12+ year old wheat still good...biscuits even better!

[Zombie Axe]

After y2k a friend who was better prepped than I decided to move to FL. A lot of his preps were heavy. He decided to give them to me along with a bunch of other things.

Among those items was wheat in 5 gallon buckets. Tonight the wife was making some biscuits and had run out of wheat. She asked me to get her some and we decided to open the older bucket of wheat.

The wheat was packaged by a now defunct outfit in Utah that was probably rolling in the dough (pun intended) selling prep supplies. As I broke the lid from the bucket it hissed at me and I knew there were O2 absorbers in there!

So after grinding the wheeat into flour and making delicious whole grain biscuits to go with our meal, the 12+ year old wheat was still tasty and good to go. We placed a gamma seal lid and will be using this up as needed until we need to get resupplied.

Gotta love wheat!!! :)

[Zombie Axe]

We have a Wonder Mill that we use everyday ( http://www.thewondermill.com/) . Yes it is electric but is so much quicker and easier to incoporate into your lifestyle.

However we have a hand powered grain mill that works reasonably well. We have tested it and does a great job, but is more time consuming (flour requires several passes to get more finely ground). WTSHTF we will have plenty of time to grind by hand;)

Also be sure to get extra burrs!:eek:

Yes grains store better than flour and are fairly easy to store for the long term! Only grind enough wheat to use in your recipes. Fresh made flour tastes WONDERFUL!!!

[Applejack]

Good one to bump as new members join in and do not know about wheat. I found some wheat at a food market and bought several lbs. of it. It is packed in mylar bags with O2 absorbers. It will keep as long as what Zombie axe said 12+ years. That is really good for long term flour.

[GrizzlyetteAdams]

Wheat is good so many ways beyond making things with flour. I enjoy them soaked overnight according to the method below, and used as "cereal," and in jambalaya, gumbo, stews, and just about anything!

For a breakfast treat, I like to add 1/8 tsp Cinnamon and a handful of chopped dried apple bits to the wheat berries before soaking them.

I don't bother with a thermos for this recipe, but put the hot ingredients into a pre-heated glass canning jar instead. Then wrap the jar in layers of newspaper, then heavy towels for a thermos effect. Canning jars are easier to work with and clean than a thermos.

From Grandpappy's site: https://grandpappy.org/rwheat.htm
Wheat Berry Cereal (Thermos Method) (One Serving)

1/2 cup wheat berries

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup water

Put wheat berries, salt, and water into a pot or saucepan and bring to a rolling boil, stirring the entire time. Quickly but carefully pour the contents from the pot through a wide mouth funnel into your thermos. Put the cap on the thermos firmly, but not too tightly, and lay the thermos on its side to evenly distribute the contents in the boiling hot water. Wait 8 hours or overnight. Pour the contents of the thermos into a bowl. Four ounces of dry wheat berries will yield about 12 ounces of cooked wheat and several ounces of vitamin and mineral enriched water. Be sure to drink the water. It has a pleasant taste and many valuable nutrients.


Sprouted wheat is super-nutritious and has a lot of uses as well:

https://www.culturesforhealth.com/learn/sprouting/how-to-sprout-wheat-berries/

(You don't need special equipment, and can make do with alternative repurposed materials....Just make sure everything is kept clean as possible.)

https://www.prevention.com/food-nutrition/healthy-eating/a20438855/cooking-with-sprouted-grains/

Add to a salad. Throw a handful of sprouted grains like sprouted quinoa or wheatberries into your favorite salad (we like sprouted wheatberries with kale and apples in the colder months), or toss sprouted grains with chopped nuts, roasted veggies, and vinaigrette for a hearty grain salad.

Mix into a stir-fry. Instead of serving pan-cooked veggies over rice, fold cooked sprouted rice or quinoa into your stir-fry during the final minutes of cooking.

Use in place of breadcrumbs. Crush packaged sprouted-grain crackers or cereal (we like Kashi Sprouted Grain Multi-Grain organic cereal; $4.50) and use like breadcrumbs for a crunchy coating on chicken, tofu, fish, or veggies.

Make sprouted-grain porridge. Tired of oatmeal? Simmer sprouted buckwheat, quinoa, or millet in your milk of choice until the grains are tender. Top with chopped fruit or nuts, and sweeten with maple syrup or honey.

[Applejack]

Grizzly this is very interesting. I have a 5 gal. bucket of wheat berries so now I will have to open it and try this out. I bought them to make bread and biscuits but this gives me a lot of new options I didn't even know about wheat berries.