Well I know if the flour smelled like cedar I would replace it. The thought of baking bread (or anything) from flour that smelled of cedar doesn't do it for me.

Ann

The internet says cedar chips are safe for vegetable gardens, and you said your bread doesn't smell funny, so if it were me, I'd keep using it and see how you go. I think it's a lovely smell-- perhaps you've invented the next trendy seasoning :-P

If the bread tastes fine....don't worry about it....if the bread has a "wood smell"....then buy some more.
But I can't really believe that the cedar smell penetrated the plastic into the flour...but I will believe that the plastic absorbed the smell...

sort of a take-off on cooking salmon on a cedar plank

The good news is that adult moths will be discouraged from laying eggs in your hair.

I used to by flour in the 25 pound bag. I would store it in a lard can, similar to a popcorn tin but bigger. That worked for me. Of course it should be frozen for awhile first so you would have to put it in something smaller and freeze it first. I still use the lard can but I just put the smaller bags of flour in it unopened now.

Sue

Most of the dollar stores sell food-safe plastic tubs for next to nothing. If you get a graduated set, you can keep about 10-15 lbs of flour in the largest one, and then use the others for other stuff. We also use Rubbermaid storage tubs for keeping dry foods in the basement. We've had mouse issues in the past, but they've never chewed through any of those, so I'm pronouncing them mouseproof. Of course there's also the freezer, if you have a freestanding one.

If you're storing flour in your cedar chest, does that mean you keep your wool sweaters in the pantry? Sounds like my house.

Maureen...I have had "something" chew through one of those containers.
I only hope it was a mouse and not something much bigger....

I'm still trying to understand "skeeved". However if you have a reason to buy 50 Lbs of flour, you probably will use it quickly enough to warrant purchasing some tight fitting containers. I love the big Lock n Lock's from QVC. I use them in my pantry to store flour/sugar, etc. to add to my kitchen canisters; I've never stored 50 Lbs, however.

Linda, I was trying to tell myself it was just the plastic. But I scooped out a cup and put it under my wife's nose when she came home. What's it smell like? Grandma's house. Done.

So, this will officially make it 89 pounds of flour thrown out in 2009. What a waste! (Remember the bromated stuff I tossed...)

I'll definitely buy some food safe containers, thanks for the suggestions. But what's up with freezing first? Why and how long?

Freezing kills any lurking beasties....I forget how long....but a week should do it.
Stumpy....you need to stop wasting money by saving money...
Just buy the 5 pound bag and run to the store when it's low.
Linda C

We bought the armor-plated Rubbermaids, Linda. No, not really, I use those for my shoes. I mean the big, thick plastic rectangular containers, not the flimsier kitchen kind. Our mice have chewed through wood and plaster, but they didn't chew through these, so until they do, I'm gonna assume you had rats. Or zombies.

If you have lots of extra room in your freezer, you can just keep the flour there, Stumpy (I love that). It will never freeze solid, so you can use it straight out of the freezer. That's where I keep whole wheat and rye and all the ones I get in smaller bags.

Ann, "skeeved" is NY/NJ/PA slang for being grossed out or disgusted by something. Roots in Italian. Adjective form is "skeevy."

Re the 50 pound bag, it's all Ann T's fault. She steered me to pizzamaking.com where lots of people raved about KA's Sir Lancelot flour for pizza dough. She also said she uses high gluten flour for all her breads. So how can you go wrong? For $20.50 I could have KA send me 6 pounds of KASL, or for $19.50 I could buy 50 pounds at the bakery supply house. So having used just 11 pounds of it I'm still ahead of the game.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

I wouldn't throw it out. So what if it smells like cedar--it won't poison you and if the bread's okay, what's the big deal?

