Wheat storage basics

Did you know that cereal grains are grown in greater quantities and provide more food energy worldwide than any other type of crop? They are one of the foundation foods that humans consume. In the United States, wheat is one of the most common grains that people begin to store. Hikingware.com thinks you should ask yourself these questions about wheat: Why is wheat so great to store? What kind of wheat should I store? How should wheat be stored? And, how can I use wheat?

History has shown wheat’s role in human survival. From Biblical stories to American Pioneer experiences, we know it works as a way to sustain life in a crisis.

Pound for pound, wheat is one of the least expensive foods available. Because grain products will expand in your stomach (satisfying you even if you eat less), using wheat products can help you stretch your budget by eliminating the need for store-bought, overpriced, and over-processed goods.

Wheat provides protein.

If you are concerned that your food storage may be lacking in protein, a good supply of wheat and legumes will form a complete protein. Just a half cup of uncooked wheat contains eight to 10 grams of protein. So, not only will wheat give you the protein needed for muscle growth and repair, but you will have a low-fat complex carbohydrate to give your body the energy it needs to make it through the day.

What kind of wheat should I store?

That all depends on what you’ll be making with it.

Hard red winter wheat is excellent for making hearty, whole wheat loaves of bread, or to use in recipes as an extender for red meat. Hard white winter wheat contains a more delicate flavor than the hard red wheat and can be used to make light and fluffy bread, rolls, and scones. It can also be used in recipes as an extender for white meat. Both of these varieties of hard wheat are high in protein and fiber.

Soft white wheat kernels are larger and plumper than red wheat kernels, are of a softer texture, and have weaker gluten strength. This wheat is used to make flaky pastries, pie crust, cakes, crackers, and breakfast cereals. Because of its lower gluten and protein content, it is not recommended for use in breads.

How to store wheat.

Whole wheat kernels will store longer and better than when ground up into flour. When storing your wheat at home, make sure it is in containers specifically identified on the label as food storage containers.

It is best to purchase wheat with a moisture content level less than 10 percent. Heat, moisture, oxygen, and light are the enemies to preserving food for an extended period. Two of the best ways to properly store wheat are in a #10 can with an oxygen absorber , or sealed within a metallized plastic bag with an oxygen absorber, then placed in a bucket.

Always store your wheat in a cool, dry place to ensure the longest shelf life. The cooler and least fluctuating temperature (between 40-75° F), the better.

A Brief Warning.

If you have celiac disease, you can't eat any foods that contain gluten (including wheat, rye, barley, and oats). Dropping gluten from your diet usually improves the condition within a few days and eventually ends the symptoms of the disease. So instead of storing wheat or oats, you can store rice – it lasts just as long as wheat, as long as it is stored properly. 

Food for thought

Could the Dust Bowl Come Again?

The Dust Bowl was the name given to the Great Plains region devastated by drought in 1930s depression-ridden America. The 150,000-square-mile area, encompassing the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles and neighboring sections of Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico, has little rainfall, light soil, and high winds, a potentially destructive combination. When drought struck from 1934 to 1937, the soil lacked the stronger root system of grass as an anchor, so the winds easily picked up the loose topsoil and swirled it into dense dust clouds, called “black blizzards.” Recurrent dust storms wreaked havoc, choking cattle and pasture lands and driving 60 percent of the population from the region. Most of these “exodusters” went to agricultural areas first and then to cities, especially in the Far West.

The American agricultural system came close to ruin during those perilous years; in fact, some contemporary experts began warning that the American family would soon have to start spending nearly 40% of their income just to get enough to eat. Fortunately, they were wrong; today the average American family spends only 7% of their income on food.

But even so, there are many scenarios in which your food budget could skyrocket, either temporarily or for a long time -- such as natural disasters or civil disturbances that disrupt the food supply chain. Hikingware.com suggests that you should keep on hand a full supply of nutritious and long-lasting emergency rations for your family.

Can the Dust Bowl happen again? Historians tell us that, to a lesser extent, it can happen again at any time:

In response to the original emergency, the federal government mobilized several New Deal agencies, principally the Soil Conservation Service formed in 1935, to promote farm rehabilitation. Working on the local level, the government instructed farmers to plant trees and grass to anchor the soil, to plow and terrace in contour patterns to hold rainwater, and to allow portions of farmland to lie fallow each year so the soil could regenerate. The government also purchased 11.3 million acres of submarginal land to keep it out of production. By 1941 much of the land was rehabilitated, but the region repeated its mistakes during World War II as farmers again plowed up grassland to plant wheat when grain prices rose. Drought threatened another disaster in the 1950s, prompting Congress to subsidize farmers in restoring millions of acres of wheat back to grassland.

With global warming and continuing drought in many parts of the United States, the day may come sooner than expected when your food budget will double or even triple.

So having an ample supply of basic food stuffs on hand, as well as emergency rations for the whole family just makes sense.

As Groucho Marx once said: "Food for thought doesn't do you much good when you're hungry for a hamburger!"

THE BENEFITS OF FREEZE DRIED FOODS FOR YOUR EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS

Freeze-dried foods aren’t just relevant to you when you buy Astronaut Ice Cream for your kids at the amusement park. This is a food preservation process used for removing the moisture from foods, such as fruits, vegetables, meat, and almost any other ingredient, food item, or meal. Because these foods are lighter and much less likely to rot or spoil, they are used for emergency preparedness, quick-prep meals, and backpacking.

