# storing pasta



## Ciffer (Sep 13, 2010)

I have a sizable quantity of pasta in boxes sitting on shelves and am planning on buying more. I need some ideas on the best way to store pasta for long shelf life, rodent/insect protection (which I don't seem to have a problem with.

I am thinking about mylar liners in buckets with gamma lids like I do for other things but leave the pasta in the boxes.

anyone, give me some ideas.


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## Texasdirtdigger (Jan 17, 2010)

That's what I do. With the exception that I througha large Oxygen absorber into the mylar bag, as well.


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

I use those giant popcorn tins that have (usually christmas themed) artwork on them.
They are often in the thriftstores for very reasonable.


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## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

I freeze the boxes to make sure they are vermin free- then thaw them at room temperature for a day or so to make sure there's no moisture, then put them in a gasketed-lid bucket. I don't vac seal it anymore or use mylar, since the gasket seems to protect against bugs and moisture. I've used some that was 3-4 years old that was still perfect.

I bought a BUNCH of spaghetti and other pasta at:

#8 Spaghetti Pasta 20 lbs. / CS

Their shipping cost is ridiculous, but when you average that in with 61 cents per pound for the spaghetti it's about the same as the grocery store. Plus I didn't have to explain to the cashier why I was buying so much. Or waste my gas going to get it.


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## DryHeat (Nov 11, 2010)

I've set a decent amount of various pasta forms aside in FoodSaver vacuum packed bags, at least 100 lbs anyway. Some other batches are just sort of half-assed stored in original packing organized into plastic buckets, no O2 absorbers or anything. *So far* (knocking on wood) pasta seems to do very well in more casual storage like that, but it's certainly dry and sealed off from rodents. So far, I've not seen any contamination by bugs where I sure have in other loosely-stored materials like rice, flour, Rice-A-Roni, Hamburger Helper, etc. Even over the last year or so, I've run across a few loss-leader sales of pasta types in the 40c/lb, or even less, range. It's worth setting brand name coupons aside and trying to match them up with a store sale later on, for example.


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## stamphappy (Jul 29, 2010)

Mom_of_Four said:


> I've used some that was 3-4 years old that was still perfect.


This is good to know; some have said it tastes like cardboard after long storage but honestly, doesn't dry pasta usually not have much taste anyway?  

I put mine in mylar with an oxygen absorber and then into 5 gallon buckets with lids. I live in a very humid wet climate, so mylar and O2 is important to me.


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## Ciffer (Sep 13, 2010)

Texasdirtdigger said:


> That's what I do. With the exception that I througha large Oxygen absorber into the mylar bag, as well.


I thought use of O2 absorbers was a given.:nana:

I have a bunch of boxes of generic macaronni and cheese, i am thinking about put them all in zip lock bags (to keep them in managable serving sizes) then putting them in vacuum bags stored in buckets. Which I guess would mean those wouldn't need mylar or o2 absorbers.

As for regular pasta just putting the boxes into the mylar seems like it would waste a lot of space, but would work.


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## acde (Jul 25, 2011)

3 yrs. ago Barilla pasta was on sale for 69 cents a box, I bought some and vacuum sealed it in 1/2 gallon mason jars, used some last week and it was just like when I first bought it.


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## Ciffer (Sep 13, 2010)

acde said:


> 3 yrs. ago Barilla pasta was on sale for 69 cents a box, I bought some and vacuum sealed it in 1/2 gallon mason jars, used some last week and it was just like when I first bought it.


I guess I could do that too. I have tons of jars right now, but come fall they will fill up fast. I am not a big fan of packing things twice when I can avoid it. Also, all of my half-gallons are full of brown rice at the moment. I don't put brown rice in buckets because it needs to turn over much faster than white rice.


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## Ozarks Tom (May 27, 2011)

We freeze our pasta for a week, thaw & let sit for a few days, and seal with O2 absorbers in small mylar (1 1/2 gal) bags.

We can our own recipe spaghetti sauce and lasagna sauce. Opened some last night from 3 years ago, still great.

As far as Mac & Cheese, we buy elbow macaroni at Sam's, and cheddar cheese powder from Bulk Foods. The cheese powder comes in handy for things like brocoli, etc..


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## Ciffer (Sep 13, 2010)

Ozarks Tom said:


> We freeze our pasta for a week, thaw & let sit for a few days, and seal with O2 absorbers in small mylar (1 1/2 gal) bags.


That is a good idea, although some of us do not have freezers. Won't bugs and such be killed by a lack of oxygen?


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## kasilofhome (Feb 10, 2005)

store pasta was served at a large dinner for 60 teens and adults only the cooks knew that pasta was 10 years old --and no it was not mine nor did I do more than cook it. No complains. The mother who provided all the pasta said that her family would not touch it because of the age at home but unknown to them (6 of the dining party) express enjoyment and it was hard not to laugh.


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## Ciffer (Sep 13, 2010)

kasilofhome said:


> store pasta was served at a large dinner for 60 teens and adults only the cooks knew that pasta was 10 years old --and no it was not mine nor did I do more than cook it. No complains. The mother who provided all the pasta said that her family would not touch it because of the age at home but unknown to them (6 of the dining party) express enjoyment and it was hard not to laugh.



How was the pasta stored?


