pasta

You might wonder why I'm including a post on pasta as we work on storing grains. Most pasta is made from semolina flour, which is ground durum wheat. Once the pasta is dried, unless it is made with eggs, it has shelf life of up to 30 years1 in ideal storage conditions.

Pasta packaged in #10 cans (or PETE bottles) with oxygen absorbers will store the longest. Pasta can also be purchased in many other types of packaging. If I buy my pasta already sealed in a plastic bag, I'll simply store it in a 5-gallon bucket (without opening the package). A lot of pasta comes in boxes without any additional packaging (plastic lining etc.). I try NOT to buy this type of pasta. I've had more than one experience with boxes of pasta also transporting critters.

I use pasta regularly as a part of my three-month supply. I also include it as a portion of my longer-term storage "grains."

Sources:
1 - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

grinders

There are many ways to cook with and eat grains without owning a grinder. Grains can be soaked for berries, sprouted, flaked with a rolling pin, or cracked. One of the main ways that most of us seem to use grains, however, is as a flour or meal. Though it is not absolutely necessary to have a grinder, it does add possibilities for the use and rotation of your stored grains.

I have personally chosen to purchase two grinders. I have an electric mill and a hand mill for use without electricity. Some mills can be used both with or without electricity. Some hand mills can be motorized - though I do not personally have the skills to do this. I decided to buy one for both categories as I have based a lot of my plans for storage on the possibility of not having electricity in an emergency.

I really like my K-Tec/Blendtec grinder (also called Kitchen Mill). It is very loud, but is compact and stores easily in my cupboard. I can make wheat that is very coarse (cracked) to very fine. My main requirement for choosing this mill was that it makes a very fine flour. The Kitchen Mill also didn't cost too much (about $150). I have not used my Back-To-Basics hand mill (cost $60). My neighbor purchased the Back-To-Basics mill and it broke after not very many uses.

I purchased my K-Tec/Blendtec Kitchen Mill several years ago. Grinders have been updated and revised since then. Because the purchase of a grinder is very personal, I would recommend reading many different reviews before purchasing one. There are several characteristics that differ with each mill. You'll need to decide how important these characteristics are to you. You'll also have to decide how much you are willing to spend.

Things to consider:

How loud is the grinder? (this didn't matter to me)

Can the grinder do a coarse mill, liked cracked wheat?

Can the grinder mill to a very fine flour which is fine enough for your cooking habits?

How long does it take to mill a cup of flour?

How much physical exertion is required?

What is the temperature of the resulting flour?

Do you have to mill multiple times to get the consistency that you want?

Can you also grind corn, oats, rice and/or beans?

Is the mill chamber self-cleaning?

Does it store well in your cupboard?

Does the grinder have to be mounted?

Can it be motorized or does it have a manual setting?

Is it durable?

Does it have a warranty?

Does it use stones or burrs? (There is some controversy about grit and aluminum in the stones)

How much wheat/flour do the grinder containers hold? (In my opinion, this doesn't really matter)

How much does it cost?

How much will you use it?

Because I haven't personally used most of these grinders or tested them myself, I highly recommend perusing the following sites which review, demonstrate and/or compare many of the grinders. The Walton Feed grinder site is superior for reviews of all the manual grinders and a few electric mills. Some stores, like Emergency Essentials, will let you go in and use the grinders and feel the fineness/coarseness of the flours. You might also ask your neighbors if you can try their grinder to get a feel for which grinder you like best.

Great Grinder Information:
Walton Feed Grain Grinder Comparison Pages
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Everything Kitchens
Safely Gathered In - demonstrates the Whisper Mill (now called Wonder Mill)
Everyday Food Storage - Good overview of pros/cons and pricing. Does have a bias towards the Wonder Mill, which they sell.
You Tube - Videos of many different mills being used.
Choosing a Grain Mill
Casaubon's Book - Grain Mills


See the comment section for some additional information about grinder "noise" and warranties.

not suitable for longer-term storage

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has indicated that some grains "may not be suitable for longer-term storage." They've included these three grains in their list because of "rancidity" concerns. 1

