Cake flour can get too old to use

Dear Heloise: What makes cake flour old? I recently purchased a box and noticed that, like many food products now, it has an expiration date. Before this I had kept my cake flour in the refrigerator until I used it up, which might have been long past the expiration date of two years that this box shows. What will happen if I use out-of-date cake flour? Stumped in The Woodlands, Texas

It depends on how out of date it is, and the condition the flour is in. A leading flour manufacturer states that out-of-date flour can get bugs or mold, or turn rancid. A sign that you shouldn’t use flour is if it smells stale or looks “off.” The best way to store flour is in an airtight glass or plastic container, not in the paper bag in which it comes. It will stay fresh this way for six to eight months.

You can freeze cake flour indefinitely, but keep in mind that flour stored for a long time may not yield the same results as a bag of fresh flour. Use a freezer-safe bag or sealed container so the flour won’t absorb odors. Before using it, you need to thaw it at room temperature. A few cups will take about 20 minutes to warm up.

Flour can dry out over long periods of time, and this loss of moisture may give you poor results when used for baking. Heloise

Dear Heloise: I’ve been making healthy smoothies for breakfast. Many times I just rinse the container with soap and hot water. Imagine my surprise when I took it apart and looked closely at the blender blade. It was awful in the hard-to-reach places. It took a brush, a toothpick, hot water and a good soaking to get it all cleaned up. Now, I take the blender jar apart and clean well after each use. Thank you for the hints you pass along. J.H. in the middle of Kansas

Dear Heloise: Here is a hint that my mother-in-law taught me. When I burn something on the bottom of a pan (the really black, burnt-on stuff), I add an inch or so of very hot water to it and then sprinkle with powdered dishwasher detergent (stir to dissolve, and don’t use on aluminum — Heloise) and let it sit overnight. The black stuff just washes right off. Jan Curtis, via e-mail

Dear Heloise: I discovered an easy and quick way to peel hard-cooked eggs. After boiling them, I run some cool water over them. I then crack the shells and let the eggs sit in the water. After that, the shells just peel right off. I wish I would have discovered this great hint earlier. Pat L., Farmington, N.M.

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