Buckwheat porridge is considered a traditional dish in our country. Many housewives like it for its ease of preparation and for its nutritional qualities. Therefore, many are interested in how to properly store this cereal in an ordinary city apartment, how long it will retain its useful qualities and how to understand whether the cereal has deteriorated or not.

How long and correctly can buckwheat be stored

Each food product has its own shelf life, and buckwheat has it. Subject to all standards, you can save this product at home for 2 years. But it is better not to bring this deadline and use buckwheat a year after purchase.

In domestic stores you can find such types of this product:

For any of these types, there are general rules for storage at home:

1. The place should be dark and cool.
2. The container should be tightly closed.
3. You can not keep the groats in plastic, it will quickly become worthless.

Did you know? According to a study by modern scientists, this cereal crop gives off a certain aroma that improves sleep. Its husk is used to fill pillows that should be bought for people with insomnia.

Dry

After buying ordinary dry buckwheat, it must first be sieved, and then moved to a container with a tightly closed lid.

It can be from:

• glass;
• metal.

If the cereal is wet - this happens when it is contained in a plastic package - it must be dried in the oven before pouring into a container. But the temperature regime should be set to a minimum, since with a strong temperature influence the croup will lose most of its useful properties. Also, buckwheat can be dried with frost, leaving it in the freezer for a day.

From the attack of a variety of pests that love to settle in cereals, can help:

• a few cloves of garlic;
• Bay leaf;
• horse chestnut;
• lemon peel.

Putting these substances on a jar, you can not be afraid of the attack of small pests. Groats can be stored in bags of cloth, pre-boiled in salt water. Under such conditions, the cereal does not inhibit, and the salt smell will drive away harmful insects.

Green

When storing green buckwheat, a number of simple rules should be observed:

1. The place where the container will be kept must be dry - moisture will destroy the cereal ahead of schedule.
2. Green buckwheat should be protected from sunlight, in the light it darkens and becomes bitter.
3. The product must breathe, so a linen bag is ideal.

Important! Even not spoiled buckwheat porridge, consumed the next day, by that time will lose a number of useful properties, so it should be eaten immediately and not cook for the future.

Boiled

Cooked porridge can stand in the refrigerator for no more than 3 days.

But even in this short period of time, a number of rules must be observed:

1. The product should be boiled in water, without dairy, meat or any other additives.
2. Storage temperature should be +3 ... + 4 ° С.
3. The container with porridge should be well closed, since this product quickly absorbs the aromas of other dishes.

In open or closed packaging

After purchase, the product should immediately be taken out of the packaging and poured into a glass or tin container. You can’t store it in plastic - there the cereal will quickly mate and lose its beneficial properties. In a humid environment, harmful insects will immediately appear that will ruin the buckwheat completely.

Important! Even if the cereal is bought in a sealed package, it must be washed with cool water before cooking. This will improve the taste of the dish.

How to find out that buckwheat has already deteriorated

If the rules for storage of cereals were violated, it must be carefully checked. You should start with the smell, when a fragrant aroma appears, it can already be said that the cereal has begun to deteriorate. Then it needs to be studied visually - there could be bugs there, when it is better to throw away buckwheat or cook the animals. The third sign is the color of water. If it quickly darkens during cooking, this means that the product has lost its useful properties.

Is it possible to freeze it

This product must not be stored in the freezer. Long-term freezing will lead to a loss of the beneficial properties of buckwheat, in addition, it will lose its taste. But this applies to dry cereals. Cooked porridge can be kept frozen for about 3 weeks. It must be transferred to a glass container, immediately after it has cooled, and put into the freezer, taking out the necessary portions as necessary. In this form, the product does not lose useful and palatability.

Buckwheat shelf life in packaging

The expiration date of the product is written on the packaging itself. But it should be understood that this date is before the opening of the package. After the packaging is not sealed, the cereal can be exposed to moisture, sunlight or an insect attack, which will significantly limit its shelf life.

Did you know? Buckwheat is considered environmentally friendly, because thanks to its exceptional endurance, fertilizers and top dressing are not used in its cultivation. This makes it one of the most useful cereal crops.

For different types of this product, different standard storage periods in unopened packaging are defined:

• green buckwheat - from 13 to 15 months;
• nucleus - from 18 to 20 months;
• done - from 15 to 18 months.

Dates may vary depending on the manufacturer and the conditions under which the cereal has been packaged. It is worth remembering that any cereal needs proper storage, because if certain conditions are violated, it loses its useful qualities. If the hostess cannot provide the required content with the buckwheat product, it should be consumed as quickly as possible - 1-2 months after the purchase.