Grains

Some things to know about grains:

• Grains are used to create the foundation of a wide variety of foods in your long-term food storage.
• It is recommended that half your daily grain intake be WHOLE grains due to the high nutritional value and protein levels (examples: whole wheat, oats, brown rice, etc). 
• Accumulate recipes that include grains. There are several recipes on this blog that use wheat.  Using your grains will help you rotate through them, and get your family used to eating them. 
• Wheat grinding seems to be the major hang up for most people! Don’t use this as an excuse to not start this step!  Seriously, if I can do it, anyone can.  I highly recommend the WonderMill (previously called the WhisperMill).  It is super easy!  All you do is plug it in, attach the lid/container to the mill just plug the "hose" in hole on the mill), add the raw wheat and out it comes right into the container.  
• It is recommended that one adult stores roughly 300 lbs of grains per year to sustain life. This measurement can be made up of a variety of grains, but is typically comprised of mostly wheat.  It is the staff of life, after all!

Rolled Oats:
Uses - Breakfasts, 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 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, 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 wheat is typically hard and white wheat is typically soft. However if you prefer the flavor of one over the other you can find soft red and hard white varieties.
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.

Spaghetti or Macaroni:
Uses - As a main course, in casseroles, in soups.
Types - You can store any type of pasta you like to use, the main ones sold in bulk are macaroni and spaghetti so they are convenient for long-term storage.
Storage - If unopened, optimum shelf life is 8-10 years. If opened will last about 2 years. If you buy it in plastic bags we recommend transferring your pasta to airtight plastic containers for better storage.

Cornmeal:
Uses - Grits, cornbread/muffins, mush, jonnycake, hushpuppies, 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 Flour:
Uses - Cakes, biscuits, pie crusts, pastries, gravy, thickener, puddings.
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 treated with chlorine, while unbleached is aged and bleached naturally by oxygen in the air.
Storage - If unopened, optimum shelf life is 5 years. If opened will last about 6-8 months.

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.

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.

*info from FoodStorageMadeEasy