Storing: How to prevent worms from invading rice, flour, and other dry grains

Sometimes, our dry grain products, such as rice, flour, and popcorn kernels, are prey to a worm invasion. There is nothing like a bunch of worms in the food you're about to cook to steal away your appetite. They are actually either weevils or meal worms, but they look like little white worms.

 The best way to deal with these worms is to prevent them. To do this, first get rid of any contaminated products. I hate to throw away food, but it is worth it. Freeze your dry grain products for a few days as soon as you bring then home from the store. This is to kill any eggs that may already be in the grains. Then, thaw it out on some towels to soak up the frost moisture. Now that the product is defrosted, store it in an airtight container in a cool dry cabinet. I like to pour out the product from its original packaging into a see-through plastic or glass container. That way you can keep an eye on the situation. Finally, place a few bay leaves in your container. The worms hate bay leaves.