Key Points:

  • Grains are used to create the foundation, and a wide variety of foods in your long-term food storage.
  • It is recommended that half your daily grain intake be WHOLE grains due to the high nutritional value and protein levels (examples include: whole wheat, oats, brown rice, etc).
  • Accumulate recipes that include grains. Using your grains will help you rotate through them, and get your family used to eating them.
  • Even though we talk about each grain separately, we find that WHEAT GRINDING is the major hang up for most people! Learn why NOT to be intimidated by wheat grinders by checking out our wheat grinder post and how-to video. Don’t use this as an excuse to not start this step!
  • When you are ready to purchase a wheat grinder, view our WonderMill Grain Mill page to see how we have become authorized dealers in order to get you the best possible price available.
  • Determine the quantities of each food item you will need to store. For more information, see BabyStep 4.

Step 5 Sponsors:

Rolled Oats:

  • Uses – Breakfasts, granola, cookies, filler in meat loafs or casseroles, thickener for soups/stews.
  • Types – Quick rolled oats or regular rolled oats. Quick oats cook faster but regular oats retain flavor and nutrition better.
  • Storage – If unopened, optimum shelf life is up to 8 years. If opened should be used within 1 year. We recommend storing large amounts in an airtight plastic container and pulling out a smaller amount every few months for your actual usage/rotation.

Wheat:

  • Uses – Wheat grass, appetizers, desserts, breakfast cereals, crackers, brownies, tortillas, breads, pancakes, muffins, cakes, snacks, in salads, to make vegetarian meat/protein, and any other baking item you would use flour for.
  • Types – Spring or winter, hard or soft, red or white. Hard varieties have higher gluten (protein) and are better for making breads. Soft varieties have lower protein and nutrients but are better for pastries, pastas, and breakfast cereals. Red wheats are typically hard and whites are typically soft. However if you prefer the flavor of one over the other you can find soft red and hard white. Experiment with different varieties in your recipes to find out what works best for you.
  • Storage – If unopened, optimum shelf life is 12 years or more. If opened will last about 3 years. However, once ground into flour, wheat loses most of its nutrients within a few days so only grind small amounts at a time. You can add oxygen absorbers, bay leaves, or dry ice to help keep critters out of your wheat.

Spaghetti or Macaroni:

  • Uses – As a main course, in casseroles, in soups.
  • Types – You can store any type of pasta you like to use, the main ones sold in bulk are macaroni and spaghetti so they are convenient for long-term storage.
  • Storage – If unopened, optimum shelf life is 8-10 years. If opened will last about 2 years. If you buy it in plastic bags we recommend transferring your pasta to airtight plastic containers for better storage.

Cornmeal:

  • Uses – Grits, cornbread/muffins, mush, jonnycake, hushpuppies, breading on fried items.
  • Types – Steel ground or stone ground. Most common is steel ground, it has husk and germ almost all removed. Loses flavor and nutrients but has a long shelf life. This is what you will find at the grocery store. Stone ground retains more of the husk and germ but is more perishable. Cornmeal can be found in white, yellow, red, and blue varieties. Yellow and white are the most common.
  • Storage – If unopened, optimum shelf life is 5 years. If opened will last about 1 year.

Enriched White Flour:

  • Uses – Cakes, biscuits, pie crusts, pastries, gravy, thickener, puddings.
  • Types - Bleached or unbleached. Both have had their bran and germ portions removed and are “enriched” by adding back some of the lost nutrients. Bleached has been treated with chlorine, while unbleached is aged and bleached naturally by oxygen in the air.
  • Storage – If unopened, optimum shelf life is 5 years. If opened will last about 6-8 months.

Enriched White Rice:

  • Uses – Rice pudding, cereal, casseroles, side dishes.
  • Types - Bleached or unbleached. Both have had their bran and germ portions removed and are “enriched” by adding back some of the lost nutrients. Bleached has been chemically bleached while unbleached goes through a natural bleaching process.
  • Storage – If unopened, optimum shelf life is 30 years. If opened will last indefinitely.

