Cooking Wheat Berries

Directions

Wheat berries take a bit of patience and planning to cook, but the cooked berries store well, so I like to make a big batch for easy use later in the week. Once cooked, the wheat berries add a great texture and flavor to both sweet and savory dishes and are excellent sprinkled over salads or into muffin or pancake batters. For extra flavor, add a cinnamon stick to the pot of wheat berries as they cook for sweet dishes, or an onion and dried herbs for savory dishes.

-Add wheat berries to a large bowl of water and swish around. Any residual husks or random seeds from the field will float to the top. Skim off any extraneous material and drain.

-Place rinsed wheat berries in a medium pot with lots of water, like you were cooking pasta.

-Bring water to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer.

-Cook until wheat berries are al dente (they will still be slightly chewy) and drain. This should take about 35-50 minutes, but cooking time may differ.

-Cool drained berries then store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days (cooked wheat berries also freeze well and can make a great last minute addition to soups or stews).

It is tempting to try and make whole wheat flour from your wheat berries but it is pretty difficult to grind the wheat berries at home without burning out the motor on your blender. However, if you soak them overnight and mix them with pancake ingredients you can spare your kitchen appliance and make a delicious breakfast pancake!

Some folks also like to sprout their wheat berries. If you are interested in raw foods and sprouting you can read more about it online.

And last but not least, wheat berries can be used to grow wheat grass for juicing as well as for a treat (and beneficial for the digestion) for indoor cats.

Submitted by Sara Jones, Tucson CSA