Cornmeal is one of those inexpensive foods that I think deserves a place in a well-stocked pantry. It can be used to make cornbread, corn cakes, breading, hot cereal and some very simple old-fashioned breads that require little more than cornmeal and water.

But if you are buying cornmeal specifically for food storage, not all cornmeal is the same.

Look for Degerminated Cornmeal

For the average household, one of the easiest choices for storage is plain degerminated cornmeal.

When shopping, look on the package for the words “degerminated” or “degermed.” Yellow or white is fine. I generally prefer yellow cornmeal, but the color isn't what makes the difference for storage.

The important word is degerminated.

The germ of the corn contains natural oils. Those oils are nutritious, but they can eventually become rancid. Degerminated cornmeal has had most of the germ removed during processing, making it better suited for keeping in the pantry than traditional whole-grain or stone-ground cornmeal.

Stone-ground and whole-grain cornmeal are wonderful for cooking, but if my purpose were putting inexpensive cornmeal away for emergencies, I would choose degerminated cornmeal.

I would also buy plain cornmeal rather than self-rising cornmeal mix. Self-rising products contain additional ingredients such as leavening and salt. Plain cornmeal is much more versatile because I can decide what to add when I actually use it.

Degerminated Cornmeal for Food Storage

What Should I Look for at the Grocery Store?

You don't necessarily need expensive emergency-food cornmeal. Check the regular baking aisle at Walmart, Target or your local grocery store.

One easy example is Quaker Yellow Enriched and Degerminated Corn Meal. Another is Shawnee Best Yellow Degerminated Enriched Corn Meal.

Brands and packaging change, so rather than shopping by brand name alone, I would read the package. The words I am looking for are:

Plain Yellow or White Cornmeal — Degerminated or Degermed

I would avoid buying a large amount of stone-ground or whole-grain cornmeal if my primary purpose were long-term emergency storage.

Cornmeal can be kept in an airtight mason jar for up to 1 year

How I Would Store Cornmeal

Cornmeal should be protected from heat, moisture, insects and air. For normal pantry use, I would transfer it into a good airtight food-storage container and keep it in the coolest, darkest part of the pantry.

For cornmeal I want to keep longer, I prefer the freezer.

I would place the unopened cornmeal package inside a heavy freezer bag or other moisture-proof container, remove as much excess air as practical, seal it and label it with the date. This also provides additional protection against pantry insects.

Freezing does not turn cornmeal into a perishable food. If the electricity goes out, previously frozen dry cornmeal does not suddenly have to be thrown away.

There is, however, one important rule when taking cornmeal from the freezer.

Do not open the container while the cornmeal is still cold.

Take the sealed container or freezer bag out and allow the entire package to gradually reach room temperature while it remains sealed. Opening cold cornmeal in a warm or humid kitchen can allow condensation to form. Moisture is exactly what we don't want getting into food intended for storage.

Once the cornmeal has completely reached room temperature, I can open it and transfer it to an airtight pantry container if necessary.

Popcorn can be ground into meal if needed

What About Really Long-Term Storage?

If I wanted to store corn for many years rather than simply maintain a rotating supply of cornmeal, I would take a different approach.

I would store whole dried corn intended for human consumption and keep a manual grain mill with it.

Whole grain keeps its protective outer structure intact until it is needed. Instead of trying to preserve already-ground cornmeal indefinitely, I can grind a small amount of corn into fresh meal as I need it.

Whole dried corn suitable for grinding can be purchased from bulk-food suppliers, preparedness-food companies, some Amish or Mennonite bulk-food stores, grain suppliers and online retailers. Make sure it is food-grade corn intended for human consumption, rather than treated seed corn or livestock feed.

A hand-operated grain mill is particularly useful for emergency storage because it doesn't require electricity. Whole corn is also quite hard, so I would make sure any mill I purchased specifically states that it is capable of grinding dried corn.

For most households, though, there is no reason to make this complicated.

Marked date for cornmeal for rotation

Keep several packages of plain degerminated cornmeal in rotation, protect them from heat and moisture, freeze extra packages when practical, and replace what you use.

Cornmeal is inexpensive, familiar and remarkably versatile—and in my next article I'll go back in history and show just how simple a meal could become when our ancestors combined cornmeal, water and a hot skillet.

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An electric grain mill I used to use but gifted to my mother (it was loud to run, but very effective!)