How Long Does Coconut Flour Last?

Coconut flour is a recent buzz in the culinary world that has gained some traction. Many dessert items and mainstream recipes have started using coconut flour in place of wheat flour or refined flour.

Coconut flour is now used as a full-time replacement for wheat flour, and the results seem to be just fine. 

Coconut flour tends to turn bad if not stored properly. It can become rancid when exposed to oxygen. The flour has a high nut oil content, and it might get slightly stale if it stays longer at room temperature. 

The storage protocol for coconut flour is slightly intricate and requires a careful preservation mechanism in control. Coconut flour can be stored in the fridge or even in the freezer without any issues.

Unopened coconut flour in the pantry lasts up to 3 to 6 months at room temperature. It can be stored in the fridge for up to 6 to 12 months.

The opened package is good enough as long as its best-by date sets in. You can store it in the fridge for 3 to 6 months.

This article will elucidate how long you can preserve the coconut flour and how you store it. All about its properties and durability will be clearly explained in the article. 

Does Coconut Flour Go Bad?

Coconut flour does not last as long as all-purpose flour. Coconut flour is made from coconut flesh which is high in fat content.

If the fat content is exposed to air and stays out for a longer time, it might turn rancid and bad. Refrigerating or freezing coconut flour would be a better solution for this kind of issue.

How Long Does Coconut Flour Last?

Unopened coconut flour lasts for up to 3 to 6 months beyond the printed date. It can be kept at room temperature for the specified timeline. It can be refrigerated for 6 to 12 months when it is still unopened. 

However, opened coconut flour can retain its shelf life until its best-by date and not more than that. When preserved in the fridge, you can probably prolong it for a couple more months. 

Coconut flour usually retains a shelf life more than almond flour. It also has the ability to be valid even a couple of months after its best-by date when stored properly. 

If the coconut flour is placed in the fridge or freezer, then it is possible to retain its shelf life longer than predicted without compromising the quality.

Temperature is one of the main reasons for the deterioration of coconut flour. The cooler the temperature, the longer the shelf life of the coconut flour. 

How To Tell If Coconut Flour Is Bad?

The properties of coconut flour change a lot when it has turned bad. The best thing is to check all the dimensions of the original coconut flour to confirm whether it has turned bad.

Smell

The coconut flour would smell off and rancid, with some bitter odor radiating out of the flour. The smell would be repulsive, and you will definitely if you sniff it once.

Look

The color of the coconut flour would darken beyond a certain degree. You should also discard the flour if any flock of bugs is breeding on it. If you see any wet clumps or mold on the flour, then it is best to discard it immediately.

The fresh coconut flour will be very pleasantly aromatic and has a nutty flavor with exceptional sweetness. If any of those properties are missing, you can confirm that the coconut flour has gone bad.

Moisture Absorption

The coconut flour is bound to go bad if the moisture from the plastic cover gets infused into the flour. It would form wet lumps and then slowly decay beyond repair. 

Sealing the cover or the container tightly deems importance beyond bounds. Even if there is a slight dent in the container for the air to leak in, it is dangerous for the coconut powder contained within.

Can We Use The Coconut Flour Beyond The Expiry Date?

The coconut flour can be used beyond the expiry date without any problems if there are no visible signs of spoilage. If you are unsure, you can just cook a small portion and test the results before proceeding with the fulsome recipe. 

If you have not stored it properly and doubt its preservation, it is better to discard it immediately. It is not worth retaining the flour after you have screwed up on storage.

What Happens To An Opened Packet Of Coconut Flour?

An opened coconut flour gets decayed faster than an unopened packet. The rancidification process gets hastened up with an opened packet of coconut flour. This is because the gluten-free flour gets exposed to air and suddenly attracts moisture to turn bad.

The longer you store an opened packet of coconut flour, the greater the chance it will get spoiled. You have to use a cold storage spot if you need to store it by any chance.

How To Store Coconut Flour?

Storing coconut flour involves keeping it in a very cool and dry place. If you want the coconut powder to last longer than the stipulated best-by date, then refrigerating it would be the right way to go about it. 

You can also freeze the coconut powder if you want to retain it longer. Temperature plays a special part in preserving coconut powder. The lower the temperature, the better the coconut powder stays. 

You should also keep it away from microbes, pantry pests, and dirt as much as possible. The flour should be preserved in a sealable bag or an airtight container where there is no hole to let the outside air in.

If the original cover you purchased; the coconut powder is resealable, then using it would be appropriate as well.

Can You Refrigerate The Coconut Flour?

Yes, indeed, you can refrigerate the coconut flour. All you need to be wary of is that you have used a sealed cover to refrigerate it. This will prolong its shelf life than if placed at room temperature.

Can You Freeze The Coconut Flour?

Freezing is the best way to prolong the shelf life of coconut powder. If you have an airtight container and have stored your coconut flour in the container, shoving it in the freezer would serve the purpose.

If you have not stirred it in a sealable cover or have opened it for use, then it is better to shift the content into a freezer bag and freeze it. This will prevent the moisture from leaping in, and you will be free from any eventual spoilage of the flour.

Freezing also mandates that you label the container or the cover so that you know when this flour has been sitting in the freezer. If it stretches beyond the permissible time, throwing it off would be the right thing to do.

When you are going to use it, allow the flour to get thawed. It has to reach room temperature before you can actually leverage it. 

Usage Of Coconut Flour

Coconut flour can be used in place of any other flour at random. All recipes that are made with all the other conventional flours can be molded from coconut flour without any hassles.

It might taste a bit different but will have a flavor of its own that is very much likable and lovable. 

Conclusion

Coconut flour has a lot of culinary applications and has probably become the most prominent of all ingredients in recent times. Although, many are not sure about its storage protocols or the durability it possesses.

This article will clearly elaborate on the same, and you will be thrilled to preserve coconut flour in your home after reading this. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)