If you are anything like me, the idea of buying, let alone actually USING a wheat grinder can be pretty intimidating. I am determined to accumulate a healthy-sized food storage and wheat is going to play a big role in that. I am also a fan of the mantra “store what you eat and eat what you store”. Thus it quickly became apparent to me that I needed to do some heavy duty research in order to uncover all the mysteries surrounding “wheat grinders” or “grain mills” as they are officially called. With the help of internet research, some hands on research at several neighbors’ houses, and multiple failed attempts in the kitchen, I have come up with a pretty good summary of what you need to know.

Types of Wheat Grinders

Manual Wheat Grinders

Pros

Inexpensive Can be used with no power source Small to store
Cons

SLOW to grind (mine took 6 minutes to grind one cup of flour) Except for the very high-end models, you cannot grind a fine flour Inconvenient (messy and hard to fit a large bowl underneath)
KitchenAid Attachments

Pros

Less expensive than an electric grinder Small to store Convenient to use and then mix bread in the same machine
Cons

I have heard from multiple sources that these units will BREAK your KitchenAid mixer Not as fast at grinding as electric grinders
Electric Wheat Grinders

Pros

Grinds very fast Useful for many types of grains, beans, nuts, etc. Easy to select how coarse or fine to grind, and has a large range
Cons

Fairly expensive, even for the lower-end models Must have a generator or battery pack to use with no electricity (unless you buy a high end model that comes with a manual crank) A large appliance to store in your kitchen
Prices of Wheat Grinders

Manual Wheat Grinders

Low: $20-30 models will not grind flour, only coarse corn meal, etc. Not very useful. Medium: $75-$175 is a good price range. Back to Basics Grain Mill is $75. It can grind fine enough for bread flour but not for very fine cake flour. Wonder Junior is higher-priced at $169 but it can grind into cake flour. High: Up to $400 for the Country Living Grain Mill. It is quicker than other manual grinders and is able to grind a fine cake flour.
KitchenAid Attachments

$100-120, some may be used on any stand mixer.
Electric Wheat Grinders

Low: Under $200 for grinders such as the Blendtec Grain Mill. Its drawbacks are it is very noisy and cannot do very coarse grinds. Medium: $200-$300 can get you a great grinder. The two most popular electric grinders are the WonderMill and the NutriMill. In my tests I found the WonderMill to be faster, quieter, cleaner, and easier to store. And priced at $239 it is even cheaper than the NutriMill which is $269. High: Over $300 is an unnecessary amount to spend in my opinion. There are heavy duty models out there but you can get the job done with the mid-range models.
How To Use Wheat Grinders

Manual Wheat Grinders

Attach wheat grinder to your counter top Place a bowl underneath Pour the wheat in the funnel Turn the crank (for a LONG time) Wheat will filter into the bowl below
Electric Wheat Grinders

Select how fine or coarse you want to grind Turn on the machine Pour the wheat in the top Wait for it to grind into flour (super fast) Turn off the machine and pull out your canister of wheat
How To Use Fresh Ground Whole Wheat

Whole wheat bread can be delicious! I have gone through a lot of recipes trying to find the perfect balance of flavor, nutrition, texture, etc. for my wheat bread. Experiment with different recipes and types of wheat until you find what your family prefers. We liked using hard white wheat in a recipe that included gluten and oatmeal. Pancakes even your kids will love! I took an IHOP corn cakes recipe and simply swapped all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour and it was amazing. My kids ate 3 each at one meal. They are delicious drizzled with honey over top. Whole wheat oatmeal cookies you can’t resist. I haven’t tried any of these recipes yet but several of my friends said they prefer whole wheat cookies to regular cookies. Who wouldn’t want an excuse to make cookies, hey it’s rotating your food storage. Much much more. I grind up a large Tupperware full of hard white wheat flour and store it in my freezer (it retains the nutrients that way). Whenever I do any baking I replace half or all of the flour called for with my whole wheat flour. If it is as good or better I add that recipe to my food storage recipe binder. It’s a great way to experiment until you find what works for you.
My Recommendations

Emergency-Only Usage

If you are planning to use your food storage and wheat grinder only if an emergency situation arises, it is not worth the expense and hassle of buying and storing an electric grinder. At a minimum you should get the Back to Basics Grain Mill but I would highly recommend splurging for the Wonder Junior.
Every-Day Usage

If you plan to “store what you eat and eat what you store” I highly recommend the WonderMill Grain Mill electric grinder. If you are not planning to find an alternative power source for an emergency situation, then eventually pick up a Back to Basics Grain Mill as well. The price of these two combined are still cheaper than high-end electric grinders that have a manual crank option, and the functionality of the WonderMill is better for frequent usage.

By: Jodi Moore

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… asked:


Supreme Strawberry Sauce
Ingredients:
355 g strawberries, cleaned and stemmed
65 g white sugar
5 ml vanilla

Method
1. Chop the strawberries.
2. Set 1/3 aside and cook the other 2/3 with the sugar and vanilla essence.
3. Cook for about 5 minutes over a medium heat, stirring from time to time.
4. Use a hand blender to smooth the mixture out.
5. Add the remaining 1/3 of the strawberries in to the mixture and cook for a further 3 minutes.
6. Chill in the refrigerator.

It just said vanilla.. in your opinion would using a vanilla pod or vanilla essence be better?
Thanks
Sorry, I typed “essence” into the recipe by mistake.
And yes.. I know the price of pods are expensive.. I’m just asking so I don’t mess this up when I make it.. no need to be rude :/

In cooking, a gas range is a cooker which uses natural gas as a fuel source. It is one of the oldest appliances invented.

The first gas ranges or stoves were developed already in the 1820s, but these remained isolated experiments. At the Appliance World Fair in Toronto in 1851, a gas range was shown, but only in the 1880s did this technology start to become a commercial success, especially in Toronto. The first gas ranges were rather basic compared to the appliances of today, but soon the oven was integrated into the base and the size reduced to fit in better with the rest of the kitchen furniture. A high-end gas stove called the AGA cooker was invented in 1922 and it is considered to be the most efficient design that major appliance manufacturers such as KitchenAid followed and improved on.

Gas ranges today use two basic types of ignition sources, standing pilot and electric. A stove with a standing pilot has a small, continuously burning gas flame under the cooktop. When the stove is turned on, this flame lights the gas flowing out of the burners. The advantage of the standing pilot system is that it is simple and completely independent of any outside power source. A minor drawback to this type of appliance is that the flames continuously consume fuel even when the stove is not in use. Early gas ranges did not have a pilot. One had to light these manually with a match. If one accidentally left the gas appliance on, with the oven door closed, gas would fill the oven and eventually the room. A small spark could ignite the gas, triggering a violent explosion. To prevent these types of accidents, appliance manufacturers such as KitchenAid developed and installed a safety valve in the oven. The safety valve uses a pilot flame to ignite the main burner when the oven is turned on. The pilot flame heats a thermocouple that sends a signal to the valve to stay open, resulting in safer appliances.

Electric ignition ranges use electric sparks to ignite the surface burners. This is the “clicking sound” you hear just before the appliance burner actually lights. If the power fails, surface burners must be manually match-lit. After extensive research that was done in Toronto on KitchenAid appliances, using different types of ranges, it was found out that electric ranges tend to be more energy efficient, although many Toronto residents prefer the gas range due to faster use.

By: Paul Rollins

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