Any suggestions for...

[Farmer Dave]

...what to do with some buggy flour? I normally keep my flour in the freezer but I ran out of room and had to put about 10 lbs of it in a large container on my counter. I went to use some over the weekend and noticed tiny black dots moving around in it. Being as frugal as I am, I hate to simply throw it out. What can I use it for? I thought maybe some kind of bird food I could make with it? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[A'sta at Hofstead]

Either make bread and "forget" that it was buggy.... or, what I would do is make something, I dunno, maybe "pancakes" with it and give it to my chickens! I imagine wild birds would be more than happy to eat them too.

[Morning Owl]

Maybe cook it up into dog cookies or some kind of bread for chickens or birds?

[MisFitFarm]

In the Winter, I make gravy on the really nasty days, for the dogs! Or, as A'sta said, make bread or pancakes for the chickens!

[TiaD]

if you have a dog, how about making dog biscuits with it....

[Silvercreek Farmer]

I got twenty or so pounds for free one time, every day at feeding time, I would take a pound or two and mix in just enough water to make it stick into little pea sized dough balls, nothing percise, just so the chickens and ducks could eat it easily. They gobbled it up and I save half a bag of feed or so...

[michiganfarmer]

I would run it through a sifter to get the bugs out, repackage it, and put it in the freexer. I always store my extra flour in th efreezer

I woukld just use it

[Jim S.]

Make homemade Play Dough with it and take it to a daycare center for the kids to play with, if you don't have any...or let your own kids play with it.

Cooked Playdough
3 cups flour
1.5 cups salt
6 tsp cream of tarter
3 tbsp oil
3 cups water
Dissolve salt in the water.
Pour all ingredients into a large pot.
Stir constantly over medium heat until a ball forms by pulling away from the sides.
Knead the dough mixture until the texture matches playdough (1-2 minutes).
Store in plastic container. Should last for at least 3 months.

NOTE: This recipe is made from edible ingredients and not toxic in small amounts for children. However, a dog got sick after eating a batch of playdough. It is not intended as a food item. Please be sure to put it away after your children have finished playing.

Uncooked Playdough
1/4 cup salt
1 cup flour
1/4 cup water
Have your child mix the flour and salt in a bowl then add water. Knead and squeeze the dough to make a clay consistency. You may need to add more water.

Note: Your child will find that this playdough doesn't last as long as the cooked recipes.

Kool-Aid Play Dough
The children will love the smell of this playdough!

2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup salt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups boiling water
2 packages unsweetened Kool-Aid
Mix dry ingredients. Add oil and water. Wearing gloves, knead for 10 minutes. Store in zip lock bag in refrigerator.

Notes:

Your hands may smell of the Kool-Aid flavor even with gloves.

[Manny]

The bugs that showed up in your container came with the flour when you bought it, in the form of bug eggs. You've been eating bug eggs for years and the flour that you now have in th freezer has bug eggs, possibly dead from being frozen, but still they are bug eggs. I would freeze your buggy flour, to kill the bugs and any of their eggs, and sift it and use it. The bugs in the container won't hurt you, after all they have been living only on flour and not on any pesticide, chemical or any toxic or unhealthful substance. If we find bugs we sift what we can out and use the flour, the bugs and eggs are so small that they don't contribute much to the taste of the finished cooked goods.

[Terri]

I *KNOW* a few bugs will not hurt me!

But, I feed buggy flour to the chickens in the form of buggy bread. They turn it into eggs, which I HAPPILY eat!

[Liese]

If I find bugs in flour, millet, cornmeal, etc. I do what Many & others have already said - freeze, shift, use. Oh, yeah - don't say anything at dinner time

[Jennifer L.]

Think of those bugs as tiny little livestock, and you are now butchering them for the freezer. Seriously? Chickens, unless you really are short, then I'd freeze, sift, and bake with it. If you have no chickens, bake into chocolate chip cookies and freeze the cookies for later, so you don't have to think about the bugs. Believe me, if you are lucky enough to find a bag of frozen cookies in the freezer, you AREN'T going to be asking any questions!

Jennifer

[raymilosh]

Yep.
Sift it and use it as it is. Sometimes, I have found that the grain moths had been in something so long that it caked and smelled like moth pee. At that point, I would compost it or do as the other folks have mentioned.
The moths can easily eat through paper and plastic to get to grains and beans and spices. They always wind up in the house and can really tear into stuff if they're not noticed in time or if large quantities of food are in storage. To prevent from getting tons of buggy stuff, I store EVERYTHING in glass jars or tin cans. Sometimes, I find a single jar that is full of moths. No big deal. They have been stuck in there and even if they get out, the rest of the food is still safe from them.

[Farmer Dave]

Thanks for all the great ideas! If I could sift the bugs out I would but they are so tiny that they would go right through my sifter screen. They are tiny black specks, not the moth larva that I sometimes find in boxes of pasta. I've never seen these before.

[BeesNBunnies]

Remind me not to eat at some of ya'lls houses Ewwwwww!!

Yes I know there are bug eggs in it when I buy it. Ignorance is bliss! Good grief I'm not even this tightfisted....and that's saying something. Gotta admire the homesteading spirit though Where else but this forum would you find this type of discussion!!

[bugstabber]

In the old days they used to just sift them out and use the flour. Take some to your extension office, they might be able to identify. Sounds like weevils, but I don't know how small they can be. I guess a picture is out of the question?

[Farmerwilly2]

Use it to make bagels. Tell everyone they're poppy seeds. Use the money saved to buy some cream cheese for the bagels.

[Farmer Dave]

Originally Posted by Farmerwilly2

Use it to make bagels. Tell everyone they're poppy seeds. Use the money saved to buy some cream cheese for the bagels.

Good One!

[ihedrick]

you mean they aren't poppy seeds? or how about raisin seeds?

[silentcrow]

Originally Posted by Terri

I *KNOW* a few bugs will not hurt me!

But, I feed buggy flour to the chickens in the form of buggy bread. They turn it into eggs, which I HAPPILY eat!

Amazing how most won't knowingly eat bugs, but we willingly eat something that came out of a chickens' butt (I won't eat the bugs, either).