****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I'm on my second bag of Great River flaxseed. Both bags were very clean and free of dirt, stones, and weed seeds (unlike some other brands of flax i've tried, or what i often get in the bulk bin at my local health food stores). Nothing worse than having to take the time to look for stones or pick out weed seeds.Also, there are almost never any broken seeds that i've found in this brand. Having whole, unbroken seeds mean they store extremely well. I use about two of these bags a year, so it takes me about six months to get to the bottom of a bag. I don't do anything special for storage, year-round. I take out about two or three pounds at a time, and simply roll down the top of the bag, and put an elastic bungee cord around it to keep it in place. The bag stays in the house year-round (no air conditioning). The seed keeps quite well under these conditions.It's worth mentioning that flax oil stored inside whole, unbroken flaxseeds will not go rancid. Only once the hull is cracked does that process begin. Flax oil exposed to air goes rancid very quickly, which is why flax oil needs to be refrigerated and used fairly quickly. But safely stored inside whole, unbroken flaxseeds, as nature has packed it, will keep for a very long time at a wide variety of temperatures.With certain other grains, i've sometimes found it necessary to freeze them for a couple weeks to kill pest eggs. I've never found this necessary for flaxseed.Some people think golden flax is healthier. I've researched the nutritional value of each and did find some (mostly minor) differences. Each has their virtues, however neither had a clear advantage over the other. Golden flax always seems to be quite a bit more expensive, and i don't see it's worth the rather hefty premium it currently commands. If the cost were the same, i'd alternate between the two or mix them together (so as to get the advantages of each).
