How to use 20 y/o grain?
Posted by girllock@reddit | preppers | View on Reddit | 25 comments
Hi y'all,
My household just inherited a generous amount of hard red wheat, buckwheat, beans, and other dry goods that have been stored in white buckets for 20+ years. We don't want to be wasteful, but it's taking over our house and garage. We replaced our bedframes with it. I grew up on homemade wheat bread with flour we ground ourselves, but Google says most of the nutrition is breaking down at this point. What can we do with it?
infinitum3d@reddit
Just use it. Grind and bake.
You could try sprouting it but honestly just grind it and use the flour.
Prize_Priority1818@reddit
could make some good ole white lightning. good bartering tool
b-e-e-p-b-e-e-p@reddit
Well, we just finished our last 1997 bucket of hard red winter wheat berries.
Still fresh and tasty.
On to the 2010 nitrogen sealed buckets next.
mellbs@reddit
Thats really an accomplishment!
IlliniWarrior1@reddit
if that grain was properly stored using mylar and 02 absorbers - the grain is still vital - still has almost the same nutritional value as day it was packed >>>> not packed correctly - hog feed
smsff2@reddit
The first thing Google shows you these days is usually an attempted answer from Gemini. You’ll need to ignore those.
ladyangua@reddit
Add https://www.google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14 to your browser's search engine list and make it the default. You'll get an AI and Ad free search result.
Ok-Zombie-1787@reddit
I don't see anything wrong with the AI answer i got.
girllock@reddit (OP)
Ya, I tried being proactive and just got a lot of advertisements and AI responses. The family member who gave us the wheat says it's fine to eat but we want to double check. We considered making local trades with families in the area who have livestock as we're more orchard and herbs oriented.
sfbiker999@reddit
What does that mean?
throwawayt44c@reddit
They've bean sleeping well.
legoham@reddit
Not OP, but they're probably using their larder to support their box spring and mattress.
IGetNakedAtParties@reddit
Chickens, pigs, fish.
girllock@reddit (OP)
Does it need to be sprouted or soaked or anything? Are you able to just feed it to them?
Cute-Consequence-184@reddit
If they do sprout, it would give better nutrition to them
andy1rn@reddit
You can add water to a few inches above the wheat/buckwheat. After 2-3 days you'll smell a slightly sour smell. Not unpleasant. That's the grain fermenting. It will improve the nutrition profile and grain will ferment even if they're beyond sprouting. We used to do this for our chickens and they got pretty excited about it.
Try one bucket first to see how it does for you. Not sure about the beans, they should be fine but I've never tried fermenting them.
ItsSadButtDrew@reddit
brewers beer, then make whiskey
Secret-Bobcat-4909@reddit
Clever
Lou_Nap_865@reddit
Same as you did before. Grind, use. Been doing it for years. This is assuming proper storage with mylar/o2, etc.
There are many tests online prior to AI that verify that the loss of nutrients is negligible. Pull up chatgpt and ask for verifiable info prior to 2020(c0\/!d). That's when they started the misinformation and beginning of AI crap. I use some version of this prompt almost always. GL!
There_Are_No_Gods@reddit
Was it stored in Mylar inside the buckets, or just in the buckets directly?
Plastic buckets are not airtight over that timescale, allowing a lot of air to pass right through the plastic, which degrades the food a lot faster than if it's in a less permeable container like Mylar.
sabotthehawk@reddit
Will have some decayed nutrients but not by alot. If you don't want to use for animal feed then you can use as is or mix with some fresh grain while grinding is concerned about the lower nutrients. But it will be minimal. You are getting more nutrients from bread from old grain than from new store bread.
If you use starter for your bread then use that to feed it if you don't want to consume it directly.
It could also be used in home brewing if you do any or know of someone who does.
And lastly if you have the garden space then sprout and plant some to renew the grains. (Space consuming for growing and time consuming in harvest but a good skill to have if planning for a teotwawki situation)
JRHLowdown3@reddit
How EXACTLY was it packed? Just poured in a bucket and (supposedly) nitrogen flushed? Or mylar liners (true barrier versus a bucket by itself) and o2 absorbers? Should be quickly evidently which via popping the lid on a bucket.
We eat food that old fairly regularly and have lived and are overall very healthy.
But yeah you could rotate via animals- chickens, pigs, cows, etc. as need be.
Mala_Suerte1@reddit
It's fine to eat and while it will have less nutrition than when harvested, it still has plenty. Utah State Extension and BYU have done a lot of research on stored foods. Just use it.
gonyere@reddit
I fed 15+ yr old grain (mostly hard red/white wheat, some soft, and some lentils too) to chickens. It really appeared fine. We'd been eating it occasionally for years. I just wanted to restock.
Icy-Medicine-495@reddit
The wheat should still be fine but the rest is probably questionable.