Pearled Barley
Whole barley has to be dehulled for human consumption. Once it has been processed, it can no longer be sprouted.2 When ground into flour, barley does NOT make good bread.7 Hulled barley still contains a significant amount of oils and will become rancid fairly quickly. It can be stored in the fridge to lengthen the shelf life. Pot barley is a dehulled barley which has been polished to remove additional oils. Pearled barley has been polished four to six times for an even longer shelf life. Pearled barley is considered a "soft" grain and consequently only has a shelf-life of around eight years.3 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not recommend pearled barley for longer-term storage because of concerns about rancidity. 1 Utah State University labeled it an "oily grain." 4

Whole Wheat Flour
Once the wheat kernel has been milled, the oil content of the wheat is exposed to the air and becomes rancid very quickly. The shelf-life of wheat flour can be extended up to 12 months by storing it in the freezer. 3, 6

Brown Rice
Like wheat flour, brown rice has a high amount of fatty acids which become rancid as they oxidize. Brown rice can be stored for about 6 months on the shelf. It will store much longer if kept in the refrigerator. 5


All of these items can be successfully stored as part of a regularly rotated three-month supply.



Sources:
1 - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
2 - Walton Feed
3 - Walton Feed - Storage Life
4 - Utah State University Extension
5 - Riceland
6 - University of Nebraska Extension
7 - Selecting & Buying Grains (Alan T. Hagan)

rice

Rice is one of the most versatile home-storage products. White rice stores well long-term and creates a complete protein when served with beans (which means it contains all of the essential amino acids4). BYU researchers recently studied the palatability of white rice and parboiled rice after many years of storage. Both were acceptable for emergency use after 30 years of storage, though the parboiled rice did show some decline of flavor, appearance and acceptance. 2

There are three categories of rice:
Long-grain - This is the most common rice available. It is more soft than sticky.
Medium-grain - Soft texture with a stronger flavor.
Short-grain - Is a stickier rice with a stronger, sweeter flavor.

Rice can be purchased in several forms (differing by amount of processing):
Brown - Has a nutty flavor. Still has the hull intact and consequently goes rancid more quickly because of the oils in the grain. Stores well for only 6 months under average conditions.3 Can extend the shelf-life by storing in the fridge. 1
White - Hull and outer layers have been removed. Rice is typically enriched to re-add the lost nutrients, though it remains inferior nutritionally. It stores well in ideal conditions for 30 years or more.8

Parboiled/Converted7 - Rice is partially cooked by parboiling. Hull is removed, but converted rice retains more of its original vitamins and nutrients.

Instant/minute/easy/quick - Rice is precooked and dried. Is the least nutritious rice.5

There are over 100,000 varieties/flavors of rice including:
Basmati - It is a variety of long grain rice. You can purchase either a white or brown version.6 It is typically produced in India and Pakistan.
Jasmine - This is also a long grain rice. You might have this rice served with Thai food.
Calrose - A medium grain rice developed in California. It is common to find this rice in Hawaii or the South Pacific.

Wild rice is not actually a rice, but is harvested from grasses similar in genus to rice.

Generally, rice is reconstituted by bringing 2 parts water to a boil and adding one part rice, covering and lowering heat to a simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Salt and oil/butter can be added with the rice or after cooking. Quick rice has cooking requirements that are different.

White rice is a sure bet for 30+ years of longer-term storage in ideal conditions. All varieties would be appropriate for inclusion in your three-month supply.

Personal note: I recently purchased some aged basmati rice. I thoroughly inspected the packaging, trying to determine whether the rice was white or brown. I am unfamiliar enough with this rice that I couldn't tell and the package did not indicate. So, I'm am including the basmati rice as part of my three-month supply meals and not my longer-term storage.

