Basic Information on Whole Grains

March 21, 2003

JoAnn Guest Mar 15, 2003 18:05 PST

http://www.edenfoods.com/issues_wholegrain.html

Amaranth Millet

Barley Oats

Buckwheat

Quinoa

Rice

Job's Tears Rye

Kamut Wheat

Amaranth

(Amaranthus)

Amaranth is a most colorful crop. Technically it is not a cereal

grain but a relative of spinach and chard. You may know it as `love

lies bleeding', a gorgeous garden ornamental with vivid foot long

magenta seed heads. One seed head of amaranth contains over 50,000

seeds. The purple or green leaves, when small and tender, are an

excellent pot herb. The seed has an intense earthy and mildly

peppery taste. Compared to amaranth's brilliant reddish purple seed

head, the seed itself is less dramatic in appearance. It is round,

buff or sometimes dark colored and smaller than mustard seed.

The Pueblo peoples revered amaranth as their staple since their

earliest history. Farther south where it originated 5000 years ago,

the Aztec regarded amaranth as sacred and used it in religious

rituals. The Aztec emperor Montezuma annually collected 200,000

bushels of amaranth for tax. This tiny seed was preferred over the

Aztec staple corn because amaranth is nutritionally superior to corn.

Today amaranth is valued worldwide. The United Nations Food and

Agriculture Organization has fostered amaranth's use since 1967

because wherever it is consumed there is no malnutrition. Amaranth

has more protein than wheat and higher in the amino acid lysine than

other grain sources of protein.

Botanists note that amaranth belongs to a remarkable group of

photosynthetic super performers called the C4 group, meaning it is

super efficient in converting soil, sunlight, and water into plant

tissue.

Amaranth is higher than milk in protein and calcium including the

supporting calcium cofactors magnesium and silicon. It is an

especially helpful food for nursing or pregnant women, infants,

children, people who do heavy physical labor, and people trying to

gain weight. The seed is appreciated for its remarkable vitality.

Amaranth is especially valued by people with allergies to cereal

grains. In traditional medicine it astringes and dries damp

conditions like edema and yeast overgrowth, benefits congested

lungs, controls bleeding, helps check diarrhea, and helps regulate

menstruation. In Ayurvedic medicine amaranth reduces kapha.

Amaranth flour has a distinctive flavor and blends well with other

flours for bread, crackers, and savory dishes. It is gluten free and

not suitable as a wheat replacement in yeasted products.

Store whole amaranth in a glass jar in a cool dark cupboard. It will

store for up to a year. If you live in a hot damp environment,

refrigerate amaranth to prevent infestation. If the amaranth

develops an acrid, bitter flavor it has become rancid and should be

discarded.

Possibly the easiest way to cultivate an appreciation for amaranth

is to add about a tablespoon to a pot of rice and cook them

together, or use to thicken soup or stew. Try popping amaranth. It

loses its peppery flavor and becomes sweet and crunchy. Heat a thin

pot over high heat (do not use cast iron or a pan with low sides).

The pan must be very hot. When hot, add 2 tablespoons amaranth seeds

and stir continuously until most of the grains have popped and those

that do not pop are a shade or two darker.

Basic Amaranth

Makes about 3 cups

1 cup amaranth

1 1/2 cups water

1/4 teaspoon EDEN Sea Salt (optional)

1 tablespoon EDEN Extra Virgin Olive Oil (optional)

1 inch piece of EDEN Kombu (optional)

Toast amaranth, stirring continuously, until the grain is lightly

aromatic. Place with 1 1/2 cups water or stock in a small saucepan.

Season with sea salt, oil, and kombu (optional). Bring to a boil,

cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Allow to steam for 5 minutes,

covered. Remove kombu if using. Stir amaranth from top to bottom and

serve.

Barley

(Hordeum vulgare)

Possibly the oldest cultivated cereal, barley was the standard

currency in Babylonia and the basic measuring unit in Sumeria.

Barley is the most widely adaptable grain on our planet. It grows in

regions as extreme and varied as the frigid Tibetan heights and the

blistering sea level Sahara. Barley remains the staple of the

physically strong peoples of the Himalayan region. In the west it is

most commonly malted for beer.

Whole barley is a dark colored grain, larger and plumper than all

others except corn. Its tough hull and bran adhere so tightly to the

grain's starchy core that milling leaves only a small white `pearl'

of barley. Whole barley, which is sometimes available in natural

food stores, has only its outer hull removed. Its vitamin and

mineral content is intact and it is higher in protein, potassium,

calcium, and iron than is pearl barley.

