it into the jar helps you not to lose the information printed on it. That way the type of product and any cooking information stay with the jar.

Why does the place of the shelf matter?

A dry goods shelf should be cool and dry. The cupboards above the stove, the oven and the dishwasher are the hottest and dampest points in the kitchen; they are the least suitable places for dry goods.

The cupboard under the sink is not suitable either. The moisture there and the temperature changes coming from the plumbing create the conditions in which dry goods spoil fastest.

The most suitable place is a closed cupboard on a cool wall of the kitchen. If there is a pantry, moving them there both improves the conditions and frees up room in the kitchen cupboards.

What do you do if insects appear?

A package with insects in it is not used and is not rescued by picking part of it out. The other packages on the same shelf also have to be checked one by one, because spreading usually happens unnoticed.

The shelf is emptied and wiped, and the jars are washed and dried. Dry goods put into a wet jar start the problem over again directly; drying is a step not to be skipped for that reason.

A preventive method is to keep a newly bought product in the freezer for a short time. That stops a problem that may have come with the package before it starts, and does not affect the quality of the product.

How much stock should you keep?

Because dry goods keep a long time, holding a lot of stock looks appealing; but stock that is not used only takes up space and loses its freshness over time.

A practical measure is the amount you will use within a few months. That amount is easily settled over a shopping trip or two, and needs no separate calculation afterward.

Jars being transparent makes keeping track of stock easier too. A product whose remaining amount is visible goes onto the shopping list in time; a product sitting in a closed box is either noticed when it runs out or never runs out at all.

Putting a newly bought product under the old rather than on top of it keeps the order. Finishing the older product in a jar first prevents a layer that stays at the bottom for years.