Wheat: It's what's for (breakfast, lunch, and) dinner (and dessert). (Did that remind you of those "Beef: It's What's for Dinner" ads from 25-ish years ago?)
We're supposed to eat what we store, and store what we eat, so in the US we store wheat. It's the main staple of staples in an American diet. Why is that? (Besides the fact that it is in almost everything we eat.) Well, it's got a great shelf-life, like 25-30 years at least, when properly stored. And wheat and milk combine to provide all the essential amino acids, the building blocks of protein. (Current research results suggest that wheat and milk only need to be eaten within the same day to make that protein, not in the same meal as was previously believed.)
The four primary types of wheat used in the US are:
Hard Red: It's what Americans, Europeans, Canadians, etc., have been eating for centuries. It's all that was available until about twenty years ago. It's an acid-based grain, which is what causes some people digestive problems. The flour from hard red wheat is slightly darker and slightly more bitter than flour from hard white wheat. It is also very slightly more nutritious.
Hard White: This was developed by crossing soft white and hard red wheat and selecting for the desirable traits of each. Because it is an alkaline-based grain, it causes fewer digestive problems in susceptible individuals. The flour bakes into delightfully light loaves of 100% whole wheat bread, cornbread, and cinnamon rolls. It makes extremely tasty cookies. And you can use less sugar or honey than 100% whole wheat recipes normally call for because it lacks the bitterness of hard red wheat.
Soft white wheat has a shorter shelf life due to its higher moisture content. It is prized for pastries, pasta, cakes, and crackers. Yeah, I have some. I think it's about eight years old now. Wonder if it's any good?
Durum wheat is most often used for making pasta. I've never stored it. For years I had a pasta maker in the garage because I told myself I'd make homemade noodles (from white flour) when the commercially produced noodles ran out. A few years ago I decided it was easier just to buy more pasta and ditch the pasta maker.
Wheat is, no question, the most versatile grain. Not only can it be milled into flour, but the berries can be cooked into a cereal, boiled and used to extend hamburger, or sprouted to provide a vitamin C source when there are no other options (or pine needle tea just wouldn't be the proper complement to your dinner).
Whole wheat flour should be used right after milling or stored in the freezer until ready to use.
Sprouted wheat contains small amounts of vitamins A, B, C, and E not found in whole grain bread. How to sprout wheat will be the subject of a future post.
White flour (which has had the bran, the oils, and most of the nutrients removed) has a shelf life of 1-2 years. I used to store only 25-50 lbs, just enough to keep my pie-making, blue-ribbon-winning-at-the-state-fair daughter happy. But my number one son has developed gastroparesis, a condition which makes digesting fiber difficult, so I've started storing more white flour just for him.
Gluten, which comes from wheat, gives bread a little more protein and provides a better texture. It also helps dough to rise better. I usually buy a case or two at a time from Honeyville Grain.
What if you don't have a grain mill? Should you still consider storing whole wheat berries? The answer, of course, is a resounding "Yes!"
I've come up with at least eight reasons to store it, even if you don't have a grinder. Do you have any others?
--It is still very economical (though prices seem to be increasing daily--grrrr)
--It has a heckuva long shelf life
--You may be able to grind your wheat with someone else's grinder
--You can still make food with it, even without a wheat grinder
--You can easily make vinegar with it (future blog post)
--If you don't want it, you have it to trade with someone else
--You can sprout wheat for vitamins and minerals
--You can sprout it to make fodder for your small livestock (rabbits and chickens and maybe goats or sheep in a pinch. It becomes a little cumbersome to do this for cows. Just sayin'.)
Crystal and Debbie of StoreThisNotThat.com do a fabulous job of sharing fantastic family-style cooking using food storage. I like to browse their site every once in a while to get ideas. One of our family's favorites is their blender wheat pumpkin waffles. They are out of this world awesome. I always double this recipe for my family of seven.
Pumpkin Blender Wheat Waffles with Caramel Sauce
Caramel Syrup
Combine ingredients in a large pan (it gets frothy so make sure and use a large enough pan so it doesn’t spill over). Stirring constantly, heat sauce until boiling and then boil for 5 minutes.
Obviously, this recipe calls for far more than the basic staples of food storage, but it shows that you don't have to have a grain mill to be able to use whole wheat to feed your family well.
Links to related posts:
Wheat--Using the Whole Berries
Cracked Wheat
Sprouted Wheat
© 2019, PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com 02.26.21 4.02.21
We're supposed to eat what we store, and store what we eat, so in the US we store wheat. It's the main staple of staples in an American diet. Why is that? (Besides the fact that it is in almost everything we eat.) Well, it's got a great shelf-life, like 25-30 years at least, when properly stored. And wheat and milk combine to provide all the essential amino acids, the building blocks of protein. (Current research results suggest that wheat and milk only need to be eaten within the same day to make that protein, not in the same meal as was previously believed.)