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## VT Chicklit (Mar 22, 2009)

I use mylar bags, but because the pasta tends to have sharp edges and points that will puncture mylar, I first put the pasta in a cloth sac that I make from old sheets. This cushions the edges of the pasta and protects the mylar bag. I use an O2 absorber and then seal the bag. I mix and match these gallon bags in a 5 gal bucket with a sealable lid.


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## kudzuvine (Aug 11, 2011)

oven canning


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## NJ Rich (Dec 14, 2005)

I have frosting buckets from the bakery department at a local store. They have large rubber gaskets and don't retain any smell. I store beans and flour in them and now plan to add a lot of pasta. The flour my wife used last fall was over two years old and was fine. Yup, we bought more flour to replaced it and put that in frosting buckets to.

I will store pasta in freezer weight Glad zip type bags and freeze them first. Thaw out well and put them in the buckets. Pasta seems to store well and I have no problems with moisture in my basement. 

I store rice in 3 liter juice jugs and freeze them. We just finished some rice that was over two years old and was just as good as when we bought it. I jugged 25 pounds last week. 

_*Has anyone used hand warmers to use like oxygen absorbers?*_


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## Ohio Rusty (Jan 18, 2008)

I save a few of the large metal popcorn type tins you get at Christmas. They are the perfect height for storing pasta. I have both boxes and sealed bags of pasta in a tin. the other tin stores the other pasta shapes. The tins to a great job of keeping out everything you don't want in your pasta. 
Ohio Rusty ><>


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## foxfiredidit (Apr 15, 2003)

Ciffer said:


> I guess I could do that too. I have tons of jars right now, but come fall they will fill up fast. I am not a big fan of packing things twice when I can avoid it. Also, all of my half-gallons are full of brown rice at the moment. I don't put brown rice in buckets because it needs to turn over much faster than white rice.


You mention here that brown rice needs to turn over faster than white rice. I have both oven canned and stored in pint jars. What is a good estimate of the shelf life of brown vs white when oven canned?....anybody know? I went into that thinking they would both turn over about every 5 years or so just to keep it fresh as could be. At the outset, I was thinking that both would be good for 5 years or longer.

Please excuse the thread drift.

I am wanting to do pasta next, and thinking about oven canning it as well since I have the jars.


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

Brown rice does go sour in less than 8 monthes. I buy in 50 pounds bags, but share it with my dogs to circulate it faster.


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## Ann-NWIowa (Sep 28, 2002)

My storage is more casual. I use popcorn tins. I put bay leaf in the bottom, add the pasta still in store packaging, more bay leaf and put on the lid. Popcorn tins are 100% rodent proof. I also use the frosting buckets and am buying the gama lids as I can afford them. I absolutely love the convenience of the gama lids! I date the pasta package with my purchase date, but don't worry about how old it is when I use it although I try to use oldest first.

The rice/pasta/potato packages with the flour/seasoning/cheese already in them do not keep as well as plain pasta. I've had the flour/flavoring packet go buggy or rancid on numerous occasions so I've quit buying anything other than plan pasta or rice or dried potatoes.

I like to store rice in glass gallon jars as first choice. After that its the popcorn tins.


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## Ciffer (Sep 13, 2010)

foxfiredidit said:


> You mention here that brown rice needs to turn over faster than white rice. I have both oven canned and stored in pint jars. What is a good estimate of the shelf life of brown vs white when oven canned?....anybody know? I went into that thinking they would both turn over about every 5 years or so just to keep it fresh as could be. At the outset, I was thinking that both would be good for 5 years or longer.
> 
> Please excuse the thread drift.
> 
> I am wanting to do pasta next, and thinking about oven canning it as well since I have the jars.


I have seen brown rice listed at 18 months. There is oil in brown rice that is removed in the processing of white rice. The oil goes rancid. Vacuum sealing extends the life.

I typically see white rice listed at 30+ years, assuming of course you keep it dry.


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## alpacaspinner (Feb 5, 2012)

foxfiredidit said:


> You mention here that brown rice needs to turn over faster than white rice. I have both oven canned and stored in pint jars. What is a good estimate of the shelf life of brown vs white when oven canned?....anybody know? I went into that thinking they would both turn over about every 5 years or so just to keep it fresh as could be. At the outset, I was thinking that both would be good for 5 years or longer.
> 
> Please excuse the thread drift.
> 
> I am wanting to do pasta next, and *thinking about oven canning it* as well since I have the jars.


I am a big believer in doing what is necessary, but not spending time and effort doing MORE than necessary. IMO oven canning dried pasta is overkill. It is already dried to keep; all it really needs is to be protected from damp and pests, and it will last for a long time. Someone else mentioned popcorn tins, which is what I also use for the long, thin types. As you already have jars they will do just fine for the types that will fit in them. I assume you mean canning jars; in that case you could get some of the plastic screw on lids made especially for them. Otherwise, if you have a vacuum sealer that will do jars you could use that - also a bit of overkill, but it will use flat lids, and will keep pests out. I just use some of the numerous jars with tight screw on lids that I have collected over the years.


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## kasilofhome (Feb 10, 2005)

The pasta was in store boxes. (39 cents -mary has always been a sale shopper --mother of11 kids) Those boxes where in a rubbermaid tote forgotten in her storage shed. Note it never got wet, and there were no rodents.


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