Barley has cooling thermal properties and an earthy sweet but

somewhat salty flavor. While whole barley is thought to have

laxative properties (countered by roasting), pearl barley may be

constipating. Barley is believed to strengthen the digestive system,

regulate the stomach and stimulate the appetite. In traditional

medicine it is used to support the intestines and blood, to benefit

the gall bladder and nerves, for hepatitis, for painful urination,

and to reduce tumors, edema, and excessive lactation. Barley is

believed to be an especially good first food for infants and a

treatment for infant indigestion.

The most acid of the grains, barley is made more alkaline and

flavorful by toasting it prior to cooking. The thin gruel `barley

water' is a traditional convalescing food of the British. Hulled or

whole barley may help to lower blood serum cholesterol in humans and

contains two to three times the protein of an equal portion of rice.

Barley cooks into a chewy sustaining dish. Try it plain, combined

with brown rice, cooked with a pot of beans, or cooked with extra

water to make a breakfast porridge. It is especially delicious

cooked risotto style. Barley is a classic soup and stew ingredient

and a pleasant rice substitute.

Choosing Barley

WHOLE BARLEY has its bran intact and therefore takes more time to

cook. Like brown rice is to white, whole barley is darker, chewier,

and more nutritious than is pearled barley. Whole barley includes

hull less or naked barley heirloom varieties which easily thresh

free from the hull and are an ideal grain for backyard gardeners and

subsistence farmers.

PEARLED (or PEARL) BARLEY has had its bran polished off. EDEN

Pearled Barley can be found in natural food stores in the bulk

section (please ask for it by name). It is organically grown and

milled, and has undergone less pearling than commercial pearled

barley, as is indicated by its larger size.

SEMI-HULLED BARLEY has been lightly pearled (its tough hull scoured

off). The demand for semi-hulled barley is not large and it is only

sporadically available.

BARLEY FLAKES are like rolled oats and make a tasty substitute for

oats in hot breakfast cereal, granola, and muesli.

BARLEY GRITS are quick cooking tiny chunks of barely . Use grits as

a hot breakfast cereal and for a barley polenta. The grit size and

therefore its cooking time varies by manufacturer.

BARLEY FLOUR is starchy, soft, and has a sweet earthy taste. It

yields a cake like crumb and when baked curiously imparts a grayish

color. Generally no more than 15 percent barley flour is added to a

yeast bread and it imparts a more soft and dense texture. Toasting

barley flour prior to use imparts a rich flavor.

BARLEY MALT SUGAR is a buff colored crystalline powder made by

evaporating the water out of barley malt syrup. Malt sugar has been

primarily used for brewing but it is increasingly becoming available

in stores. Malt sugar absorbs moisture easily and then becomes rock

hard. To prevent hardening store it in a closed glass jar.

BARLEY MALT SYRUP is sprouted whole barley, roasted and then

extracted to a liquid form - that is if it's real traditional barley

malt syrup. EDEN Barley Malt is one of the best quality natural

sweeteners, and the only one we know of that is not made with

genetically engineered enzymes or other shortcuts. Barley malt's

primary sugars are maltose and thus its impact upon the blood sugar

is more moderate and `slow burning' than refined sugar, maple syrup

or honey. Store barley malt syrup in a glass container in your

refrigerator after opening.

Basic Barley

Makes about 3-1/2 cups

Barley is a forgiving grain and easy for beginners to work with,

though it may require some experimentation. If it tastes rubbery it

is not cooked, so increase the cooking time and if necessary the

liquid.

1 cup barley

3 cups water

1/8 teaspoon EDEN Sea Salt

Heat a thin bottomed saucepan or wok over high heat. When hot add

barley and toast, stirring constantly, for about 3 or 4 minutes or

until the grain becomes a shade darker and many of them have popped.

Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. When

boiling stir in toasted barley. Cover and lower heat to a simmer.

Simmer for 50 minutes for whole barley or 45 minutes for pearl

barley or until grain is tender but still chewy. If liquid remains,

drain well. If liquid has been absorbed before barley is tender, add

water, about a tablespoon at a time. Serve as a breakfast cereal

with honey and milk or as a side dish seasoned with EDEN Gomasio or

other savory topping or add to soups and stews.

Buckwheat

(Fagopyrum esculentum)

Buckwheat is a hardy rhubarb relative that thrives in cold weather

and can survive and improve challenged soil. Its seed, a small,

three sided buckwheat groat is the shape and rusty color of a

beechnut and thus its Anglo Saxon name was boek (beech) weite

(wheat). Buckwheat originated in Siberia and Manchuria and become

the beloved Russian dietary staple until displaced by wheat in the

20th century. Although buckwheat is not a wheat or a cereal grain,

in the kitchen it is treated as one.

