Mockmill 200 Grain Mill

This conventional/non-organic hard white winter wheat is ideal for bread making. Breads made with hard red and hard white wheats will be very similar; the main difference is that red wheat produces a fuller, heartier flavor, and the bread will have a slightly darker color. If you're just starting out with whole grain baking and don't know how to pick, we suggest starting with hard white wheat. Note: Don't confuse "whole grain white wheat" with store-bought "white flour"! White wheat kernels are actually light brown in color. Store-bought white flour, on the other hand, is essentially nothing more than the endosperm (energy-producing carbohydrate) part of the kernel, with nearly everything nutritious removed in the interest of indefinite after-milling shelf life... which benefits huge commercial millers, at the expense of your health and the character of your food.

Our grain is triple-cleaned. It's also been tested, in the most meaningful way possible: By baking bread with it. You can depend on wheat from Pleasant Hill Grain to make bread and other baked goods that rise well, taste wonderful, and are packed with wholesome, natural nutrition! For those who may want to sprout some, our wheat is sproutable. Sprouting results may vary.

In whole-grain foods, the plant's cellular walls protect nutrients from oxidation. The process of oxidation begins to occur as soon as grain is ground, exposing the cell's contents to oxygen in the air. Flour that is several days (or more) old, has been exposed to oxygen that inevitably diminishes its nutritional value. The way to get full nutrition from whole grain foods is to mill them when you need them, right in your kitchen. Modern high-speed grain mills make it fast and easy to enjoy the freshest, best tasting and most nutritious food imaginable!

Our wheat comes in five-gallon buckets (or pails... another name for the same container.) The net (contents) weight of the grain is 36 lbs. When you store grain at home, it needs to be protected in a couple of ways. First, it needs to be protected from a variety of little critters who'd like to get to it before you do. Weevils, for example. And isn't this interesting: Chances are you've never seen weevils in the white bread or crackers you bought from the store. That's because weevils put no stock in media campaigns from white-flour milling conglomerates; rather, they know what's good for them, and they'd come after your grain from miles around if you let them. And mice have good nutritional judgment, too. Not that there's ever been a mouse in your house, but if there was... you wouldn't want it having access to your grain. Secondly, grain needs to be kept dry. The grain we sell is all dried to a very low moisture level that's optimal for storage and baking and guarantees that you get the most grain for your money. You need to protect your grain from picking up excessive additional moisture, which can be drawn from the atmosphere. The buckets our grain comes in provide full protection against storage risks. They have airtight gasket-sealed lids, Mylar liners, and oxygen absorber packets that remove the oxygen from the air in the bucket after we put the lid on. The O2 absorbers leave an atmosphere of nitrogen in the bucket, because air consists almost entirely of oxygen and nitrogen. (The oxygen absorber packets themselves are completely food-safe, being made of powdered iron and salt, which are kept separate from the product itself.) Our buckets safely lock out pests, and biological processes are put "on hold" in the Mylar protected, oxygen-free nitrogen atmosphere, so your grain enjoys complete peace and quiet until you want to use it. Note: If you don't already have a bucket lid removal tool, they make lid removal easy (see lower section of this Web page). Super Pail packaging is the "gold standard," the ultimate protection for your grain!

All of our grain is triple-cleaned (also called "triple washed") to ensure purity and protect your grain mill from any foreign objects. (Grain that isn't sufficiently cleaned may contain small stones that will damage or destroy a grain mill... not to mention that you don't want such things in your food!)

Our hard white wheat has a shelf life of 10+ years when unopened and stored in a cool, dark, dry environment.

All of Pleasant Hill Grain's whole grain products are natural (non-GMO). This applies equally to both the Organic and the Conventional (Non-Organic) grain. Also, PHG does not sell any grains, beans, lentils, pulses or seeds sourced from China.

White wheat (triticum aestivum) is a gluten-containing grain that’s very similar to red wheat, but has a sweeter, milder flavor and lighter color. There are two kinds of white wheat: hard white winter wheat, and soft white spring wheat. The wheat for sale on this page is hard white winter wheat.

White wheat is a hybrid grain, which means that older varieties of wheat with qualities such as disease resistance, weather tolerance, and high protein content, were crossed to produce a crop that has all the best qualities for bread baking and high yields.

