Help your pantry staples live a good life

Tips for keeping pantry food fresh longer

Remember that time you pulled out your trusty box of Bisquick to whip up dinner biscuits…and they didn’t rise? And company was on their way? I do. Turns out the yeast had expired in my mix—which had also expired. I thought that mix would last forever but—surprise!—it doesn’t. Its shelf life is decent, but the leavening and oil ingredients can, and did, deteriorate. 

Which begs the question: What other pantry staples have shorter shelf lives than you think? And how do you extend the usage time? Consider these:

• Coffee. Once you open that pricey bag of ground java you bought for your weekend guests, you have about two weeks to use it up. Your best bet is to buy whole coffee beans, store them in the freezer—for 2-3 years!—and grind them when someone needs a high-end caffeine fix. Pro Tip: Buy the resealable bags.
• Bread. That fluffy bakery loaf was soooo good…for 3 days. And then the microclimate inside your pantry turned it bad. Moldy, stinky bad. You could’ve extended its yumminess for a week or longer in the fridge, or up to 3 months in the freezer. Pro Tip: Buy a half-loaf!
• Baking mixes. You cracked open that pancake mix and whipped up a beautiful, dense stack of silver dollars for a pajama party. And now you’re on a 2-month deadline to finish it up before pests move in and the baking powder or soda loses its pizzazz. Or…you could dump the mix into a sealed plastic freezer bag and extend its life dramatically. Just let it reach room temp before using. Pro Tip: Tape or write the mixing instructions on the bag.
• Flours. If you bake only occasionally, the freezer is your friend. Flours are rancid- and pest-prone in your pantry—especially in their paper packaging. (We’re looking at you, weevils.) Whole wheat flour can go bad in a month! Move flours to freezer bags, label, store, and use them at will for big and small recipes. Bonus: Freezing flour cuts down on clouds of dust when you pour.
• Sugars. Once opened, sweeteners are prone to clumping (white), drying (brown) and pests (powdered) in a few short months. Storing them in airtight containers keeps them shelf-stable for years! Pro Tip: Add a big ‘ol marshmallow to your brown sugar to keep it extra-soft.
• Nuts. If you’ve bitten into a rancid nut, you know it instantly. The natural nut oils spoil within a few months, unless you freeze them. And then they’re good for up to two years! Pro Tip: Buy small packages of nuts during close-out sales, then freeze immediately.
  
  

So, the next time you think, I should probably clean out the pantry… Do it! Check for expiration dates, bugs and damaged packaging, then purge, restock and repackage. Your biscuits will thank you with a nice, yeasty rise.