April 11, 2020 - 10:15am
How to Clean Wheat Berries
I have been grinding my own wheat for over 10 years and had something happen this week that hasn't happened before. The bag of wheat I ordered from one of the companies I use arrived with a big tear down the side that goes all the way through to the berries. It's been on a truck for at least 2-3 days and I'm hesitant to use them as is. Would it be okay or should I try to do something with them before using them?
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After all, they grew in a field.
I had the same thought! And then my second thought went to bugs on the truck or chemicals...I'm probably way overthinking it. : )
I freeze my grain for at least a week to kill them. I buy in bulk in January and store it in a shed when the temps are hitting -20 to -30 C, whatever that is in Fahrenheit. It has worked well as I haven’t had an issue over the last few years. If you got the freezer space, pop your grain in there or do small amounts over time.
As to chemicals, it was probably on a truck that carries food as opposed to dangerous goods so I think you are okay there.
Agree with danni about freezing. You can get 4.5 to 5 pounds of berries in a gallon size freezer bag, and rotate the bags in/out of your freezer. I'm unsure what the official recommendation is. My guess is 72 hours/3 days would be plenty safe.
If you think it got wet, just inspect it, one scoop at a time, as you transfer it from one container to another, like bucket to bucket.
The possible dry particulate contamimants would fall into 2 categories:
- stuff bigger than a wheat berry, which will "float" to the top.
- stuff smaller than a wheat berry, which will "sink" to the bottom.
You could use a seive or colander to get out the smaller stuff.
Or, using buckets, don't fill completely , in order that it shakes easily, and then shake the bucket -- small stuff will sink, large stuff floats. Inspect a scoopfull at a time for large stuff, as you skim off the top, transfering bucket to bucket. You may have to spread the scoopful out on white paper to get a good look.
Whatever is left at the bottom of the bucket will be the small stuff.
How closely you inspect the middle area between top and bottom is up to you.