why store grains and a mill instead of flour?

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - why store grains and a mill instead of flour?

Posted: 3/5/2010 10:33:21 AM EDT

I see a lot of people storing whole wheat and other grains and keeping a mill, but why not just store large quantity's of flour instead?

Posted: 3/5/2010 10:36:00 AM EDT

[#1]

because roses, lillies, etc. sure smell pretty, but they aren't that palatable

Posted: 3/5/2010 10:37:23 AM EDT

[#2]

Flour?

Posted: 3/5/2010 10:38:00 AM EDT

[#3]

Flour does not posses the shelf life of berries. The berry keeps nutrients safe, like a seed, and when you grind it up, it begins to lose nutrients.

Posted: 3/5/2010 10:43:52 AM EDT

[#4]

All about shelf life. Flour is good for maybe 5 years at cooler temps if you mylar and o2 absorber it. Unprocessed seed will store just about indefinitely under the same conditions.

Plus some people like to make their own flour. My wife will probably end up getting a mill for her b-day becasue she is really getting into all the natural eating stuff.

That said, I store flour and try to rotate through it. Awful convenient to have it around.

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

Posted: 3/5/2010 10:48:03 AM EDT

[#5]

Aside from the shelf life issue, having a mill and whole grains also positions you to be able to grow and process your own, if needed (providing the variety you are stockpiling will grow reasonably well in your area).

Posted: 3/5/2010 12:04:34 PM EDT

[#6]

Quoted:
Aside from the shelf life issue, having a mill and whole grains also positions you to be able to grow and process your own, if needed (providing the variety you are stockpiling will grow reasonably well in your area).

This was the only reason I could think of.

Lesser shelf life makes sense too.

Posted: 3/5/2010 12:46:13 PM EDT

[#7]

Lower cost, longer shelf life, versatility. In fact the only down side to whole grains is you have to grind them if you want flour.

Posted: 3/5/2010 10:33:53 PM EDT

[#8]

Just to expand on that, with whole grains, you can sprout them, crack them, or grind into flour. Not only does flour spoil faster, it can't be reassembled into seeds.

Posted: 3/5/2010 10:43:14 PM EDT

[#9]

Quoted:

Just to expand on that, with whole grains, you can sprout them, crack them, or grind into flour. Not only does flour spoil faster, it can't be reassembled into seeds.

Which you can also make malt out of......

Posted: 3/6/2010 4:24:18 AM EDT

[#10]

Whole wheat is better for you, more versatile, stores longer, is less prone to bugs in storage and in general is cheaper than white flour.

White flour is so stripped of nutrients that the FDA, an organization not exactly known for truly giving a crap about your health, makes them add back A and D to the powder....

Posted: 3/6/2010 5:23:11 AM EDT

[#11]

Everybody has already nailed it:

Grains last longer. They pulled wheat out of the pyramids in Egypt that was still good...

Wheat, if stored properly, can last a LONG time.

Flour... Not so much...

We store both... Wheat for long-term storage, and flour is rotated through...

Posted: 3/6/2010 6:58:07 AM EDT

[#12]

I am going to store both. I put up two buckets of flour and will put up around 4 to 6 buckets of wheat berries. The flour will get rotated out around 5 years.

Posted: 3/6/2010 7:03:42 AM EDT

[#13]

When did people start calling kernels of wheat "berries"? It's not fruit, it's grain.

Posted: 3/6/2010 8:58:33 AM EDT

[#14]

Quoted:
When did people start calling kernels of wheat "berries"? It's not fruit, it's grain.

**** Berries is a correct term, used by people who deal in grains.....As to when, Carla Emory always used the term in her homesteading books back in the 70's !? I doubt she invented the use!

Posted: 3/6/2010 4:20:19 PM EDT

[#15]

Quoted:

Quoted:

When did people start calling kernels of wheat "berries"? It's not fruit, it's grain.

**** Berries is a correct term, used by people who deal in grains.....As to when, Carla Emory always used the term in her homesteading books back in the 70's !? I doubt she invented the use!

Hmm.
I don't remember hearing it before & I'm a farm kid. And this is the first time I've heard of Carla Emory.

And according to NDSU, the Minnesota Wheat Growers Association, Kansas Association of Wheat Growers, the National Association of Wheat Growers, and many other Farm based organizations, it's a "kernel".

http://www.wheatworld.org/wheat-info/fast-facts/

From the National Association of Wheat Growers website:

"Wheat is a member of the grass family that produces a dry, one-seeded
fruit commonly called a kernel."

Posted: 3/6/2010 9:37:29 PM EDT

[#16]

I'm having trouble finding an affordable manual grinder that gives you a finer grind than cornmeal. Any suggestions?

Posted: 3/7/2010 2:14:24 AM EDT

[#17]

Quoted:

Quoted:
When did people start calling kernels of wheat "berries"? It's not fruit, it's grain.

