Storing Grains

Storing grains that are the foundation of a wide variety of menus and recipes that you feed your family on a daily basis should be a staple in your long term food storage plan.

Whole wheat is usually the primary grain most associated with food storage supplies.

But to prevent your family from getting bored eating wheat in every possible recipe, try storing grains of other varieties such as oats, brown and white rice, pearled barley, amaranth (an herb often used as a grain), flaxseed, corn, pop corn, buckwheat, millet, quinoa, rye, sorghum, spelt, and triticale. (There may be others I'm unaware of.)

Grains are an excellent food storage product for several reasons:

• They have high nutritional value and protein levels.
• Most varieties can be stored for 25+ years if packaged properly and kept in a cool environment.

Why Rotate Grains?

The best reason is to acustom your family to eating them. A sudden change in diet which includes mostly grains will upset their digestive systems. Accumulate recipes that include grains such as breads, cereals, and muffins. (Try my flax seed muffin recipe. If your kids love chocolate and cinnamon, they will LOVE these!)

If you do plan on storing grains to use in your daily or weekly menus, it's best to purchase them in #10 sealed cans. But if you choose to store them in 5-6 gallon buckets, an opened bucket will not store long term. Plan to use it within 6 months to a year and keep it closed tightly in a cool, dark place, such as the pantry.

Grinding Your Own

Grinding wheat seems to be a major hang up for most people. Bite the bullet and buy a good grain mill—an electric one AND a hand grinder in case there is no electricity.

Uses, Types and Storage Length of some Common Grains

Rolled Oats:

• Uses - Breakfast cereal, granola, cookies, filler in meat loafs or casseroles, thickener for soups/stews.
• Types - Quick rolled oats or regular rolled oats. Quick oats cook faster but regular oats or steel cut retain flavor and nutrition better.
• Storage - If unopened, optimum shelf life is up to 8 years. If opened should be used within 1 year. We recommend storing large amounts in an airtight plastic container and pulling out a smaller amount every few months for your actual usage/rotation.

Wheat:

• Uses - Wheat grass (sprouting), appetizers, desserts, breakfast cereals, crackers, brownies, tortillas, breads, pancakes, muffins, cakes, snacks, in salads, to make vegetarian meat/protein, and any other baking item you would use flour for.
• Types - Spring or winter, hard or soft, red or white. Hard varieties have higher gluten (protein) and are better for making breads. Soft varieties have lower protein and nutrients but are better for pastries, pastas, and breakfast cereals. Red wheats are typically hard and whites are typically soft. However if you prefer the flavor of one over the other you can find soft red and hard white. Experiment with different varieties in your recipes to find out what works best for you.
• Storage - If unopened, optimum shelf life is 12 years or more. If opened will last about 3 years. However, once ground into flour, wheat loses most of its nutrients within a few days so only grind small amounts at a time. You can add oxygen absorbers, bay leaves, or dry ice to help keep critters out of your wheat.

Cornmeal:

• Uses - Grits, cornbread/muffins, mush, johnnycake, hush puppies, breading on fried items.
• Types - Steel ground or stone ground. Most common is steel ground, it has husk and germ almost all removed. Loses flavor and nutrients but has a long shelf life. This is what you will find at the grocery store. Stone ground retains more of the husk and germ but is more perishable. Cornmeal can be found in white, yellow, red, and blue varieties. Yellow and white are the most common.
• Storage - If unopened, optimum shelf life is 5 years. If opened will last about 1 year.

Enriched White Rice:

• Uses - Rice pudding, cereal, casseroles, side dishes.
• Types - Bleached or unbleached. Both have had their bran and germ portions removed and are “enriched” by adding back some of the lost nutrients. Bleached has been chemically bleached while unbleached goes through a natural bleaching process.
• Storage - If unopened, optimum shelf life is 30 years. If opened will last indefinitely.

Pearled Barley:

• Uses - Thickener in soups and stews, in sides or casseroles similar to how you would use rice.
• Types - You can buy pot barley which retains more of the nutritious germ and brand, but it has a shorter shelf life. Pearled barley is recommended for long-term food storage.
• Storage - If unopened, optimum shelf life is 8 years. If opened will last 18 months.

Storing grains that are so basic to our daily meals is not only a good idea, but they are nutritious, healthful . . . and most people just love their bread, muffins, bagels and cookies. Don't we? Yes, we do!

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