Sources:
1 - Selecting & Buying Grains (Alan T. Hagan)

2 - BYU Food Storage Research

3 - Walton Feed

4 - Wikipedia

5 - USA Emergency Supply

6 - Wikipedia - Basmati

7 - Random House Dictionary

8 - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

corn

Corn can be a great addition to your longer-term storage grains. In optimum conditions, corn will store as long as 30 years. Dry corn, like wheat, can be ground in a grinder to make corn meal or corn flour (both of which have very short shelf-lives and cannot be stored long term). There are specific grinders made just for corn, but these are unnecessary if you already have a good grinder. 4

There are three main kinds of corn suitable for long storage. All three kinds can be ground into flour or meal or popped for popcorn. However, Dent corn makes a better flour and Flint corn makes a better meal. Popcorn, which is the most widely available corn, has a higher moisture content (13 to 15%) to make it pop well.1 For optimum storage life, there should be less than 10% moisture in the corn at packing. So, it will probably not store as well as the other two varieties. All of these corns are available in different colors. The vitamin and nutrient content of the different colors vary some. Vitamin A, which can be in short supply in times of need, is more available from the yellow corn.1 Seed corn is not suitable for food storage because it is treated with a fungicide.6

It is possible to reconstitute dry corn. However, it does not typically work with commercially varieties of dried corn.3 If you dry your own Sweet corn you are more likely to have success. The shelf life, however, of your own dried, sweet corn is uncertain. The corn we grow in our gardens contains a fair amount of sugar and will spoil quickly. So, I wouldn't plan on drying and/or reconstituting sweet corn for long-term storage.


Sources:
1 - Selecting & Buying Grains (Alan T. Hagan)
2 - Many Tracks
3 - Corn
4 - Harvest Essentials - Ktec
5 - USA Emergency Supply
6 - University of Wisconsin Extention

oats

Oats are another grain which store well long term. Almost all edible forms of whole oats, including groats, are dehulled and heat processed to stabilize the oil content.3 Because of this stabilizing process, oat products do not as readily become rancid. A recent study done by BYU1 showed that rolled-oats stored in #10 cans were still considered acceptable for emergency consumption after 30 years. Rolled oats were preferred over quick oats in taste tests of the samples that had been stored long-term. The amount of oxygen present in the storage containers significantly affected the taste quality. So, it is important to make sure that rolled oats are stored with oxygen absorbers in sturdy, quality containers that maintain their seals.

I have seen a recent trend of families storing whole-oat groats (which are the heat-processed and dehulled oat seeds), and purchasing a roller to create their own rolled oats. Certainly, if you love freshly rolled oats and can afford the roller or attachment, which can cost from $75 to $500, this is an acceptable choice. However, given BYU's study showing that rolled oats can be stored well long term, you might choose instead to store carefully packaged rolled oats and apply your savings to other areas of home storage.

Oats are available in several different forms:
Oat Groats - The dehulled and heat/steam stabilized oat seed.
Rolled Oats - Groats that have been rolled. Also called old-fashioned.
Quick Oats - Oats that are rolled more thinly than rolled oats and steamed to reduce cooking time. Do not store as well as rolled oats.1
Steel Cut Oats - Groats that are chopped with a sharp blade into small pieces.

Just as I've mentioned with all of the other grains, it is important that the moisture content of your oats be less than 10% at storage.


Sources:
1 - BYU Food Storage Research
2 - Selecting & Buying Grains (Alan T. Hagan)
3 - Can-Oat Milling
4 - Wikipedia: Oats (see kilning)


Photo Credit:
Anson Mills

wheat

Purchasing wheat can be confusing and overwhelming. All of the red, white, winter, spring, soft, and hard combinations can make your head spin. If you just want a recommendation -- and don't want to know the whys -- I recommend purchasing hard-white wheat. It's a good, mild tasting wheat that makes great bread.

Now for those of you who want more information:

Wheat Characteristics:

*RED/WHITE: Red has a nuttier, stronger flavor. White wheat has a more mild flavor. Red wheat grinds up with a darker brown hue. White wheat, as the name suggests, is light in color.

*SPRING/WINTER: This just refers to the time that the crop was harvested.

*HARD/SOFT: Hard wheat has a higher protein content and is good for most baking situations. Wheat kernel is smaller and harder. Soft wheat has lower protein and higher starch. Soft wheat is usually used for pastries and not bread or all-purpose baking.

I love this characterization by Donna Miller, owner of Millers Grain House:
"To sum up - color is a choice for taste and look, while hard or soft is a choice for type of recipe."

