And you thought i was out of black bars

  • grrgyle@slrpnk.netEnglish
    9·
    1 day ago

    Nah it’s lovely. It’s fucking lovely. Basically perfect. A role model for other packaging.

    I bake for my family and friends at least once a week, and do you know how often I’ve got my flour wet, or had it go bad, or stale, or anything to make it unusable? Zero times.

    I want all the other packaged goods to take a long hard look in the mirror and ask if they really need all their shit, or if they shouldn’t be more like flour.

    We should all be more like flour!

  • BreadOven@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5·
    1 day ago

    I put it in a resealable plastic container and keep the bag in a cool, dry area. The packaging does suck though, I will never deny that.

  • merc@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    26·
    2 days ago

    There are really 2 problems:

    1. Flour is essentially dust. It’s really hard to find a good way to package dust.
    2. Flour is really, really cheap. The packaging needs to remain a small fraction of the overall cost.
    • Zizzy@lemmy.blahaj.zoneOPEnglish
      373·
      3 days ago

      They spill everywhere and you cant reseal them leaving it possible for bugs to get in. But i have to agree theyre better than a plastic container

      • Kirp123@lemmy.worldEnglish
        601·
        3 days ago

        You can buy a container and dump them into that. There are a lot of options around, metal and ceramic.

      • Courtney (she/her/they) @lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
        21·
        3 days ago

        Open the flour over a trash can to catch that little bit of flour that always seems to be on top, try to keep the folding paper top together, but open one side like a milk carton.

        Open resealable container of your choice, I have large plastic bins that hold 10lbs of flour quite nicely. Big round container with handles and a lid.

        Dump flour into container, slow-ish so it doesn’t poof into the air

        Seal container, use dry paper towel, rag, or vacuum to clean the small amount that probably came off the paper top.

        I usually give the open top a flick with my finger over the trash can to dislodge as much as possible before going to the counter.

        I really can’t think of a better way to package it, other ways are either taking up more space than needed, or uses plastic/metal. Plastic is a non-starter for me, and metal would drastically increase price. It’s a cost-effective way of tansporting a cheap product. Just don’t get it wet lol

        • RBWells@lemmy.worldEnglish
          1·
          2 days ago

          If it’s not irradiated it has eggs, if you don’t use it quickly, parking it in the freezer for a couple weeks kills them.

          I know ours isn’t irradiated because I use it for sourdough but use it quickly because sourdough. But back when I didn’t bake much I did have to freeze it, or bugs. Rice too.

      • n0xy@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        10·
        3 days ago

        I usually leave them in the bags. But for sugar I put them into a different container. You can do the same with flour.

      • SchmidtGenetics@lemmy.worldEnglish
        7·
        3 days ago

        Fold, roll, and keep closed with some painters tape. If it’s needed daily, get a tub with a lid.

        It’s a bag of flour, you don’t pour from it, you scoop from it.

        • Ephera@lemmy.mlEnglish
          10·
          3 days ago

          I just fold it over twice and put a clothes peg on it.

          It’s more or less like a double seam, which is surprisingly effective at closing something off. Like, if you do that with a plastic bag, it’s close to airtight…

          • SchmidtGenetics@lemmy.worldEnglish
            2·
            3 days ago

            My wife likes to stack stuff, so with it folded and rolled correctly (it’s more or less just keep folding till it’s flat) it allows you to maximize some space. The flour is a once every couple weeks unless I’m on a bread binge. Tape keeps its closed for when shuffling stuff around.

      • Fmstrat@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        2 days ago

        Then buy a reusable container like everyone else who’s ever bought more than one bag?

      • ContriteErudite@lemmy.worldEnglish
        4·
        3 days ago

        I put new flour into a sealable container once I get home. A little bit usually gets onto the counter, but a damp rag can handle it. I found that the trick is to slowly move flour into the new container using a scoop until the bag is about a quarter empty. I used to just dump the bag, but that makes it spill more and is a harder to clean up after.

    • RBWells@lemmy.worldEnglish
      141·
      3 days ago

      It’s just the overly strong glue that bothers me. I want to be able to open the bag without ripping a hole in it. Like having a garment with thread stronger than the fabric, the fabric will tear.

    • cRazi_man@europe.pubEnglish
      15·
      3 days ago

      Entirely paper packaging. I would argue this really is optimal packaging. I’ve got an air tight glass jar that I decant to.

  • Dharma Curious (he/him)@slrpnk.netEnglish
    411·
    3 days ago

    So many things would be better suited to the grocery store having large hoppers of the item that you fill your own containers with. Either the hopper counts out how much is fed through, or you sit the empty container beneath the hopper on a scale, zero it, and then fill and get the weight printed on a little sticker. We have this technology for jelly beans and coffee grounds, but apparently it’s far too advanced for anything else

    • rmuk@feddit.ukEnglish
      3·
      1 day ago

      That reminds me that I used to live near a Lidl that piloted this. It was great! I bought reusable containers for milk, fruit juice, detergent, rice, cereal - there was so much, and the machines had a built-in scale that automatically zeroed when you put the container down so you paid for exactly what was dispensed.

      I went back one week to find them disconnected. Apparently they have a problem with some of the locals coming in and drinking straight from the dispensers.

    • Ephera@lemmy.mlEnglish
      14·
      3 days ago

      Here in the Germanies, we have these Unverpackt (“non-packaged”) shops which do this: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unverpacktladen
      Unfortunately, these are also mainly just a thing in larger cities.