Throw it out and start over with good containers. If it smells, it's not nice in the bread, etc. -- get rid of it! Thanks for the language update! My family is hugely Anglo-Saxon immigrants; no Italian that I know of. I don't know what my very conservative Scottish grandmother would say; but I suspect she would save the bread (in spite of the cost), maybe -- she was Scottish, after all!
Annie1971

I know moth pheromones permeate Ziploc bags so I'm not surprised cedar does. Honestly I'd not worry TOO much if it tasted OK since cedar isn't bad. But then what if it were cedar infused with ohhhh I dunno....DDT? Unused chest, so too new for DDT? ;)

How about use it to make some of those dough tree ornaments?

FOAS:
How about making some Cedar Flavored Pizza's.

I kept my flour in a new metal trash can with a lid,
because if there are any mice around ( I never had any ),
they will eventually chew through Plastic.

I have a problem with Squirrels chewing thru my screens and
Siding to get at the Bird Seeds.

You could put the bags in a high plastic trash can, without a lid.
Put newspapers around the bags but leave air circulation.
Change the newspaper.
Maybe with the air circulation, it will disappear.
LOU

I thought "skeevy" and "skeeved" were generational, not ethnic Italian. Maureen, can you elaborate on its roots? I live not far from Philadelphia, went to school for a while with Italian girls from Philly, and never heard these words until very recently. Language is so interesting, isn't it?

Lou - The cedar chest, and flour, and Grandma's house, actually seem to smell more like moth balls than fresh cedar. So I don't think I'm going to start a new trend! Who knows what chemicals are in there if any. The chest was in the basement when I bought the house and I haven't moved it. This is the first time I've had anything in it.

Christine - According to urbandictionary.com skeeve originates from the Italian word schifo, meaning disgust. Sounds plausible.

I was wondering about skeeved, too, as I've never heard nor seen it before.

I'd have a hard time using flour that smells like cedar, or anything else it's not supposed to smell like.

Sally

I couldn't agree more about how fascinating language is, Christine. The best I could find about "skeeved" in a brief look around--I'm too busy to break out the OED till later--is from grammarphobia.com, although I'm curious enough to keep poking. You're right that it's fairly recent, but I was talking about the root of the word. Here's what that site says:

A skeevy etymology

Q: I could not find the verb "skeeve" in my dictionary, though Ive always understood it to mean to cause disgust or to be disgusted. If a guy tells me, "I skeeve you," is he disgusted by me or am I disgusted by him?

A: The verb "skeeve" is described in the Oxford English Dictionary as American slang from the 1980s meaning (1) to disgust or repel, as in "you skeeve me," or (2) to loathe or dislike intensely, as in "I skeeve that." It sometimes appears as "skeeve out."

So both senses of the verb are correct, and you'd interpret the meaning from the context.

The OED says the word comes from an earlier adjective dating from the 1970s, "skeevy" (disgusting, distasteful, dirty, sleazy).

"Skeevy," in turn, probably comes from a regional Italian adjective, schifo, used in Tuscany, according to the OED lexicographers.

The American slang version may have originated in Philadelphia. The OED's first citation for "skeevy" is from Philadelphia Magazine in March 1976: "The word Âskeevie used by South Philadelphians to indicate something disgusting is from Italian Âschifare, to loathe."

Sally, maybe you don't know the word because you hang around with a higher class of people than some of us. You need to watch more Sopranos reruns. ;o)

Thanks! The '80's huh? I'm not quite up-to-date on slang, I see! I'd have sworn it became current in this century. Tuscan? Philly? Ain't no Tuscans in Philly. Sicilians and a few Apulians. We need to ask Lou about this.

Maureen, if you have the OED I am too jealous to speak.

FOAS:
I didn't know all this. Remember the old Saying ,
" You have more problems than Dick Tracy " ???
Throw out the flour and the Cedar Chest . LOL

Maureen:
Christine:
I've heard " Schifuso " ( spelling ) as far as I know it means someone disgusting , like me.

They also called me " Capodoste " guess that's why I'm still on the CF. I've taken a beating.

I have a few words to call you in Italian, slang.
You pick them, from this article.
I'll start with Bella !!!
- - - - - - -

Want to translate something?