Specific Varieties:

*Hard RED Spring - High protein content. Good for breads and gluten.

*Hard RED Winter - High protein content. Flavor is more mellow than red/spring wheat.

*Soft RED - Low protein. Not as good for bread - better for pastries.

*Hard WHITE - Medium protein content. Good for bread.

*Soft WHITE - Very low protein content. Not good for bread. Typically used for pastries.

Ways to Use Wheat:
BERRIES: Wheat is boiled to resemble rice. Term is also used to describe the uncooked kernel.
BULGAR: Wheat has been parboiled, dried, debranned, and ground to make it fast to cook.
CRACKED: Wheat that is milled at a very coarse setting or is just "cracked. Is good for use in hot cereals.

FLAKES: Wheat that is rolled.
GLUTEN: The protein found in wheat. You can buy/make gluten.

GROUND: Wheat is processed in a grinder to make flour.
SPROUTS: When wheat is planted and watered as seeds.

Other Kinds of Wheat:
DURUM: Used to make pasta flour.

Storage:
It is important that wheat be clean at storage. Oxygen absorbers help keep pests at bay. These can be used in #10 cans, PETE bottles and Mylar bags. A dry ice treatment can be used to clean the wheat if you live in a very dry climate and are repackaging into buckets. Keep wheat in a dry, cool area for an optimum storage life.

Allergies:
About 1 in 100 people has an allergy to the protein in wheat. All forms of wheat have this protein present. So test it out on your family before you buy a lot.

Grinders:
Don't pass up storing wheat just because you don't have a grinder. As you can see from the definitions, there are many other ways to use wheat. I'll be doing a post on grinders soon.

Sources:

Walton Feed - Good overview.

Wikipedia: Wheat

The Fresh Loaf - Pictures that show the differences between red and white wheat as cooked in breads.

Sunnyland Mills - About bulgar wheat.

the price of grains

If you are just beginning to purchase grains for your longer-term storage, you might not have a sense of what makes for a good price. Here are some baseline *good* prices for some basic grains to use as a comparison:

CORN:
*41 lb bags of popcorn - $31.90 (Walton Feed - needs to be repacked)

OATS:
*25 lbs - $9.80 (LDS Home Storage Centers - needs to be repacked)
*#10, 2.6/2.7 quick/regular can of oats - $2.55/$2.60 (through LDS Home Storage Centers)

PASTA:
*#10, 3.5 lb can of macaroni - $4.00 (LDS Home Storage Centers)

RICE:
There was a run on rice recently which drove the prices up. The prices seem to be dropping right now.
*50 lb bags of long-grain rice - 23.99 (at Costco -- needs to be repacked)
*25 lb bag of white rice - $11.35 (LDS Home Storage Centers - needs to be repacked)
*#10, 5.7 lbs of white rice - $4.10 (LDS Home Storage Centers)

WHEAT:
*45 lbs buckets of prepacked clean wheat - $16.99 (I found this price two years ago through Lehi Roller Mills. The price skyrocketed up to as much as $28 per bucket, but has since dropped down to $18.99 - which is what I recently saw at our Associated Foods store).
*25 lbs of clean, double bagged wheat - $8 to $10 (doesn't have to be repacked).
*25 lbs of clean wheat - $8 (needs to be repacked)
*#10, 5 lb. can of wheat - $3 (through LDS Home Storage Centers)

You will probably find that the *good* prices for your area vary considerably. It pays to become familiar with the availability and cost of these grains. Then you will be better equipped to maximize your dollar when purchasing grains for your longer-term storage.

allergies

What if I'm allergic to wheat?

Wheat allergies and the need for special diets because of other allergies or health concerns are fairly common. You, or someone in your family, might not be able to consume wheat or many other recommended foods. But remember, wheat is not the only recommended grain. You can have a successful longer-term storage without a drop of wheat. Store those grains that you and your family can eat.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recommends that you store "wheat, white rice, corn or other grains." Rolled oats are included on their list of products that can be stored for 30 years. If your family is allergic to wheat, but not gluten, oats are a good choice. Rice is a good grain for almost all food allergies. All of the different grains can be ground to make flour. Other grains may also be appropriate for longer-term storage, but avoid pearled barley and brown rice for longer-term storage (but they would be appropriate for your three-month supply) because they have very short shelf-lives. If you are considering storing a grain that is not already recommended for long-term storage, be sure to find out the recommended shelf life from reputable sources before you buy a lot of a product only to have it go bad quickly.

