My family just found out there is a Mormon dry foods cannery/store near by. You can order 100lbs of wheat for twenty dollars, dried foods by the case! You can even go and can your foods for free at their cannery. You just need to clean up after yourself and no kids are allowed in the canery. Simple enough!
They have a dry foods machine that you can use, along with a machine that cans foods in the number 10 cans. They sell the cans for only 80 cents each, and they last for 30 years! WOW! This is sooooo much better then canning with glass jars! Especialy for larger size families.
That said, I was able to do some wheat research with the kids today. I have heard of hard wheat and soft wheat, but really had no idea what the difference was. And yes, I have been grinding my own wheat for several years now.
Truth be told, I had no idea what a wheat berry was a few years ago. I have really come a long way! :o)
For some reason, I always thought that flour came from the plant. (already grinded) I had no idea there was a grinding step that you had to do first, before getting the powdery flour! lol
What is a Wheat Berry? – A wheat berry is a small seed in the “ear” of the wheat plant. There are more than 40 wheat berries on each stalk! It has three parts: germ, endosperm and bran. The berries are crushed by large granite stones in our mill to make whole wheat flour.
Classes of Wheat:
Spelt Berries- Spelt is very similar to wheat, but has a slightly nuttier, sweeter flavor. Spelt contains more protein than wheat, and the protein in spelt is easier to digest. People who are allergic to wheat may be able to tolerate spelt. My daughter happens to be one of these people. She is sensitive to Gluten, but is able to tolerate Spelt.
Kamut-This grain is two times larger than modern day wheat and is known for its rich nutty flavor.Kamut can be used in place of all the different wheats; the hard and soft varieties and also durum wheat.
Hard Red Winter Wheat- is the class of wheat used mostly for bread and all-purpose flour.
Hard Red Spring Wheat- contains the highest protein content (1316.5%) is excellent bread wheat with superior milling and baking characteristics.
Soft Red Winter Wheat- is low to medium protein content, and is used to make cakes, pastries, flat breads, and crackers.
Hard White Wheat- is closely related to red wheat except for the color genes and has a milder, sweeter flavor, equal fiber, and similar milling and baking qualities.
Soft White Wheat- is used much the same way as soft red wheat (for bakery products other than bread.)
Durum Wheat- the hardest of all U.S. wheats, is good for pastas: macaroni, spaghetti, and other noodles that you would make from scratch.
What I also found rather neat, is that you can cook up wheat berries like you would rice, or oatmeal. You can serve this high protein breakfast. Drizzeled with honey, or maple syrup.
High Protein Breakfast
- 1/3 cup dry oats
- 1/3 cup wheat berries
- 1 sliced banana
- 1/3 cup soy,almond or regular milk
- 1 scoop of almond, or peanut butter
1.Soak wheat berries over night in plainwater to make them cook faster the next morning.
2.Cook your wheat berries and oatmeal together on the stove as your would plain old oatmeal.
3.Lastly,stir in your toppings!
So there ya have it! Go out and get yourself some wheat berries today!!!
