<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Many thanks to all who responded!  I can see now that a freezer rests in our
future garage... !  Us apartment/city dwellers just don't have the space!  It
appears that most people keep their flours in the freezer/refrigerator.
(Especially brown rice flour.)  Other responses included web sites with great
info (thanks!), told me that Bette Hagman's cookbooks have the info within
(yeah!) and the following:

1.  You should keep everything, flours, xanthan gum, guar gum in the refrig.
I had to buy another refrig for my gluten free flours, etc. If I have room in
the freezer, it can keep up to 6 months. this cuts down on shipping charges
if you make a big mail order.

2.  go to www.gfutah.org .  Scroll down to Past Support Group Presentations.
There you will find this table "Storage Life of Common Gluten-free Staple
Foods.  I don't know if this table will transfer too well over text e-mail.
It think it would be best to go to the website for a clean copy.  Some of
these foods are safe to eat well past their recommended shelf life, but
texture, flavor, nutritional value and/or general freshness of the product
will change over time.  (THIS SITE LISTED XANTHAM GUM WITH AN INDEFINITE
SHELF LIFE ALONG WITH SUGAR & HONEY!  Glad to hear that because it's
expensive!)

3.  I don't know the specifics, but the brown rice flours, soy flour, and rice
bran have a shorter life because of the oils in them.  Left too long, they
go rancid (but a quick sniff lets you know if they're still good).  They
last longer in the fridge or freezer.

Xanthan gum, I have stored in a small airtight jar in the cupboard, and its
shelf life appears to be years (mine's about 2 years old now).  The same
for all my starches and the white rice flour.  I find that if I don't have
all my flours in airtight containers they end up victim to meal moths.  If
you haven't got them yet, you're lucky - I think sometimes they hitch a
ride into your house inside your new packages of flour (you can check when
you first open a new package by tilting the flour away from the sides and
looking for flour-covered spiderwebby things).

4.  I can only tell you that I have kept flours for 3-4 month and never had
anything go bad. At one time I changed recipes and I had about 3 # of
potato starch I wasn't using and I just stored it in the refrig til I was
able to use it up over a year period.  I have never had anything go wormy
unlike wheat flour.

5.  The two things that have the shortest shelf lives
ono your list are the brown rice flour, and the xantham
gum. Both should be kept refrigerated, not frozen. The oils
in brown rice flour will turn rancid, depending on
temperature, and air exposure as soon as two weeks
after being opened. With refrigerations and good sealing
excluding as much air as possible, this can be extended to
as much as six months. I have often found brown rice flour
and rice bran to be rancid when first purchased due to
improper storage before or after arriving at retail
store. The good thing is that you can go by the smell
for detection, and it is probably mostly harmless.

Xanthan gum will lose it's magic. That is to say it
will no longer give better texture to what it is added
after about one year of refrigeration, a few weeks
or less of room temperature storage. If it is all
caked, or clumpy it is a waste of time to use it.

The others you mention all have room temperature shelf
life over one year, more if kept sealed, without exposure
to light.

6.  I read that soy and brown rice flours should be refrigerated so they will
not turn rancid from the oils.  Other GF flours and the xanthan gum I store
in airtight containers in my cupboards and have had no problems with taste or
"bugs".

7.  The things you have to worry about are the flours/grains which contain
fat, which will turn rancid over time and especially it kept warm.  The
starch, tapioca, potato corn, white rice, grits, are just starch.  Brown
rice, whole grains and bean flours contain fats and keep longest if kept cold
in the freezer or frig.  Xanthan gum should keep indefinitely...Before it
came in bags, it was sold in dark plastic jars w/ screw tops--like the large
sizes of vitamins.  Keeps it air tight on the cupboard shelf.

8.  You can find information on shelf life here:
            http://www.nowheat.com/grfx/nowheat/y2k.htm

9.  The ones that I know of that go bad quicker than the rest are Brown Rice
Flour and Soy Flour.  Suggestion is to keep them cool.

---------------------------------

RE:  TRAVELING WITH THE FLOURS:

Everyone state that keeping things cool (which I'm not sure baout in the back
of a Penske across 2400 miles!) would be the best bet.  If that is not
possible, then it was suggested that we at least keep the brown rice flour &
soy flours cool.  Upon arrival, prior to using any ingredients, it was also
recommended to give them all the ol' smell and taste challenge before putting
them through the baking paces.  Great advice as usual.

-----------------------------------

I have certainly learned a lot again!  What fun it would be to tour
everyone's kitchen!  LOL.... we certainly have become ingenious with our tiny
apartment space for storage for the multitude of ingredients we've been
testing out.    =)  What do you think?  No summer home tour for me... sign me
up for the GF kitchen tour!  =)

Happy summer and Fourth to all!

Kate
(Chicago..... for the moment!)