Category: Grub Garage
GRAIN GLOSSARY
BARLEY: Most barley is repeatedly pearled to remove the inedible outer
hull and some of the bran, yet is still considered whole grain because
some of the bran remains. Scotch (or pot) barley has been only
partially pearled; hulled barley has had the hull removed but has not
been pearled. .
How to use: Add barley to bean soups or meaty vegetable soups, or
steam, toss with butter and parsley, and serve as a side dish for
lamb. Pearled barley takes 35 to 40 minutes to soften; Scotch barley
about 1 hour. Hulled barley may take 2 hours.
BUCKWHEAT: Buckwheat is the seed of a plant related to rhubarb. The
whole form minus the hull is known as groats; when dry roasted,
buckwheat groats become kasha, which has a hearty, earthy, roasted
taste and a relatively heavy texture. Buckwheat is also made into flour.
How to use: Steam kasha with sautéed onions, then toss with bow-tie
noodles to make kasha varnishkes. Many recipes call for tossing raw
kasha with beaten egg before cooking it, which helps keep the grains
separate. Kasha takes only about 15 minutes to steam, and it turns
mushy when overcooked. Add Japanese buckwheat noodles (soba) to soup
or eat cold with a soy-based sipping sauce. Buckwheat flour makes a
heavy pancake on its own and is usually blended with all-purpose flour.
CORN: The whole dried corn kernel does not have bran per se, but it
does have a thin skin that provides some fiber and a nutritious germ.
Both are usually removed before the corn is ground to make cornmeal,
grits and polenta. Look for stone-ground whole-grain cornmeal to get
the full nutritional benefit; degermed cornmeal, the most common type,
has had the germ removed. Anson Mills (see Sources) produces
whole-grain grits and, on a very small scale, whole-grain polenta.
Because the germ contains oil that grinding exposes, whole-grain
cornmeal and grits turn rancid quickly at room temperature and should
be refrigerated. Posole (whole dried corn) and popcorn are both whole
grain. So are corn tortillas.
How to use: Use whole-grain cornmeal in pancakes and cornbread. Whole-
grain grits take a long time to cook (up to 2 hours, according to
Anson Mills' instructions), but they have a rich, intense corn flavor.
Add posole to soups and stews.
MILLET: Tiny, golden pearls of millet look like birdseed, which is
where most of the domestic harvest goes. But millet deserves a place
on the human table, too. It takes only about 15 minutes to steam; the
texture is crunchy, the flavor mild.
How to use: Enjoy cooked millet for breakfast with butter whipped with
honey, and milk. For a savory side dish, steam millet in water or
stock, then season with green onions, butter and freshly ground black
pepper. Add cooked millet to meat loaf or stir-fry it with egg, diced
ham and green onions, like fried rice.
OATS: Available whole (sometimes called groats), steel-cut (a coarse
cut) or rolled into flakes, oats are a whole grain in any format. Even
quick- cooking and instant oats retain the oat bran and germ.
How to use: Enjoy steel-cut oats for breakfast; they have a more
satisfying, chewy texture than rolled oats and take only 20 minutes to
cook. Add dried fruit, such as raisins, apples or dates. Oat groats
can be steamed like rice; they take about 45 minutes.
QUINOA: Quinoa thrives at high altitudes and, rare among grains, it
provides complete protein. It is from Chenopodium quinoa, a plant
related to beets and chard. Quinoa is small, round and pale,
resembling large sesame seeds. It must be rinsed thoroughly before
cooking to rid it of a bitter residue called saponin. Put it in a
large bowl of cold water; swish it around well with your hand, then
drain and repeat three or four times. When properly cooked, quinoa is
mild, with a light and fluffy texture and pleasing crunch.
How to use: Dress steamed quinoa with butter, salt and lots of freshly
ground black pepper and serve as a side dish for any stew. Most
recipes call for too much water -- use one part water to one part
quinoa. Steam for 15 minutes, then rest for 5 minutes.
RICE: Brown rice is a whole grain, as are the exotic red and black
rices that have begun showing up in markets in recent years. Lundberg
Family Farms, a rice grower headquartered in Richvale, north of
Sacramento, markets several varieties.
How to use: Make extra and stir-fry leftover brown rice with cooked
vegetables and bits of chopped leftover meat. Add brown rice to a
vegetable soup to thicken. . Brown rice takes about 40 minutes to steam.
RYE: An inferior grain for bread because its proteins don't form
gluten, rye is typically planted only in the cold, wet climates where
wheat won't thrive. Most rye breads have a good amount of refined
flour in them to help them rise, and even the rye flour used may not
be whole grain.
How to use: Add whole-grain rye flour to a favorite wheat bread or
pancake recipe.
WHEAT: Many markets carry a varied selection of whole-wheat products.
Cracked wheat is simply that: the whole grain cracked into smaller
pieces for quicker cooking. It has all the nutritional advantages of
the whole wheat berry. To make bulgur, processors steam the whole
berries, then dry them, crack them and sort them into coarse, medium
and fine sizes. Faro is a cousin of bread wheat. Some of the bran has
been removed, so faro is considered a semi-whole grain. It is nutty
and chewy, like a robust barley. Couscous is typically made from
semolina and thus not whole grain, although some natural foods stores
do carry a whole-grain couscous.
How to use: Wheat berries can be steamed and eaten as a side dish or
for breakfast. They take about an hour to cook if they've been soaked
overnight, longer if they haven't. Cracked wheat and bulgur cook much
more quickly. Both grains make satisfying, fluffy pilafs. Toss
whole-wheat spaghetti with arugula, olive oil, garlic and chili. Or
break it into shorter lengths and add it to a bean or vegetable soup.
WILD RICE: The seed of an aquatic plant wild rice is chewy, earthy and
nutty.
How to use: Steamed wild rice is an elegant accompaniment to pork,
ham, duck, beef or game. Mix with brown rice, white rice, barley or
other grains; add sautéed mushrooms, sautéed onions and celery,
toasted pecans, plumped raisins or dried cranberries. Sauté cooked
wild rice in bacon fat with crumbled bacon and peas. Wild rice takes
about 45 minutes to cook. When overcooked, they splay open and become
mushy. To avoid overcooking, boil grains until barely tender, about 35
minutes, then drain and finish cooking in a sieve set over boiling
water. Cover grains with a damp dishtowel and the pot lid; steam until
tender.
Adapted from an article by Janet Fletcher, San Francisco Chronicle