I am almost ashamed to admit how much I once relied on pre-packaged side dishes. This was during my “Dinner in under 30 minutes” period, that 20-year period between childless and childfree. I console myself with the knowledge that it was the only reasonable way to get a nutritious meal into my growing boys within the small window of opportunity that existed between pre and post dinner activities.

            And although I carefully chose only the best quality and most expensive “quickies,” often ones which were organic and had as few additives as possible, I swore that someday I would go back to making these dishes from scratch, if only to save a few bucks.

            Well, “someday” arrived last summer, and I have been keeping that promise. My current  “grain of the month” is the wheat kernel, also called a wheat berry or groat. My first experience with this grain was during my passionate fling with my then newly purchased bread machine, which now sits in the dark corner of some closet collecting dust. I was madly making all kinds of loaves, many of which I gave away to friends. I had found a recipe for wheat berry bread, and immediately rushed off to Harvest Thyme to purchase some berries. I guess I forgot to read the entire recipe, and missed the part about soaking these tiny pieces of gravel before adding them to the dough. I am just lucky I wasn’t sued for dental work. I decided then that wheat berries were a bit too high-maintenance for me.

             More recently, I had a good wheat berry experience on the deck of the Arasheena. We were served a marvellous wheat berry salad for lunch and I became instantly hooked on its chewy texture and nutty flavour.

            Wheat was once the world’s most important source of nourishment. I’m not talking about white bread, but in its purest form, the wheat berry. This unrefined kernel contains the bran, germ and endosperm of the wheat and is a superior source of protein, minerals, vitamins, and fibre. For many centuries, a dish known as frumenty or fermenty was a common staple. Wheat berries were soaked in water for a few days in a warm spot, often by the hearth, until they began to ferment, becoming slightly sour and gelatinous. This jellied concoction could then be sliced and eaten cold with milk and honey for breakfast, or fried and eaten as a side dish with meats. Yum! It’s little wonder that white bread became so popular.

            The berry that you will find most frequently in bulk food bins is Hard Red wheat. This wheat contains the highest amount of protein and gluten, which makes it the best wheat to grind for bread flour. You may also find Hard White wheat, another high-gluten wheat suitable for bread flour. I also have a package of Soft White berries. These berries are sometimes called pastry berries because they contain less gluten than the hard wheats and are not suitable for bread flour. The flour from these berries is better suited to making cookies and pies. Hard wheat berries require a longer soaking time, over night works best, and a longer cooking time than soft wheat berries. While they both are delicious, the hard wheat seems to have a more robust nutty flavour.            

For those on a tight schedule, cooked berries can be kept in the fridge for up to a week or frozen for several months. They can then be used in pilafs, soups and casseroles, eaten alone with butter or served as a breakfast cereal with raisins, cinnamon, and honey. Wheat berries can be used in most of the ways that you would use brown rice. When I cook grains, I like to add a cinnamon stick and sometimes cloves to the cooking water. This will infuse the grain and your kitchen with delightful smells.

            If you still think that wheat berries require too much pre-planning, you can grind them in a food processor to make cracked wheat, which will cook much quicker than the whole.

Wheat berries can also be sprouted. Sprouted wheat is not eaten raw as you would more familiar sprouts, but used in breads and cooked cereals. The curious thing is that the sprouts are first processed in a blender before being used. I have some growing now, although I haven’t the foggiest notion what I intend to do with them. I guess I was just curious to see what a wheat sprout looked like. If you decide to grow wheat sprouts, be careful that you don’t try to grow them in too much water or where it is too warm. You may end up with an unexpected first encounter with frumenty.