Pearled Barley:

  • Uses – Thickener in soups and stews, in sides or casseroles similar to how you would use rice.
  • Types - You can buy pot barley which retains more of the nutritious germ and brand, but it has a shorter shelf life. Pearled barley is recommended for long-term food storage.
  • Storage – If unopened, optimum shelf life is 8 years. If opened will last 18 months.

Online Resources:

Food Guide Pyramid – Government recommendations on grains
Food Storage FAQ – Everything you could want to know about grains is found here Wikipedia: Cornmeal – More details on cornmeal
Common Storage Foods – Even more info about different types of grains
EverydayFoodStorage.NET: Training Page on Cooking Grains TheFoodStorageShopper.NET: Training Page on Buying Grains

  • Nancy
    Hi,
    If you are still looking for information on Dr. Wright, go to one of Sally Fallon's sites and she discusses him all the time.
    NM
  • jamiegilson
    When you say "if unopened, optimum shelf life is ...", does this count for the 25 lb wheat bags bought at the cannery? I use about 1 bag a month so am purchasing enough for the next 9 months before we move so need to know if I can just leave in the bags in a tupperward in the basement or should I transfer to a bucket with oxygen absorbers or how do you recommend I store these?
  • In the bags in a tupperware they should be fine for 9 months for sure. The airtight containers and oxygen absorbers are more for if you don't plan to use it or open it for 3-5 years or more.
  • Don't for get to check out Quinoa {keen wa} often called the superfood because it is loaded with Amino acids and proteins as well as almost every vit and mineral you can think of. Has a nutty flavor and can be eaten like oatmeal or added to scrambled eggs , salads, soups, or anywhere else you can imagine.I found it today in the health food section at hy vee so it is out there and easy to find. try it out!
  • Robert
    I love Quinoa as well !! It is great for all meals and comes in a white or red varieties. High in protein and fiber it is definitely a shelf staple -easy to prepare and transport- at home or on the trail. I just need to find it in a less expensive bulk form in my area.
  • meggan
    Can you recommend some good sources for bulk grain purchases? I've had trouble finding a supplier where shipping doesn't double the cost!! Thanks!
  • If you explore our sister site http://thefoodstorageshopper.net she goes into a lot more detail on different sources for bulk grain purchases. We're a bit spoiled by living in Utah and haven't had a chance to delve into that topic as much as she has. Hope that helps!
  • Lisa H.
    I have learned an important lesson about rotating food storage. Items that don't have a long shelf-life, such as flour or oil, should be rotated regularly. If you open one of these items when it is near the end of its shelf-life, it does not last in the cupboard very long before going rancid.
  • debbie
    have you thought of storing quinoa? i heard somewhere that it is the only grain that is a complete protein. it is also very tasty.
  • jweiss08
    Rebecca,

    Andrea at The Obsessive Shopper talks about this.
    http://theobsessiveshopper.net/?p=544
    Check it out.
  • Rebecca
    There is not a Cannery near me. Could you please give me a website to order the wheat, dry milk and eggs. Thanks
  • Theresa
    Jodi,

    Thanks for your advice! I already keep 3-4 loaves of store made bread in the freezer on a regular basis, but I almost never bake and would like to start. I am considering continuing the frozen bread storage + storing 3 months worth of flour for bread and other baked goods, and then enough wheat and whole grains to cover the rest of the year. I have no bread baking skills...do you have a bread machine recommendation? I'm having trouble finding them where I live. Thanks, again!
  • Jodi
    Dori, you could try the oxygen absorbers but I don't if they would be very effective since the 2-liter bottles won't have an airtight seal. I probably wouldn't bother using them and just make sure through those foods.