I searched for several Italian-English dictionaries and translation sites. I found some that weren't worth a grain of salt. The ones I included are pretty good. Italian is a phonetic language. The words sound just like they are spelled. About.com has two guides for pronouncing Italian letters: http://italian.about.com/cs/pronunciation/index.htm

WordReference.com: http://www.wordreference.com/

This site. Freetranslation, will translate large pieces of text for you: http://www.freetranslation.com/

Some Common Words and Sayings

Mangia!: Eat!

Bella: beautiful

Ciao!: hello or good bye

Buona notte: goodnight

Buona sera: good evening

Grazie: thank you

Per favore: please

Parla l'inglese: speak English

Paesano: friend in the neighborhood (actually means villager) *some think this is derogatory

Goombah: "a combination of a good old boy, good family guy that just enjoys life and not a gangster" as defined by Soprano's Steve Schirripa:http://stacks.msnbc.com/news/988601.asp?0sl=-13

Mama Mia!: Mother of mine!

Fascination with Italian Insults and Curses

In many films and shows about Italians, the Mafia and organized crime, foul language abounds. There is a growing fascination with Italian insults and curses amongst non-Italians due to the popularity of "The Sopranos." Yes, some Italian-Americans really do swear like this in real life. I'm providing some examples, but use them at your own risk, especially if you are talking to an Italian or about an Italian. Many of these are considered offensive and if used in the wrong situation.... In Italian, the worst swear words are not those that are vulgar in the English language (such as the f*** word) but those that have to do with God and religion, and those that imply you are a fool because your wife is cheating on you. I'll leave out the more vulgar ones, but provide you with links to sites with access if you wish to explore a bit more.

Some examples of common exclamations,curses and insults:

allocco: a jerk

boccalone: a big mouth

cafone: slob, low class person

capodoste: hardhead

cazzata: a worthless thing

Come si chiamo: actually means what's his/her name- used in a derogatory manner to mean "What's her name" as in "He's with his come si chiam."

fa Napoli: get the hell out of here (literally means go to Naples)

faccia brutta: ugly face

faccia di culo: but ugly person

faccia di merda: sh**head

fannullone: a good for nothing person

fessacchione: really big idiot

leccapiedi: a brownnoser, a feet-licker (literally)

mannaggia!: damn!

merda: sh**

occiataccia: a dirty look

puttana: whore

saccente: a know it all

scassacazzo: pain in the ass

stunare: out of tune, idiot (this one's pronounced stoonod)

volente o nolente: like it or not

Here is a link to an interesting story about an American who learned to swear in Italian when she moved there:

http://www.slowtrav.com/rebecca/090403.htm

Here is a link to "The Alternative Italian Dictionary" if you want more vulgar stuff: http://www.notam02.no/~hcholm/altlang/ht/Italian.html

and

About.com's Italian Slang Dictionary: http://italian.about.com/library/slang/blslangdictionaryindex.htm

Go to this site to hear "Hooked on Paesanics." It's on the left hand side at the bottom. Very funny.

http://themezz.com/cgi-local/utica/webbbs_config.pl

Thanks Lou! I've been wanting to go to the Italian Market again soon. Now I'm ready. Or not, LOL!

So I read through the thread, and I still have question on storing flour. For flour I don't use too often, I keep in the frig. Is that OK? And if you store it in containers, is there a shelf life?

Oh, I don't think I would use the flour either. Cedar has it's place, but bread, I don't think so.

Thanks!

Forgive me for not reading all the postings here - what I have to say will be helpful ONLY if it hasn't already been conveyed. The beasties in the flour WILL eat through the Tupperware and other such containers in order to escape the flour house. THAT is why some have recommended you freeze the flour first - which will hopefully kill the larvae and they won't hatch, eventually into moths.

Department of Agriculture told me to use glass or metal containers ONLY if I want to keep beasties from escaping. I didn't ask about cedar.

Beasties will eat wool carpet and wall paper paste - so it is a bit hazardous to have them free ranging.

Kael, I store my less-frequently used flour in the freezer. It smells better in there. :)