According to one, only the foodstuffs specified in the texts may be given. According to the other, one may give one’s staple food, even if it is not among these categories. This is the view of most scholars, including al-Shāfiʿī and others, and it is the soundest opinion. For the basic principle governing charitable dues is that they are prescribed on the basis of equal treatment of the poor, as Allah Most High says:

“From the average of that which you feed your families.”

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, prescribed zakāt al-fitr as a sāʿ of dates or a sāʿ of barley because these were the staple foods of the people of Medina. Had they subsisted on something else instead, he would not have required them to give food they did not ordinarily eat, just as Allah did not command this in the case of expiations. The end-of-Ramadan alms are comparable to expiations: both attach to the person, unlike zakat on wealth, which becomes obligatory because of one’s wealth and is given from the kind of wealth Allah has bestowed.

As for flour, giving it is permissible according to the schools of Abū Hanīfah and Ahmad, but not al-Shāfiʿī. It is given by weight, since grinding increases its bulk.

A relative who is eligible to receive these alms has a greater claim than an unrelated person if their needs are equal. For your charity to a needy person is charity, whereas charity to a relative is both charity and the maintenance of kinship ties. And Allah knows best.