Hikingware.com offers a fine selection of freeze dried items on our food storage website page.  

History

Modern freeze-drying was developed during WWII. Blood serum being sent to Europe from the US for medical treatment of the wounded required refrigeration, but because of the lack of simultaneous refrigeration and transport, many serum supplies were spoiling before reaching their intended recipients. The freeze-drying process was developed as a commercial technique that enabled serum to be rendered chemically stable and viable without having to be refrigerated. Shortly thereafter, the freeze-dry process was applied to penicillin and bone, and lyophilization became recognized as an important technique for preservation of biologicals. Since that time, freeze-drying has been used as a preservation or processing technique for a wide variety of products.

How it works

If a freeze-dried substance is sealed to prevent the reabsorption of moisture, the substance may be stored at room temperature without refrigeration, and be protected against spoilage for many years. Preservation is possible because the greatly reduced water content inhibits the action of microorganisms and enzymes that would normally spoil or degrade the substance.

Freeze-drying also causes less damage to the substance than other dehydration methods using higher temperatures. Freeze-drying does not usually cause shrinkage or toughening of the material being dried. In addition, flavors, smells and nutritional content generally remain unchanged, making the process popular for preserving food. However, water is not the only chemical capable of sublimation, and the loss of other volatile compounds such as acetic acid (vinegar) and alcohols can yield undesirable results.

Freeze-dried products can be rehydrated (reconstituted) much more quickly and easily because the process leaves microscopic pores. The pores are created by the ice crystals that sublimate, leaving gaps or pores in their place.

Can I freeze dry my own food?

You can purchase a home freeze dryer -- but they are pricey, and you'll need to spend a goodly amount of time prepping your food, and then sticking around for several hours to make sure the process goes smoothly. If you have a large family and a strong wallet, plus plenty of free time, it might be worth your while.  A good freeze dryer will run you anywhere from four-hundred to twelve-hundred dollars.

But again, you needn't invest a lot of time and money in freeze drying; you can purchase quality freeze dried food items from companies like Hikingware.com. Once the items are placed in a cool, dark, and dry place, you can forget about them until you need them. 

Gluten-Free Emergency Food Supply Kits

Perhaps you've been putting off getting your emergency food supply because you are on a gluten-free diet. You might think that you can’t find gluten-free foods readily available for emergency storage. The good news is that you can! Hikingware.com offers a complete line of gluten-free emergency food storage items.

Here is the reason most people are on a gluten-free diet:

A gluten-free diet is critical for people with celiac disease, in whom the ingestion of gluten triggers an autoimmune attack of the intestinal lining, causing gastrointestinal distress and the potential malabsorption of important nutrients. Additionally, countless others have gluten sensitivity, which can cause many of the same symptoms, without the intestinal damage. Advocates claim that a gluten-free diet can ease a number of ailments, including digestive problems, eczema, chronic fatigue, headaches, infertility, ADHD, autism, depression, chronic inflammation, thyroid disease, weight gain and diabetes.

Given the broad range of gluten-induced woes, believers say you might not know how good you can feel – or how bad you once felt – until you go gluten-free.

What is gluten?

Gluten, a protein found in wheat, grain, barley and their derivatives, is a relative newcomer to the human diet. As a result, some humans have not yet adapted to digesting the substance, which can cause substantial physical and emotional distress. And yet, most people are unaware of gluten’s effect on them.

According to Alessio Fasano, a pediatric gastroenterologist and founder and director of the University of Maryland Center for Celiac Research, about 1 percent of the U.S. population has celiac disease. An even smaller group – between .01 and .03 percent of the population – has a wheat allergy. But an estimated 6 percent of the country, or 16 to 18 million people, are considered “gluten sensitive,” a new category defined by Fasano and others in a 2012 paper published in the journal, BMC Medicine.

Should you consider a gluten-free diet?

First, find out whether you have celiac disease, which can be determined by a blood test, although a biopsy of the small intestine is considered the most conclusive measure. People diagnosed with celiac disease are advised to rid their diets of gluten as its presence triggers an autoimmune response in the body that damages the lining of the small intestine and blocks the absorption of nutrients. Blood tests and a stool sample can also help determine gluten sensitivities. However, these can be tricky because detection hinges on having consumed gluten in the weeks prior to the test.

Meanwhile, given the wide range of symptoms associated with gluten sensitivities, misdiagnoses and under diagnoses abound, a simpler test is to avoid gluten and see if you feel better. People with gluten sensitivity may not need to avoid it entirely, but should feel better by reducing their overall daily intake.

The following are considered to be high-gluten foods:

• wheat starch
• wheat bran
• wheat germ
• couscous
• cracked wheat
• durum
• einkorn
• emmer
• farina
• faro
• fu (common in Asian foods)
• gliadin
• graham flour
• kamut
• matzo
• semolina
• spelt

Gluten-free foods include the following:

• fruits and vegetables
• beans
• seeds
• legumes
• nuts
• potatoes
• eggs
• dairy products
• corn
• rice
• fish
• lean beef
• chicken