**** Berries is a correct term, used by people who deal in grains.....As to when, Carla Emory always used the term in her homesteading books back in the 70's !? I doubt she invented the use!

Hmm.

I don't remember hearing it before & I'm a farm kid. And this is the first time I've heard of Carla Emory.

And according to NDSU, the Minnesota Wheat Growers Association, Kansas Association of Wheat Growers, the National Association of Wheat Growers, and many other Farm based organizations, it's a "kernel".

http://www.wheatworld.org/wheat-info/fast-facts/

From the National Association of Wheat Growers website:
"Wheat is a member of the grass family that produces a dry, one-seeded fruit commonly called a kernel."

"Berry" is just an informal term; the correct botanical description is indeed "kernel". It's never really made sense to me either, so I tend to use "kernel" or "grain". People just tend to bastardize the correct terms when... I dunno, whenever we feel like it, I guess.

Like the "a tomato isn't a vegetable, it's a fruit" argument. And botanically a watermelon is a "berry", but since it doesn't fit our preconceived notion of what a berry should be, we don't call it that.

You said...
...this is the first time I've heard of Carla Emory.

Carla Emery is the author of "The Encyclopedia of Country Living", a 800-some-odd page compilation of instructions on how to grow, store and prepare food, and IMHO should be on the bookshelf of every prepper-type. You can download a copy of an older issue here:

Survival book downloads

... but the $20-$30 for the most current edition (I think it's 10th) is money well spent. It corrects some errors in the earlier editions.

Posted: 3/7/2010 2:27:48 AM EDT

[#18]

Quoted:
I'm having trouble finding an affordable manual grinder that gives you a finer grind than cornmeal. Any suggestions?

Might check out this thread.
Depends on what your definition of 'affordable' is, I guess. Given what these things do - turn pounds and pounds of rock-hard little kernels of grain into a fine powder - there's really no substitute for lots of steel and tight tolerances. There are mills that cost less, but speaking only for myself I'm not sure I'd want to depend on them in any kind of long-term survival situation. Others will disagree, but I can't see storing a half ton of grain and a mill that's going to crap out after grinding a hundred pounds of it.

Posted: 3/7/2010 6:52:16 AM EDT

[#19]

Quoted:

<snip>

"Berry" is just an informal term; the correct botanical description is indeed "kernel". It's never really made sense to me either, so I tend to use "kernel" or "grain". People just tend to bastardize the correct terms when... I dunno, whenever we feel like it, I guess.

Like the "a tomato isn't a vegetable, it's a fruit" argument. And botanically a watermelon is a "berry", but since it doesn't fit our preconceived notion of what a berry should be, we don't call it that.

Yeah, I guess is't just another one of those things that doesn't make sense in our messed up little world. And sorry if I came across harshly, I was in the mood to argue. It happens.

Quoted:

You said...

...this is the first
time I've heard of Carla Emory.

Carla Emery is the author of
"The Encyclopedia of Country Living", a 800-some-odd page compilation of
instructions on how to grow, store and prepare food, and IMHO should be
on the bookshelf of every prepper-type. You can download a copy of an
older issue here:
Survival book downloads
... but the
$20-$30 for the most current edition (I think it's 10th) is money well
spent. It corrects some errors in the earlier editions.

And I might have to give that book a look next time I'm at the book store. But I have a feeling it's just gonna be a re-hash of my childhood growing up out in the country.

Posted: 3/7/2010 7:37:39 AM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:

...And sorry if I came across harshly, I was in the mood to argue. It happens.

I didn't take it that way at all. As I said, I find it kind of odd myself... in this case the vegetation in question doesn't even LOOK like a berry, so it makes even less sense to me

Go figger...

Posted: 3/7/2010 8:50:17 AM EDT

[#21]

I've been on the fence on what mill to buy. I'm still there.
I don't really know enough about it to make a sound judgment as yet.
I'll be getting a mill this summer though.
Thanks for the write up.
M

Posted: 3/8/2010 3:44:09 PM EDT

[#22]

Quoted:
... Unprocessed seed will store just about indefinitely under the same conditions...

^ this.

I read about some university which took some grains from one of the Egyptian pharoh's tombs. They planted it and grew wheat. It lasts "long enough" when stored properly.

Posted: 3/8/2010 6:40:07 PM EDT

[#23]

Quoted:

Quoted:
... Unprocessed seed will store just about indefinitely under the same conditions...

^ this.

I read about some university which took some grains from one of the Egyptian pharoh's tombs. They planted it and grew wheat. It lasts "long enough" when stored properly.

Store it propperly... And you are GTG for a very long time...

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - why store grains and a mill instead of flour?

Outdoors » Survival Discussions

Warning

Confirm Action

About AR15.COM

Stay Connected

Newsletter

Contact Us