Food Storage and Preparation

Grain Mills

The Kitchen Mill is an electric driven device for use when electric power is available. This mill will grind flour for very fine, regular, and course flours.
The users manual can be downloaded by clicking here.
The Marcato Marga Roller Mill is for times when electric power is not available and for cereal preparation. This mill is adjustable and will process grains for rolled or cracked cereals as well as flour.

The Kitchen Mill has about the noise level of a vacuum cleaner when running (the device uses the same technology as the pharmaceutical industry for grinding materials and does not heat flour as hot as a stone or metal grinding).

There is a discount for the Kitchen Mill for groups that order as a group.
The costs are:
2-4 mills $159.95 + tax $10.96 = $170.91
5-9 mills $149.95 + tax $10.27 = $160.22
10+ mills $139.95 + tax $9.59 = $149.54

The price for the Marcato Marga Roller Mill for the group is $79.95 + tax $5.48 = $85.43.

The regular prices are:
Marcato Mill $89.95 + tax and shipping
Kitchen Mill $199.95 + tax and shipping.

Grain

Grains include wheat, oats, barley, millett, rye, corn, rice, farro, emmer, einkorn, spelt, quinoa, triricale (hybrid of wheat and rye), teff, sorghum and amaranth. Grains are low in the essential amino acid lysine, which legumes contain

Legumes include alfalfa, clover, peas, beans, lentils, lupins, mesquite, carob, soy, and peanuts.

Grains can be stored as live or "inactive" grains. The storage of grains in #10 cans with an oxygen absorber packet ensures that no "bugs" are in the grain. Grains stored in buckets with a tight fitting lid should be rotated in containers about every 4 years to avoid killing the grains. Regularly inspect live grains to verify that they are free of bugs. Some grains should be stored live to preserve the ability to grow grains from your storage.
Bug larve are common in many grains (barley, oats, etc.) and these will eventually hatch and produce little ones that contaminate the grain. Grains can be bug free by freezing the grain at zero degrees farenheight for a period of 30 days to kill the larve or by storing in an oxygen free environment.

While both bread and cereals can provide basic nutrition - the benefit of multigrain use in foodstuffs is that a greater variety of nutrients is obtained than with one grain (typically wheat).
In emergency situations the preparation of cereals is less demanding than the cooking of bread.
Cereal preparation benefits from using the whole grain and the Marga Roller Mill to preserve the nutrients of the grains. When whole grains are rolled or ground they immediatly begin to lose the nutrients to the atmosphere. "Rolling" or "cracking" the whole grains just before use gives better flavor as well as better nutrient content of the flour or cereal.
Typical cereal content might contain hard red wheat, hard white wheat, soft white wheat, millett, barley, and oats. Other grains might be included such as brown or white rice, rye, corn, beans, sunflower seeds, etc.
Commercially prepared cereals such as rolled oats are processed by partial cooking and or steaming, cemicals to retard spoilage, and other processes to enhance shelf life.
Wheat has gluten content that is missing in many other grains. Gluten provides the "glue" that gives bread, etc. the body that keeps the bread from being crumbly. Too much gluten makes bread heavy and tough. Some individuals are allergic to gluten and use of grains without the gluten is necessary. When using gluten free grains the use of other products to provide the "body" to breads etc. is required. A review of information on the web and in libraries will give suggestions for cooking without gluten.
Protein is necessary to maintain health and grains vary in their protein content. Hard red wheat and hard white wheat should have about %13 protein. Soft white wheat typicall has a low protein content but provides a "smoother" texture and flavor to prepared foods.
The combination of beans and rice in meals provides a good mix of necessary proteins.

Grains that do not have the gluten content typically make up no more than %25 of flour for making breads, rolls etc.

Gluten powder is available to add to recipes to add more body to your recipes.

When grinding grains for flour the choice of "fine" provides a smoother texture for the flour than the courser

Flour

The flour obtained from the Dry Pack Canning facilities is very high quality.

Storing a number of different grains provides a source of home ground flour that is nutritious and adds fiber to the diet.

Grains for home storage should be "triple cleaned" to avoid materials that would harm a home grain mill. Common storage grains include (but are not limited to) hard winter wheat, hard spring wheat, soft white wheat, oats, barley, millett, and rye. Brown and white rice, popcorn, dried beans and other hard, dry foods can also be ground into flour to add variety and nutrients to our diets.

Sprouts

Storing living grains allows sprouting grains for access to the vitamins otherwise missing from emergency diets.

The Davis County Library has avaialble:

The sprouting book By Wigmore, Ann, 1909-
Publisher: Avery Pub. Group,
Pub date: c1986.
Pages: 160 p.ill.
ISBN: 0895292467

Link to here for sprouting information and supplies.

Vacuum Sealing

Many foods can be vacuum sealed for longer life.

An example of an inexpensive vacuum system is Pump-NSeal.

A good article for vacuum packaging food is located at the National Center for Home Food Preservation

Recipes

Flour

Whole Grain Flour

Mix 4 cups of Hard White (Spring) wheat, 1 cup Hard Red (Winter) wheat, 1 cup Barley, 1 cup groats, 1 cup Soft White wheat, 1/3 cup Millett. Grind to a "fine" flour. Add to the flour 1/2 cup of potato flour and mix.

White Bread

Make as below for the Whole Grain Bread but use all White Flour.

 Medium Bread

Make as below for the Whole Grain Bread but use 1/2 Whole Grain Flour and 1/2 White flour.

Whole Grain Bread

Whole Grain Bread two 1.5 pound loaves

Ingredients:

2 Cups Warm Water
1 Tablespoon Yeast
¼ Cup Potato Flakes (or Potato Pearls) into the mixer and let the yeast proof
1 Egg slightly beaten

Mix in a seperate bowl:

5 Cups of Whole Grain Flour
2 Tablespoons Powdered Milk
1 Tablespoon Gluten
1 ½ Teaspoons Salt

Add the flour etc. to the yeast mixture then add ¼ Cup Olive Oil and ¼ Cup Honey into the mixer and mix for about 2 minutes. Remove dough from the mixer, place the dough in a covered pan and let the dough double in size.

Stretch the dough by grasping the dough at the top and pulling until the dough thins to about 1/2 inch thick (stretching the dough helps set the gluten), then form dough into a ball and repeat the stretch 4 times. Then separate the dough into two equal parts. If you use a scale and make sure the two parts are equal in weight the loaves will cook eavenly.
Shape into loves and put into two 9 inch by 5 inch by 3 inches Stainless Steel pans. Let the dough rise to just above the sides of the pans, then cook in a preheated 350 ° F oven for 18 minutes, rotate the pans 180 degrees, cover the bread with aluminum foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Remove the bread from the pans and place on wire racks to cool enough to cut easily.

Eat with butter, homemade jam and a drink of cold milk!