Today buckwheat is grown primarily in New York, Pennsylvania, and

across the Canadian frontier. The major uses for buckwheat crops are

as livestock feed or for soil enrichment in planned crop rotation.

Of all the grains, buckwheat is the most filling because it takes

the longest to digest and therefore it is often recommended for

helping to stabilize blood sugar. In traditional medicine buckwheat

is believed to build blood, treat varicose veins, relieve frostbite,

relieve chronic diarrhea, and neutralize toxic acidic wastes.

Buckwheat contains the flavonoid rutin that strengthens capillaries

and blood vessels, increases circulation to the hands and feet, and

may help reduce blood pressure. Rutin is also believed to antidote x

rays and other forms of radiation. In the macrobiotic tradition

buckwheat is considered medicinal for the kidneys. In Chinese

medicine it is considered neutral in thermal properties, and

strengthening to the large intestine, stomach, and spleen. In

Ayurvedic medicine buckwheat reduces kapha. A folk remedy for

abdominal pain due to difficulty with digestion is buckwheat and

turnips cooked together. Buckwheat is not traditionally recommended

for people suffering from extreme heat signs such as high fever,

thirst, high blood pressure, or emotional instability.

Buckwheat's most outstanding nutritional characteristic is its high

proportion of all eight essential amino acids and especially lysine

that at 6.1 percent is greater than any of the cereal grains.

Additionally, this grain contains up to 100 percent more calcium

than other grains.

Buckwheat is light in texture and quick cooking. It is also light in

flavor unless the groats are pretoasted, then its flavor is strong

and robust. Serve buckwheat as a hot breakfast cereal or a grain

entree, by itself or cooked with other ingredients as a grain pilaf.

The cooked grain may be shaped into burgers or croquettes and pan

fried, grilled or baked.

Choosing Buckwheat

BUCKWHEAT or buckwheat groats are untoasted, a pale greenish white

and mildly flavored. To bring up the flavor and for maximum

vitality, buy untoasted groats and toast them before cooking.

Buckwheat stored in a closed container in a cool, dark cupboard will

hold for one year.

KASHA is buckwheat roasted to a deep reddish brown prior to

packaging. It has an almost scorched flavor. Because it is

pretoasted, kasha becomes stale easily and is best used within six

months. For optimum flavor and energy eat buckwheat and kasha the

day they are cooked. Leftovers may be refrigerated for up to a week.

While cooked buckwheat or kasha can be frozen, this compromises

their texture, flavor, and energetic properties.

BUCKWHEAT FLOUR is made from unroasted buckwheat groats rather than

from roasted kasha. It is graded light, medium or dark depending on

the amount of black hull the flour contains. The hull is rich in

lysine, an important amino acid. Buckwheat flour is the primary

ingredient in the most beloved Japanese pasta, soba. Buckwheat flour

is also a favorite addition in crepes, blinis, pancakes and other

quick breads. This flour does not lend itself to yeast bread. To

store, wrap buckwheat flour tightly and refrigerate for several

months or freeze for up to a year.

Basic Buckwheat

Makes about 3 1/2 cups

1 cup buckwheat groats

2 cups water

1 tablespoon EDEN Sesame Oil (optional)

1/8 teaspoon EDEN Sea Salt

Freshly milled pepper to taste

Toast the groats in a saucepan or wok over medium high heat for

about 3 to 4 minutes or until their color turns several shades

darker and they emit a deep fragrance. If you wish stronger flavor

yet reduce the heat and continue to toast for an additional 2 to 3

minutes or until they are deep amber.

Place water, sea salt and (optional) oil in a medium saucepan over

high heat. Bring to a boil. When boiling, slowly (to prevent the

water from splattering out) pour in groats. Cover, reduce to a

simmer and cook for 10 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed.

Remove from heat. Let steam, covered for 5 to 10 minutes with the

lid on. Fluff with a fork and serve.

For a power nourishing breakfast, substitute EDENSOY for half or all

of the water to your taste. Add honey or barley malt to taste. To

create a more warming dish, sautee the groats in the oil rather than

dry toasting and/or season with garlic and ginger. Stir 1/4 cup

freshly toasted sunflower seeds or chopped walnuts into the boiling

water. For a crisper texture stir the seeds or nuts into the cooked

buckwheat. Replace water with equal portion vegetable stock.