      Although, here in town, we have like a weekly farmer’s market where a guy shows up with a truck that has a shopfront in the side, and you just hand him your containers, then he fills them up with what you want and weighs them. Always feels a bit like buying sweets at a fair, and not just because the guy also has sweets. 😅

      One time, a family was ahead of me and the mum had brought a glass jar for each child. And then the kids got to pick what sweets they wanted, like one scoop of jelly worms and one scoop of sour things and one scoop of …I don’t what sweets are called. That was also really fun. 🙃

      • TheBrideWoreCrimson@sopuli.xyzEnglish
        1·
        2 days ago

        I’ve seen one of these stores flounder and fail in a matter of a few years. I passed it by many times and I never saw anyone buy anything, or even enter there.
        Although I felt sorry for the people running it, I would have never bought any of the sort of stuff they had on display anyway, whether packaged or not. Except for chocolate, and I really prefer mine bar-shaped.

          • bonesawmcl@lemmy.worldEnglish
            5·
            2 days ago

            I once bought something at one of these stores. Was in need for a specific kind of sugar for a recipe and they had it. Honestly it’s probably mostly failing on price point and convenience, because a) most of the products they sell are organic and high quality; so more expensive and b) you have to know what you want to buy beforehand so you can bring your own containers… Also the store was in an awkward location and not well advertised.

            • porous_grey_matter@lemmy.mlEnglish
              2·
              2 days ago

              There’s a range of levels of this kind of shop, maybe not in every country or city, but in general. There was one in a city I lived in a few years ago, actually a national chain in that country, which had some fancier stuff but basically normal supermarket level stuff at slightly below normal supermarket prices, plus 5% off if you brought your containers. They had flours, dry beans, seeds, dry fruit etc, as well as like dish soap, oil, vinegar and so on. The first few times it was definitely a bit of a hassle to go there and think about what I needed to bring and buy, but once I made a routine of it it wasn’t harder than anything else really.

              • bonesawmcl@lemmy.worldEnglish
                1·
                23 hours ago

                That’s also true. If I remember correctly, when I was in Sweden 10 years ago, there were such refill stations in a normal supermarket. So it’s definitely possible for certain products!

            • Ephera@lemmy.mlEnglish
              41·
              2 days ago

              Yeah, we don’t make companies recycle/reuse the trash that they wrap around food and it’s dirt-cheap to produce more plastic trash, so somewhat unintuitively, it’s not really cheaper to buy food without packaging.

              And at that point, you need to have customers that are willing to bring their own containers, just because they themselves want to reduce trash. Those kind of customers will also want organic, so now you’re more expensive. 🫠

              Welp, if you’re willing to buy organic anyways, it’s kind of cool, because it’s a selection of food worth buying.
              One time, the guy also let me try unroasted peanuts, which I probably would not have bought otherwise. Like, that’s also kind of cool, that they can have more exotic foods, because you can just try a nibble of it, or buy like a single portion, if it needs to be cooked/prepared…

    • saigot@lemmy.caEnglish
      5·
      2 days ago

      In canada we have a chain called bulk barn that does this. Grains, nuts, candy, dog food and spices.

      • Omgpwnies@lemmy.worldEnglish
        41·
        2 days ago

        I don’t think bulk barn allows you to bring your own container, you have to use their plastic bags

        • Bubbaonthebeach@lemmy.caEnglish
          4·
          2 days ago

          They allow certain containers. But mostly people use single use plastic bags and create far more plastic film garbage than they would by buying regular packages. One thing you are not allowed to do is to reuse your prior bags - food cleanliness regulations because leftover almonds dust from one week might contaminate this week’s almonds.

          • emeralddawn45@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
            4·
            2 days ago

            It’s definitely still way less packaging. Those flimsy bags have way less plastic than the thick ass packages from the grocery store, and that’s not even counting all the things that are individually wrapped or have extra packaging like those plastic clamshell containers.

        • Teepo@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          2·
          2 days ago

          The Bulk Barn near me has “Sustainable Sundays” where you get a 10% discount for bringing your own containers.

        • merc@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          1·
          1 day ago

          Some use something called a “bag-closing chain stitch”, which is done using a special bag-closing machine. The way it works is that the machine punches the thread through the bag material leaving a loop on the back side. It then connects that loop to the next stitch. The thread holds the bag securely closed, but if you pull on the right part of the thread each stitch disconnects in a chain until the whole thing is undone.

  • mkwt@lemmy.worldEnglish
    31·
    3 days ago

    Used to be fabric bags. Then in the depression the flour companies realized their customers were making clothing out of the bags, so they started using cool prints for the bags.

    • Earthwormjim91@lemmy.worldEnglish
      14·
      3 days ago

      The paper bags are actually superior to fabric in almost every way.

      The old fabric sacks let in bugs a lot easier, and you’d end up with weevils. Paper sacks are far better at preventing bugs. It also prevents dust explosions at the industrial level from static electricity. Flour is surprisingly explosive.

      You can still get flour in cotton sacks though. Blue Bird flour comes in reusable cotton sacks.

  • Emi@ani.socialEnglish
    16·
    3 days ago

    IMO glass jars are perfect for anything. Just buy it in paper and then transfer it into glass. I love having bunch of glass jars to use for pretty much anything I wanna store and you can just reuse then from other stuff you already bought. That reminds me I need to buy pickles.

  • Mac@mander.xyzEnglish
    7·
    2 days ago

    Is anyone searching for the “best way” or are they picking the cheapest acceptable option?