    Theresa, the recommendation is to store a small amount of flour and a LOT of wheat. Wheat has a 30 year shelf life so it wouldn't hurt to have some of it on hand. Honestly you probably wouldn't be able to go through the flour fast enough before it expires and then you would be throwing a lot away. You could probably replace SOME wheat with flour, but I wouldn't replace all of it. If you have a good electric grinder you can grind a week's worth of flour in just 5 minutes or so and then store it in your freezer to help retain the nutrients. This will help you rotate it and it will be healthier for your family too!
  • Theresa
    Just wondering...does the grain storage have to be unground wheat or can it be flour? I just don't have the time to grind wheat on a weekly basis, and I have discovered the flour at the store has at least a year expiration dating on it. I don't want to buy a product I won't be able to rotate. Thanks!
  • Dori
    Can you use 2 liter bottles for oat or rice with oxygen absorbers?
  • candace
    Something I just learned is to sprinkle diatomaceous earth in your grains, rice, or whatever to kill any bugs. It works in a mechanical fashion and is harmless to humans. It is an anti-caking agent found in all kinds of food-like bisquick. It has a lot of other uses to and it is inexpensive.
  • Angel
    ALSO You can find buckets to store things at Emergency Essentials, Home Depot (look for the correct symbol for food storage) and I purchased
    20 square buckets from a friut processing plant with lids to use. Just clean and dry them well.
    They were 50 cents a piece. Also check bakeries and restaurants for their food buckets.
  • Angel
    I have purchased the WonderMill JR Deluxe but haven't gotten it home yet.
    I studied a long time the options and the grinder I really wants was the Country Living Grain Mill but it hovers at $500 with the attachments I wanted.

    The WonderMill seemed to be a great alternative at less than apx half the cost.

    My grains are stored in a variety of ways including SuperBuckets from Emergency Essentials to #10 cans purchased through the LDS site and in 25# bags from Bob's Red Mill and Costco.

    I heard recently that they upped the lifetime of flour to 20 years (if I remember correctly) but then again as you stated once you grind the wheat the nutrition level drops.
  • Great idea about the coffee grinder. I live in New Zealand and couldn't find a wheat grinder under $500.00. I didn't even know you could grind your own wheat.
  • NadjaUK
    We use 1 litre and 2 litre cleaned soda bottles to store dry foods like rice pasta etc, you can stack them well on cheap wine bottle storage from IKEA, they are easy to label, they're free, they make buying bulk iteam easier to handle. A 10KG sack of rice is a pain to store, but when split into monthly ammounts in PETE bottles it's great and much cheaper !!
    Also I use the Ward wheat grinder periodically to grind flour, it's a really good one and I make sure I do enough to have a plentiful supply.

    I am trying to see if I can foil pack this flour at church but haven't heard back yet - if not what is a good way to store powdered goods, flour, icing sugar etc ?? I've found this isn't as good to store in soda bottles.
  • Jennifer
    I just wanted to add that you can buy an inexpensive coffee grinder with up to 18 settings from fine to coarse instead of an expensive wheat grinder. The only down side is that you can only do small amounts at a time and then have to dump it into a larger bowl. Buying the less expensive machine got me doing something with my wheat quicker so I thought I would share.
  • Bill
    I've recently started a food storage program and have a question for anyone regarding long term wheat storage. I plan to put the wheat in FoodSaver bags with an oxygen absorber, then evacuate and seal. They will then be stored in a dark storage container in a cool basement. Will this work? I can get out a bag containing a pound or two of wheat without disturbing the other bags.
  • Jodi
    Cathi, I've heard of "canning" them in jars. Or I've also seen people pour them into plastic containers like used juice bottles or 2 liter soda bottles. If you want uniform containers, I have found nice plastic buckets at walmart with lids that seal. I think they were about $5 and I bought a bag of wheat and moved it into that container. Hope that helps!
  • I am a coupon shopper. So what if I find a great deal on little bags of rice/oats/etc. What are some good containers for storing our items? Leaving things in plastic bags is not an option.

    Thanks
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