Tips for storing your leftover baking ingredients

In The Chatelaine Kitchen, we frequently purchase food items in bulk as we test recipes regularly. When I’m shopping for my home kitchen, I try to be more conscious of what I’m buying, but it seems as though I always end up with bags of unused flour after the holidays.

If you overindulged in your shopping over the holidays, and you’re not quite sure what to do with all your leftover nuts and butter, look no further. Here are some tips to make the most of your baking items – you may even extend some of them into the next holiday season.

Butter: Butter can be frozen for up to six months. Simply thaw in the fridge and use. Salted butter is good up to five months if refrigerated. Unsalted butter is good up to three months refrigerated.

Flour: Store in the freezer in an airtight container. Opened white flour is good up to eight months. Whole-wheat flour is good up to six months, then the oil in the flour starts to dry out.

Pure vanilla extract: Store at room temperature; as long as it is pure, it has an indefinite shelf life.

Chocolate chips: Store at room temperature. Opened packages are good up to one year, unopened up to two years.

Candied fruit: Store in an air-tight container. Opened packages are good up to two years if refrigerated. Unopened packages can be stored in a cool, dry place.

Nuts: Store in the freezer up to eight months.

Ground spices: Store in a cool, dry place for up to three years.