Here are some blogs about allergies and food storage:
Gluten-Free Food Storage
Gluten-Free Recipes & Food Storage (also a family blog)

Some great posts on this topic:
The Pantry Panel
Safely Gathered In

but i don't eat grains/wheat!

What if I don't eat wheat/grains?

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints states, "for longer-term needs, and where permitted, gradually build a supply of food that will last a long time and that you can use to stay alive, such as wheat, white rice, and beans." So, the main purpose of this longer-term storage is to help us "stay alive."

A lot of people get hung up on the fact that they don't really use wheat or oats or whatever. If you don't already use these whole grains that store well, I recommend that you acquire the grains and then work on cooking with and incorporating these foods into your diet. And remember that "grains" doesn't necessarily mean wheat.

Ideally, you already utilize grains which are recommended for long-term storage in your diet and would already be able to use and rotate through your grains fairly quickly. If you do already use certain grains in your diet and cooking, choose those grains for your longer-term storage. But if you don't typically eat or cook with grain, at least you have the food stored to enable you to "stay alive".

Because whole grains are hard on digestive systems, it is also important to help your family tummies get used to those grains. I definitely DON'T recommend buying grains, storing them for 30 years and never using them. If you need to, set a goal and learn how to use these grains. Whole grains are not only good for your longer-term storage, but they are also good for your body.

goal 4(b) - gather grains for longer-term storage

Our current goal is gathering our longer-term storage.

Specifically - Store Grains.


Grains are one of two main products that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints recommends that you store for longer-term storage. (Beans are the other product - but we'll discuss them later.) They recommend that any dried products that you store have 10% or less moisture content and be insect-free.

Wheat is what people typically think of when grains are mentioned, but there are other grains that are equally suitable for longer-term storage. Corn, rice, oats and other grains are great for longer-term storage. We'll be exploring each of these different grains in depth in upcoming posts. These grain products have a storage life of 30 years or more, which is fantastic because you can take a long time to rotate through and replace your supply of grains.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recommends that you store 25 lbs of grains per month per person. That's 225 lbs. for a nine-month supply or 300 lbs. for a 12 month supply. My personal goal is to store between 9 and 12 months of grains per person (added to my three-month supply to make a complete one-year storage). Here is a chart to help you determine how much grain you should store:

Grain Storage Amounts:
*1 person -
25 lbs (1 month) 225 lbs (9 months) 300 lbs (12 months)
*2 people -
50 lbs (1 month) 450 lbs (9 months) 600 lbs (12 months)
*3 people -
75 lbs (1 month) 675 lbs (9 months) 900 lbs (12 months)
*4 people -
100 lbs (1 month) 900 lbs (9 months) 1200 lbs (12 months)
*5 people -
125 lbs (1 month) 1125 lbs (9 months) 1500 lbs (12 months)
*6 people -
150 lbs (1 month) 1350 lbs (9 months) 1800 lbs (12 months)
*7 people -
175 lbs (1 month) 1575 lbs (9 months) 2100 lbs (12 months)

Make a note of the amount of grains that you want to store. I recommend that you write this number down. You can use a spreadsheet, table, or notebook to record and track your longer-term storage inventory. I personally use a doc file. I simply record the total amount we need, how much we have, and how much I still need to buy. It's not elaborate and doesn't have to be.

I would say that originally this was the most daunting home-storage goal for me. For our family, 1125 - 1500 lbs of grains felt like so much that it seemed unattainable. However, when you gather your grains a little at a time, it actually is easier than you think. And remember all of this grain storage isn't just wheat. I personally store wheat, oatmeal, cornmeal, popcorn, pasta and different varieties of rice. As we continue to discuss grain storage, pay attention to the kinds of grains that your family uses. It helps with rotation if you store grains in similar proportion to the amounts you use in your regular meals.