There’re obvious differences between a regular pantry and a gluten free one. The latter, which is the one that concerns us runs more efficiently if we know how to keep superfoods at home. Today we’re going to look at a few simple tips that can make our day to day easier.
But first, what do we understand by superfoods? There is no scientific or legal definition for them, however, many of the ingredients we find in our pantries and have been using forever, such as the humble lentil, can be considered superfoods.
Let’s focus on those perhaps more exotic or until recently unknown, and how to best avoid problems.
FLOUR: any gluten free pantry holds a large variety of flours and flour mixes.
WHOLE GRAINS: such as sorghum, millet, quinoa, oats, buckwheat, amaranth, teff, rice, tapioca…
SEEDS: linseed, chia, poppy, sesame, pumpkin, sunflower. And let’s not forget spices, specially if we buy them in large formats that take a while to be used.
NUTS: from hazelnuts to walnuts, pistachios, almonds, brazil nuts, you name it.
To best keep our superfoods we all happen to have a great ally at home: our freezer and its accomplices, airtight containers.
Why should you pay attention to how you keep your superfoods?
Well, there are several reasons for this:
- Many of these ingredients can develop micro organisms such as moths or worms while they happily sit in our pantry.
- Furthermore, we can stop many of them from going stale over time.
- The development of microorganisms is not directly associated with the expiration date. It is, therefore, a waste we can prevent from happening.
However, not all the ingredients mentioned above benefit from the freezer in the same way.
Let’s look into how to best use it in every case, considering specially those we eat raw.
How to keep flour and whole grains.
Let your sorghum, millet, buckwheat, amaranth, quinoa, teff flours spend a day or two in the freezer, then transfer them to airtight containers.
How about seeds.
Since we often use our chia seeds raw, we keep an airtight jar in the freezer, to kill any micro organisms and prevent growth, and we just simply take whatever quantity we need for our serving.
In the case of linseed or flax, specially when it’s ground, it is best to always keep it in the freezer. Why? Apart from the tendency to develop micro organisms, once ground the natural oil in the seed can become stale fairly quickly. This is how to avoid it
Dried fruit and nuts
If you buy small quantities, just keep the in your pantry, in an airtight container. However, if you buy large formats, keep a small quantity in your pantry and put the rest in the freezer.
Other superfoods
With things such as açai, moringa, lucuma, powdered beetroot, ashawanda, powdered kale or spinach, etc., you can leave them in the pantry, since we normally buy them in very small formats, and we usually consume them before they cause problems. In case of buying in large formats, again the freezer is a good solution.
And finally, let’s not forget berries. We use so many of them. In our case, we like buying them in frozen form and popping them in our blender straight from the freezer.
How can you use your well-preserved superfoods?
If you dedicate a little time to care for your superfoods, you’ll be able to use them continuously and with a great variety of applications, such as:
- Salads.
- Smoothies.
- Ice-cream.
- Baked goods.
- …
Here at Milola’s we’re absolutely passionate about ingredients and are constantly researching on new ones. We love knowing and caring for them, so that we can always get the most out of their use.
Healthy, inclusive cooking <b> requires love and care for what we do and what we eat. Simple tips and routines when shopping and storing your pantry can help you enhance your superfoods, maintain their properties and avoid problems.
Now that we’ve told you how to keep your superfoods, take a look at our cookie’s descriptions. You’ll find many of them lending their super powers to each of our 6 irresistible flavours.
