Question
Nzooma M. Shimaponda-Mataa
How good are ziplock bags for food storage in the pantry compared to airtight glass jars? How long can I keep say flour in them and it stays ok vs in airtight glass jars?
Answer
How, this is a great question. I've never done a, a side-by-side comparison. So, um, I, I don't have a, a specific answer, um, uh, to that comparison. But, uh, Ziploc bags can work well. Um, you can always double bag them for greater security. Um, but, um, you know, on the other hand, uh, airtight glass jars work well too. Um, you know, as I had mentioned earlier in today's program, as we talked about Masa Arena, you know, which is a type of flower, uh, this is gonna be true of, of any other flower, um, store it in a relatively cool place. And, um, it could be in the fridge, it could be, uh, in your basement. Um, it could be in some, you know, air conditioned part of the house, um, uh, out of direct sunlight. And then also where the, uh, humidity is, um, uh, you know, relatively low in the case of flour, okay? And that's gonna extend the shelf life. And then try to use it, uh, just, um, uh, either keep it out where you can, you know, access it easily and see that it's still there. Or make an inventory list that you can check periodically to make sure that you're on task to use these items within a reasonable amount of time. Um, you know, uh, storage durations can vary. Uh, you know, around here, you know, I'm in, uh, the Northwest, um, uh, in, in the Portland metro area in Oregon. Uh, this is where, uh, you know, flour can last for, you know, maybe six months or so. Um, and, uh, it's, it's usually pretty safe. Um, some places, the, the show life will be shorter. Sometimes it's due to bug, uh, infiltration. So that's another, another thing to keep in mind. Okay. You know, if you're, um, you know, in a place like, um, Arizona or Colorado, or the air is much drier, uh, perhaps the showe life would be longer, you know? So there are some, uh, variables to consider. Thank you.
