Stockpile Basic Baking Items Now!

Stockpiling is a great way to save money on your food budget. Basically, stockpiling means finding an item at the rock bottom price and buying up that item to store for later use. If you can find a coupon to use with this rock bottom price it makes it an even sweeter deal. You will also have the item on hand when the price goes up and you can choose not to buy it until it goes down again because you have the item you need on hand. Right now is the perfect time to stockpile on basic baking items. At this time of year, merchants are fighting for your holiday food dollars. During the holidays, baking ingredients are a loss leader. This means they are willing to take a loss on those items in the hope that we will get in the store to buy the other full priced items. Another great thing about this time of year is that manufacturers have lots of holiday coupons to use with these rock bottom prices, which makes stockpiling even easier. See Holiday Coupons and Holiday Coupons from Nestle Busy Mommy articles to start matching some coupons with your store sales. Here are a few baking items that you can store and some tips on each. We use many of these items through out the year, so why not buy them when they are cheap!

All Purpose Flour- Store this in a tightly sealed container. Shelf life is 8 months in the pantry, 1 year in the refrigerator, and several years in the freezer.

Self Rising Flour- Shelf life is only 6 months.

Whole Wheat Flour- Stored in the freezer it is good for 6 months, shelf life at room temperature is only a couple of months.

Granulated Sugar- Stored properly in a tight container, it will last for years.

Confectioner's Sugar- Best to store in original box, it last for years.

Brown Sugar, light or dark- Best to use within 6 months of buying, do not store in the refrigerator. If you are going to keep it a long time, you can freeze it.

Baking Soda- Once opened, it has a shelf life of 6 months.

Baking Powder- Once opened shelf life in pantry is six months, store in freezer and it is good indefinitely. You can check to see if your baking powder is still active by stirring one teaspoon into 1/3 cup of warm water. If it still fizzes, it’s okay.

Yeast- Store unopened yeast in a cool, dry place, such as a pantry or refrigerator. Use within three to four months. Freezing yeast is not recommended because it kills the yeast cells.

Marshmallows- They’ll stay moist if stored frozen in a tightly sealed bag. They’re easier to slice with scissors when frozen.

Vanilla- Last indefinitely on the shelf because of the high alcohol content.

Chocolate Chips- Store tightly wrapped for six months.

Unsweetened cocoa powder- Store it in a tightly sealed container for up to two years.