Posted: 11/20/2008 3:16:51 PM EDT
| Anyone have a problem with weevils showing up in their grain? I have heard mixed things about which grain has them, some say they all do. ???? |
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I've had a lot of problems with ground foods such as corn meal, flour and mixes (pancake, mufffin, etc). Right now I am using 20-something year old wheat that has been stored in an unsealed barrel in a garage and basement over the years.
To sum up- - not sealed - not kept in a climate controlled area - no O2, dry ice, Diatomacious earth, bay leaves, etc - just wheat, barrel and time It's fine. No bugs, no dried and hard wheat berries, no problems with making bread (other than I'm not crazy about red wheat, too 'nutty' tasting for me). The corn meal we just threw out had weevils in a sealed plastic bag. No clue how they got there, but they were very thick. Never had them in whole wheat or corn. |
Whats a little extra protein Funny story, a friend of mines son was staying at my place while she took care of some business, he cooked mac & ground beaf for dinner before I got off work. He ate his and kept the rest warm for me (great kid) I started eating and we were talking at the table when I noticed cooked weevels in the meal. I mentioned it as I continued to consume the meal being hungry and all. He turned green and lost what he had eaten. Didn't taste any different to me
Many grains you buy have them in it, I have had them in the tupperware I keep rice in and only open it to use the rice. |
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I'm in on this one. Can this happen if you use oxygen absorbers and sealed buckets? I do it that way and have never had a problem. kinda hard for the weevles (sp?) to survive w/o o2. o2 absorber inside sealed mylar bag inside bucket will almost guaranty no weevels. SCW's experience is the exception, not the rule. |
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I'm in on this one. Can this happen if you use oxygen absorbers and sealed buckets? I do it that way and have never had a problem. kinda hard for the weevles (sp?) to survive w/o o2. o2 absorber inside sealed mylar bag inside bucket will almost guaranty no weevels. SCW's experience is the exception, not the rule. That's what I thought. I always toss several 02 absorbers in each 5 gal pail. Never had the problem mentioned. But, the only stupid question is the unasked one, no? |
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SCW's experience is the exception, not the rule. No, I don't think so. I've had a lot of problems with weevil in ground flour or corn meal, but not in the berries or whole corn. My advise to combat weevil is to leave it as whole grains as long as possible. |
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weevils get into grains either before they are harvested, stored, or cleaned. Weevils will bore a tiny hole into a grain and lay eggs and plug the hole back up. The eggs stay dormant until certain temperature conditions wake them up and they survive on what is in the kernal. Then they eat the kernal from the inside out and come out and grow and bore holes in other kernals plant eggs then die and dry up leaving a shell.
You can have a handful of nice clean grain (wheat, corn, rice, ...) and it could have hundreds of eggs inside some kernals and you would never know it. Sometimes eggs are destroyed in the grinding mill, but sometimes they are not and that is why weevils will appear out of nowhere it seems in flour. Kill eggs by either freezing or denying them oxygen through CO2 or O2 absorbers in a sealed container. Some grain may not even have any weevils as mentioned above, but you never can tell. |
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I'm in on this one. Can this happen if you use oxygen absorbers and sealed buckets? I do it that way and have never had a problem. kinda hard for the weevles (sp?) to survive w/o o2. o2 absorber inside sealed mylar bag inside bucket will almost guaranty no weevels. SCW's experience is the exception, not the rule. That's what I thought. I always toss several 02 absorbers in each 5 gal pail. Never had the problem mentioned. But, the only stupid question is the unasked one, no? agreed. Quoted:
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SCW's experience is the exception, not the rule. No, I don't think so. I've had a lot of problems with weevil in ground flour or corn meal, but not in the berries or whole corn. My advise to combat weevil is to leave it as whole grains as long as possible. your advice didn't hold true for us. or numerous other people that i have talked to. |
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Parana's explanation is spot on. The eggs are already there. These things can even show up in older Raman noodles and spaghetti. They usually float to the top of the boiling water. So for long term storage, mylar and O2 absorbers should be the rule.
In addition, someone mentioned pancake mix early in this thread. My research indicates that pancake mix should never be eaten past it's shelf life. Apparently there is an ingredient in the mix can go rancid. So pancake mix storage should be left to the pro's. Just my .02 Brett |
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Been storing food since 1986 and I've experienced the same problems with the "processed" grains that were mentioned- cornmeal, flour, grits, etc. All of these have been processed from there original form.
Now if you store them in their original form, they are ok. If you store them in the processed form, GOOD LUCK long term. Not being a jerk, just talking from experience. Pack them correctly as we show here, and your whole grains will be ready for your grandkids to use if you don't use them! Bucket Packing videos Lowdown3 |
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Parana's explanation is spot on. The eggs are already there. These things can even show up in older Raman noodles and spaghetti. They usually float to the top of the boiling water. So for long term storage, mylar and O2 absorbers should be the rule. In addition, someone mentioned pancake mix early in this thread. My research indicates that pancake mix should never be eaten past it's shelf life. Apparently there is an ingredient in the mix can go rancid. So pancake mix storage should be left to the pro's. Just my .02 Brett according to my wife that ingredient could be egg powder or milk powder, just a guess. interesting to keep in mind. |