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Actually I thought the sifting was to find any bugs that might be in the flour.
Bugs maybe not yet, but their eggs can and usually are; which explains why if you keep flour, cereal and grain based things long enough, you get bugs. This even if things are stored in sealed plastic bags and inside a box.
Threw out several boxes of cake mix several weeks ago that had been sitting around for awhile. Opened one box to see if things were "good" and could see larva wiggling around inside still sealed bag. Shoved bag back into box, took it and remaining (unopened) boxes directly outside to trash.
I think if you freeze the flour for several days, you can then keep the flour safely in a canister. Freezing is supposed to kill the larvae—if I remember correctly.
I think if you freeze the flour for several days, you can then keep the flour safely in a canister. Freezing is supposed to kill the larvae—if I remember correctly.
Yep, I keep my bag in the freezer all the time. Only get it out to measure and use some.
Actually I thought the sifting was to find any bugs that might be in the flour.
Yes, I think that was part of the original reason. I remember a friend of my brother working in a local bakery (back when there were real bakeries and not just grocery-store sections), and he told the owner that there were bugs in the flour. The owner said, "Yes, sift them out."
Why follow recipes or instructions at all? Generations of bakers and professional pastry chefs can't possibly have gained any experience worth following, and they're probably just shills for Big Flour or Big Sieve or Big Something anyway. Don't even use a pan (that's just a hoax perpetrated by Big Cookware). Just throw everything in the oven and let it fend for itself. If it doesn't turn out right, the ingredients just weren't worthy of becoming whatever they were supposed to be. Recipes and instructions are for losers.
I knew it. I knew it.
Big Flour and Big Sieve are behind it all. That's the biggest laugh of my day, so far!
However, getting creative and recipe-deviation are a lot of fun too. Especially if you don't have all the ingredients---don't let that stop ya. Innovation!
Yes, I think that was part of the original reason. I remember a friend of my brother working in a local bakery (back when there were real bakeries and not just grocery-store sections), and he told the owner that there were bugs in the flour. The owner said, "Yes, sift them out."
That's funny. Yet disconcerting. Seems microscopic bugs are in all our food.
I once microwaved some rice, and when I looked through the window mid-cook, I saw several wormy creatures standing up and waving at me.
I was under the impression that sifting was to aerate the flour. I do not recall ever hearing that one sifted to get rid of weevils or larvae, and I've never, ever seen those after sifting. I do suspect that the recipes called for sifting to make sure that the flour measured consistently in every recipe, for every cook. But this is only a guess on my part.
In the very olden days, women did not use standardized measuring cups or spoons either. I imagine there was a lot of variation between cooks, even when using the same recipes.
Although I keep my flour in the freezer because of bugs, I also think that sifting aerates the flour, and if you measure a cup, then sift it, you've got more than a cup (quantity). For this reason, the old British recipes which call for 6 oz (in weight) of flour are more accurate. Weight is weight, no matter whether you sift or not.
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