What if I'm allergic to wheat?Wheat allergies and the need for special diets because of other allergies or health concerns are fairly common. You, or someone in your family, might not be able to consume wheat or many other recommended foods. But remember, wheat is not the only recommended grain. You can have a successful longer-term storage without a drop of wheat. Store those grains that you and your family can eat.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recommends that you store "wheat, white rice, corn or other grains." Rolled oats are included on their list of products that can be stored for 30 years. If your family is allergic to wheat, but not gluten, oats are a good choice. Rice is a good grain for almost all food allergies. All of the different grains can be ground to make flour. Other grains may also be appropriate for longer-term storage, but avoid pearled barley and brown rice for longer-term storage (but they would be appropriate for your three-month supply) because they have very short shelf-lives. If you are considering storing a grain that is not already recommended for long-term storage, be sure to find out the recommended shelf life from reputable sources before you buy a lot of a product only to have it go bad quickly.
Here are some blogs about allergies and food storage:
Gluten-Free Food Storage
Gluten-Free Recipes & Food Storage (also a family blog)
Some great posts on this topic:
The Pantry Panel
Safely Gathered In
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2 comments:
I have bought pearled barley from Walton Feed and have no problems with it going rancid. We keep it cool (between 55 and 65 degrees). I bought it in the #10 cans. It is delicious, and I need to order more! I got mine just as we started to live on our food storage in the beginning of 2007. We are still using it (I have enough left to make one more batch of soup) and I have had no problems with it going rancid.
I have read that barley does have gluten, but if that is not a problem for you, it is a wonderful addition to your food storage!
I do think that if you use pearled barley quickly that it will store well for the short term. I store flour in bulk, knowing that I will use it fast enough that it will not have a chance to go bad. However, I wouldn't count on either for longer-term storage.
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