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. If you can, soak them overnight – it will reduce their long cooking time. 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 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 soaked, sprouted or 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 just under an hour, but cooking time may differ.

-Cool berries then store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days (cooked wheat berries also freeze well). You can cook wheat berries in a crock pot or Instant Pot, as you would beans, just Google manufacturer’s instructions for your particular device.

Submitted by Sara Jones, Tucson CSA