The four primary types of wheat used in the US are:
Hard Red: It's what Americans, Europeans, Canadians, etc., have been eating for centuries. It's all that was available until about twenty years ago. It's an acid-based grain, which is what causes some people digestive problems. The flour from hard red wheat is slightly darker and slightly more bitter than flour from hard white wheat. It is also very slightly more nutritious.
Hard White: This was developed by crossing soft white and hard red wheat and selecting for the desirable traits of each. Because it is an alkaline-based grain, it causes fewer digestive problems in susceptible individuals. The flour bakes into delightfully light loaves of 100% whole wheat bread, cornbread, and cinnamon rolls. It makes extremely tasty cookies. And you can use less sugar or honey than 100% whole wheat recipes normally call for because it lacks the bitterness of hard red wheat.
Soft white wheat has a shorter shelf life due to its higher moisture content. It is prized for pastries, pasta, cakes, and crackers. Yeah, I have some. I think it's about eight years old now. Wonder if it's any good?
Durum wheat is most often used for making pasta. I've never stored it. For years I had a pasta maker in the garage because I told myself I'd make homemade noodles (from white flour) when the commercially produced noodles ran out. A few years ago I decided it was easier just to buy more pasta and ditch the pasta maker.
Wheat is, no question, the most versatile grain. Not only can it be milled into flour, but the berries can be cooked into a cereal, boiled and used to extend hamburger, or sprouted to provide a vitamin C source when there are no other options (or pine needle tea just wouldn't be the proper complement to your dinner).
Whole wheat flour should be used right after milling or stored in the freezer until ready to use.
Sprouted wheat contains small amounts of vitamins A, B, C, and E not found in whole grain bread. How to sprout wheat will be the subject of a future post.
White flour (which has had the bran, the oils, and most of the nutrients removed) has a shelf life of 1-2 years. I used to store only 25-50 lbs, just enough to keep my pie-making, blue-ribbon-winning-at-the-state-fair daughter happy. But my number one son has developed gastroparesis, a condition which makes digesting fiber difficult, so I've started storing more white flour just for him.
Gluten, which comes from wheat, gives bread a little more protein and provides a better texture. It also helps dough to rise better. I usually buy a case or two at a time from Honeyville Grain.
What if you don't have a grain mill? Should you still consider storing whole wheat berries? The answer, of course, is a resounding "Yes!"
I've come up with at least eight reasons to store it, even if you don't have a grinder. Do you have any others?
--It is still very economical (though prices seem to be increasing daily--grrrr)
--It has a heckuva long shelf life
--You may be able to grind your wheat with someone else's grinder
--You can still make food with it, even without a wheat grinder
--You can easily make vinegar with it (future blog post)
--If you don't want it, you have it to trade with someone else
--You can sprout wheat for vitamins and minerals
--You can sprout it to make fodder for your small livestock (rabbits and chickens and maybe goats or sheep in a pinch. It becomes a little cumbersome to do this for cows. Just sayin'.)
Crystal and Debbie of StoreThisNotThat.com do a fabulous job of sharing fantastic family-style cooking using food storage. I like to browse their site every once in a while to get ideas. One of our family's favorites is their blender wheat pumpkin waffles. They are out of this world awesome. I always double this recipe for my family of seven.
Pumpkin Blender Wheat Waffles with Caramel Sauce
1 cup milk (3 tablespoons powdered milk and 1 cup water)
1 cup + 2 tablespoons wheat kernels, whole & uncooked
2 eggs (2 tablespoons powdered eggs and 1/4 cup water)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup oil
1 cup + 2 tablespoons wheat kernels, whole & uncooked
2 eggs (2 tablespoons powdered eggs and 1/4 cup water)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup pureed, cooked pumpkin
1-1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
2 tablespoons sugar
Put milk and wheat kernels in blender. Blend on highest speed for 4 or 5 minutes or until batter is smooth. Add eggs, oil, baking powder, salt, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice and sugar to above batter. Blend on low. Pour batter into hot prepared waffle iron and cook.
2 tablespoons sugar
Put milk and wheat kernels in blender. Blend on highest speed for 4 or 5 minutes or until batter is smooth. Add eggs, oil, baking powder, salt, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice and sugar to above batter. Blend on low. Pour batter into hot prepared waffle iron and cook.
Caramel Syrup
3/4 cup butter
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tsp vanilla
Combine ingredients in a large pan (it gets frothy so make sure and use a large enough pan so it doesn’t spill over). Stirring constantly, heat sauce until boiling and then boil for 5 minutes.
Obviously, this recipe calls for far more than the basic staples of food storage, but it shows that you don't have to have a grain mill to be able to use whole wheat to feed your family well.
Links to related posts:
Wheat--Using the Whole Berries
Cracked Wheat
Sprouted Wheat
© 2019, PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com 02.26.21 4.02.21