Hard wheat has a higher protein content than soft wheat, and more protein translates to stronger gluten development in baked goods. This means that hard wheat is the best variety of wheat for making bread, pasta and pizza dough with. Soft wheat is ideal for cookies and pastries.

Hard winter wheat’s protein content typically ranges between 10-12%. Hard winter wheat grows predominately in the southwestern and mid-western prairie states whereas hard spring wheat will grow best in the Dakotas, Minnesota, and Montana.

Hard white wheat can be ground into flour, flaked (rolled), or cooked and eaten as a side dish similar to rice. White wheat is high in iron, protein, and fiber. It’s a versatile, delicious, and nutritious choice for everyday baking!

To cook hard white wheat, it’s best to soak the grain overnight. Soaking the grain will ease digestion, make the grain’s nutrients easier to absorb, and shorten the cooking time. To cook, add the whole or cracked, pre-soaked white wheat berries to boiling water (2.5 parts water to 1 part grain) for 45 minutes to an hour. The cooked wheat can be used to make grain salads, or to put into casseroles or soups.

If you’re transitioning from white bread to whole wheat bread, using white wheat is an ideal wheat to start with because of its mild flavor, and white color. We recommend you begin baking with half white flour and half whole wheat flour, and increasing the percentage of whole wheat flour over time. This should make the adjustment easier, especially for children. If you’re unsure whether red or white wheat would be better, we suggest getting a sample of each to find out which you enjoy the flavor of better. Grain samples can be purchased here.

Our conventional/non-organic hard red winter wheat is ideal for bread making. Breads made with hard red and hard white wheats will be very similar; the main difference is that red wheat produces a fuller, heartier flavor, and the bread will have a slightly darker color. Red wheat berries are reddish-brown in color.

Our bulk wheat is triple-cleaned. It's also been tested, in the most meaningful way possible: By baking bread with it. You can depend on wheat berries from Pleasant Hill Grain to make bread and other baked goods that rise well, taste wonderful, and are packed with wholesome, natural nutrition! For those who may want to sprout some, our hard red wheat is sproutable. Sprouting results may vary.

In whole-grain foods, the plant's cellular walls protect nutrients from oxidation. The process of oxidation begins to occur as soon as grain is ground, exposing the cell's contents to oxygen in the air. Flour that is several days (or more) old, has been exposed to oxygen that inevitably diminishes its nutritional value. The way to get full nutrition from whole grain foods is to mill them when you need them, right in your kitchen. Modern high-speed grain mills make it fast and easy to enjoy the freshest, best tasting and most nutritious food imaginable!

Our hard red wheat comes in five-gallon buckets (or pails... another name for the same container). The net (contents) weight of the grain is 36 lbs. When you store grain at home, it needs to be protected in a couple of ways. First, it needs to be protected from a variety of little critters who'd like to get to it before you do. Weevils, for example. And isn't this interesting: Chances are you've never seen weevils in the white bread or crackers you bought from the store. That's because weevils put no stock in media campaigns from white-flour milling conglomerates; rather, they know what's good for them, and they'd come after your grain from miles around if you let them. And mice have good nutritional judgment, too. Not that there's ever been a mouse in your house, but if there was... you wouldn't want it having access to your grain. Secondly, grain needs to be kept dry. The grain we sell is all dried to a very low moisture level that's optimal for storage and baking and guarantees that you get the most grain for your money. You need to protect your grain from picking up excessive additional moisture, which can be drawn from the atmosphere. The buckets our grain comes in provide full protection against storage risks. They have airtight gasket-sealed lids, Mylar liners, and oxygen absorber packets that remove the oxygen from the air in the bucket after we put the lid on. The O2 absorbers leave an atmosphere of nitrogen in the bucket, because air consists almost entirely of oxygen and nitrogen. (The oxygen absorber packets themselves are completely food-safe, being made of powdered iron and salt, which are kept separate from the product itself.) Our buckets safely lock out pests, and biological processes are put "on hold" in the Mylar protected, oxygen-free nitrogen atmosphere, so your grain enjoys complete peace and quiet until you want to use it. Note: If you don't already have a bucket lid removal tool, they make lid removal easy (see lower section of this Web page). Super Pail packaging is the "gold standard," the ultimate protection for your grain!

