How long does Flour last?

Keep flour cool, dry, and sealed, away from the stove and from damp. FoodKeeper prints white flour and whole wheat flour apart. White, unopened, the pantry is 6–12 months. The bold number is six months. The fridge is Not the usual place. That is not the usual place. The freezer is No time is printed for this cell. No time is printed. Opened white flour, the pantry is 6–8 months. The bold number is six months. The fridge is 1 year. The bold number is one year. The freezer is No time is printed for this cell. No time is printed. A sooner date on the bag wins. Date types are on the use-by and best-before guide. The map of the fridge is in the fridge article.

Whole wheat keeps a shorter window, because the germ is oily. Unopened, the pantry is 3–6 months. The bold number is three months. The fridge is Not the usual place. That is not the usual place, and this page does not write a day into it. The freezer is No time is printed for this cell. No time is printed. Opened, the pantry is No time is printed for this cell. No time is printed. The fridge is 6–8 months. The bold number is six months. The freezer is No time is printed for this cell. This page does not invent a freezer month on any row. Bugs, webbing, or a musty smell end the bag. This is wheat flour as FoodKeeper prints it, not every gluten-free blend. Bread has its own page. If you are still unsure, the still-safe tool asks from the short end of the chart.

Get perishable food into the fridge within 2 hours of cooking it or bringing it home, and within 1 hour if the kitchen is above 32°C (90°F). USDA FSIS and Turkey’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry both publish that cutoff. A closed deep pot stays warm; a shallow box cools.

A chart is a window, not a verdict on the container in your hand. A sour smell, a slimy surface, or mould means it is finished, even on day one. This page is not medical advice.

• Weevils, webbing, larvae, or movement in the bag. One insect ends the bag.
• A musty smell, a damp cupboard, or wet cardboard.
• In whole wheat, a bitter, paint-like, or stale-nut smell from the oily germ.
• Hard lumps from damp, with mould on them.

A light lump that is dry and without a smell can be quality. A musty smell and insects are not. This page does not tell you to taste a doubtful bag to decide.

FoodKeeper prints no freezer month on any of these rows. White, unopened, is No time is printed for this cell. White, opened, is No time is printed for this cell. Whole wheat, unopened, is No time is printed for this cell. Whole wheat, opened, is No time is printed for this cell. This page does not invent a month for flour, and it does not write a refreeze recipe for an empty cell. USDA says food held continuously at −18°C (0°F) stays safe. That sentence is not a month printed for these rows.

A thawing note is for a food with a printed freezer time. These cells have none. The opened white-flour fridge is separate, 1 year. The bold number is one year. The opened whole-wheat fridge is 6–8 months. The bold number is six months.

Thaw in the refrigerator, not on the counter. Do not refreeze a portion that has thawed. The ministry states the same rule: thaw frozen food in the fridge and take out only what you will eat.

• Whole wheat keeps the white-flour window. The germ is oily, and the window is shorter. Unopened whole wheat, the pantry is 3–6 months. The bold number is three months. Unopened white flour is 6–12 months. The bold number is six months.
• The freezer has a month. The cells are No time is printed for this cell, No time is printed for this cell, No time is printed for this cell, and No time is printed for this cell. No time is printed. This page does not invent one.
• This chart is every gluten-free blend. It is the wheat flour FoodKeeper prints. Opened whole wheat, the pantry is No time is printed for this cell. No time is printed in that cell. This page does not paste a day onto rice flour or almond flour.

The windows assume a generally healthy household. Pregnancy, young children, older age, or a weakened immune system are reasons to keep the shorter figure, to skip raw or undercooked food, and to reheat leftovers until the centre is steaming. USDA’s figure for reheating leftovers is 74°C (165°F).

In pregnancy, for young children, in older age, or with a weakened immune system, do not taste a doubtful bag to decide. Bugs or a musty smell end the bag. Heating does not undo a bitter germ smell. This line is not bread, and it is not every gluten-free blend. This page does not add a freezer month.