You're talking about whole barley grains? Store in a dark, temperature stable place (i.e., your pantry cupboard), in an air tight canister or bag. Should be good for a couple of years at least. Grainlady will probably chime in with something more definitive.

I put it in a Tupperware container

I agree with plllog, it'll be good for a year or more. I just used the last of a bag that I purchased 9 months ago, and it was fine. I did pour it out of the bag and keep it in a canning jar with a lid.

Annie

All the above was good information, and I assumed it was pearled barley, not the whole grain (which looks like wheat).

Don't store it in the box/bag it came in, place it in a glass container with a screw-top lid. If you want/need the instructions from the package, you can file it or tape it to the container. If there is enough room in the jar, slip the instructions inside it.

If you have the capacity to vacuum-seal it (using a FoodSaver and a jar sealer), that's even better. The enemies of all food are oxygen, light, heat, moisture and insect infestation. Vacuum-sealing eliminates the oxygen and will kill any lingering pantry pests or the eggs.

Food storage charts are based on room temperature - which is 70°F - but will last longer if the temperature is colder, and life span is shorter if stored under hotter temperatures. It's best to use it quickly, at any rate, or freeze it if you aren't.

A handy place to check for food storage is Still Tasty:

http://stilltasty.com/

Two people mentioned jars. Anything wrong w/ Tupperware

Real tupperware

Tupperware, or other food-grade plastic containers will work fine, but the problem comes from any natural oils from grains (or oils/fats from food that has been stored in them). Oil/fat bond with plastic, not just coat the surface. It is impossible to remove once it has bonded to the plastic, and over time those same oils will go rancid. Have you ever smelled the inside of plastic containers that have been in storage (especially if the lid was left on it), or if they haven't been used on a regular basis, and at one time contained something that had fat/oil in it for a long period of time? That "smell" is from rancid oils/fats that are bonded to plastic. Scrubbing, bleaching, and other cleaning methods, can't remove it once it's bonded to plastic. It's imbedded in the plastic.

We have recycled 50-gallon plastic barrels that we use for rain barrels outside. These barrels contained olives, and 9-years later you can still smell what was shipped in them, even though we have power-washed them before we connect them each spring, and cleaned them with a number of cleaning compounds. The fat is bonded to the plastic. This is why in home food storage classes I strongly suggest people NOT use recycled plastic buckets for bulk food storage that contained frosting (or other fatty food). The fat found in the frosting bonds to the plastic. Whatever you store inside the recycled bucket can eventually absorb the rancid smell.

Then there are concerns with BPA in plastic containers. But the container is a personal choice. Keeping the barley in an airtight container in a cool dark storage area are the prime concerns.

I store hundreds and hundreds of pounds of grains/seeds/beans alone, plus other dry goods that are jarred and vacuum-sealed. I have never had a pantry pest infestation in the time I've used vacuum-sealed canning jars for dry storage (1986). Nor have any jars smelled rancid.

A portion of my kitchen pantry shelves are only 6" apart. I store my jars horizontally on those shelves, one jar deep, with the lid showing. I have painted chalkboard paint on the lids so I can mark what the contents are. I can also take the wide-mouth lid that was on a large jar, and as the contents of the jar are used, place it in a smaller jar and still use the same lid. This is more efficient storage than lining jars 2 or 3 deep in the vertical position. If I use a plastic screw-top lid (made for canning jars), I can write on those with Chalk Markers (liquid "chalk" - available at Hobby Lobby) and wash it off. You can also write on steel canning lids with Chalk Markers and wash it off.

-Grainlady

Granddad loves barley in soups (I do too,) so we use it a lot. I recently found a health food store that sells the whole barley at a reasonable price. It's quite a bit better than the pearled style. An added benefit of the whole is, unlike the pearled, it helps to stabilize blood sugar in people with diabetes. Granddad has diabetes so I've switched to the whole and we are enjoying it more.

As was already mentioned, we store ours in the freezer. It's just easier.

Grainlady, I also use canning jars for storage. Mine are the vintage clear blue ones that I pick up at antique stores. How do you vacuum seal yours?

Iinnea56-

How fun having vintage jars. I have a few that were my mother's. As jars age, especially from heat processing during canning, they become brittle and shouldn't be used for canning any longer, but they make great storage containers. Be careful not to knock them together because the older jars can shatter easily due to the brittleness of the glass (from age/use).

I vacuum-seal a canning jar lid onto canning jars using the FoodSaver and the special jar sealer attachment (which comes in both regular and wide-mouth), OR, you can add the appropriate number (and size) of oxygen absorbers and remove the air and attach the lid that way (these two methods are primarily used for long-term storage, not for just a few months). Storing dry-goods (with a 10%, or lower, moisture level) in an oxygen-free and also in a cold environment will increase the storage life. Do the opposite -- store with oxygen in the container and warmer than room temperature (70°F) -- and the food items will degrade much quicker.

When you attach a canning jar lid to the jar, you need to give it a heat treatment in order to soften the sealing compound.

How to: Bring water to boil, turn off. Pre-soak lids 5-10 minutes. Dry thoroughly and attach to jars using the Jar Sealer.

The nice thing, if you are careful removing the lid, you can use the canning lid over and over, unlike using lids for home-canning. There are also FoodSaver Universal Lids that will work on any rigid container with a smooth rim, and I use those like a lid on a canister in the kitchen pantry. Using the Universal lid (which comes in two sizes) I'm able to vacuum-seal the food and easily open and shut the container than when using a canning lid. I make sure I check ALL the jar lids once a month to make sure they haven't lost their seal. You don't use the ring for the jar if you vacuum-seal the lids on with a FoodSaver.

If you go to the FoodSaver web site, you will be able to find more information.

Did you know you can tell the age of a Ball jar by how the script for the "BALL" is written? I have a chart I found on-line, and the jars went back to 1885, and the current one has been used since 1975.

-Grainlady