All of our grain is triple-cleaned (also called "triple washed") to ensure purity and protect your grain mill from any foreign objects. (Grain that isn't sufficiently cleaned may contain small stones that will damage or destroy a grain mill... not to mention that you don't want such things in your food!)

Our hard red wheat has a shelf life of 10+ years when unopened and stored in a cool, dark, dry environment.

All of Pleasant Hill Grain's whole grain products are natural (non-GMO). This applies equally to both the Organic and the Conventional (Non-Organic) grain. Also, PHG does not sell any grains, beans, lentils, pulses or seeds sourced from China.

Red wheat (triticum aestivum) is a gluten-containing grain that’s very similar to white wheat, but has a more robust, nutty flavor. To sweeten the slightly bitter taste of red wheat, honey may be used in a bread recipe. There are three different kinds of red wheat: hard red winter wheat, hard red spring wheat, and soft red winter wheat. The wheat for sale on this page is hard red winter wheat. Red wheat is so named because of the color of its bran, which has a reddish hue.

Red wheat is a hybrid grain, which means that older varieties of wheat with qualities such as disease resistance, weather tolerance, and high protein content, were crossed to produce a crop that has all the best qualities for bread baking and high yields. Red wheat was originally introduced to the Great Plains in the 1870s by immigrants from Russia. Today, the majority of wheat grown worldwide is hard red wheat.

Hard wheat has a higher protein content than soft wheat, and more protein translates to stronger gluten development in baked goods. This means that hard wheat is the best variety of wheat for making bread, pasta and pizza dough with. Soft wheat is ideal for cookies and pastries.

Hard winter wheat’s protein content typically ranges between 10-12%. Hard winter wheat grows predominately in the southwestern and mid-western prairie states whereas hard spring wheat will grow best in the Dakotas, Minnesota, and Montana.

Hard red wheat can be ground into flour, flaked (rolled), or cooked and eaten as a side dish similar to rice. Red wheat is high in iron, protein, and fiber. It’s a versatile, delicious, and nutritious choice for everyday baking!

To cook hard red wheat, it’s best to soak the grain overnight. Soaking the grain will ease digestion, make the grain’s nutrients easier to absorb, and shorten the cooking time. To cook, add the whole or cracked, pre-soaked red wheat berries to boiling water (2.5 parts water to 1 part grain) for 45 minutes to an hour. The cooked wheat can be used to make grain salads, or to put into casseroles or soups.

If you’re transitioning from white bread to whole wheat bread, we recommend you begin baking with half white flour and half whole wheat flour, and increasing the percentage of whole wheat flour over time. This should make the adjustment easier, especially for children. If you’re unsure whether red or white wheat would be better, we suggest getting a sample of each to find out which you enjoy the flavor of better. Grain samples can be purchased here.

These non-GMO conventional (not organic) durum wheat berries are triple-cleaned and perfect for making pasta!

This pasta wheat is not a good choice for making bread. Some good bread-making choices are the hard red or hard white wheat berries , as well as spelt, Kamut or rye or einkorn. We also offer soft white wheat berries that produce baked goods with a tender crumb—just what you want for making muffins, biscuits, pancakes and pastries.

Our durum wheat comes in five-gallon buckets (or pails... another word for the same container), containing 35 lbs. net weight. When you store durum wheat at home, it needs to be protected in a couple of ways. First, it needs to be protected from a variety of little critters who'd like to get to it before you do. Weevils and rodents, for example. You also need to protect your durum wheat from picking up excessive additional moisture, which can be drawn from the atmosphere. The buckets our durum wheat comes in provide full protection against these storage risks. They have airtight gasket-sealed lids, Mylar liners, and oxygen absorber packets that remove the oxygen from the air in the bucket after we put the lid on. The O2 absorbers leave an atmosphere of nitrogen in the bucket, because air consists almost entirely of oxygen and nitrogen. (The oxygen absorber packets themselves are completely food-safe, being made of powdered iron and salt, which are kept separate from the product itself.) Our buckets safely lock out pests, and biological processes are put "on hold" in the Mylar protected, oxygen-free nitrogen atmosphere, so your durum wheat enjoys complete peace and quiet until you want to use it. Note: If you don't already have a bucket lid removal tool, they make lid removal easy (see lower section of this web page).

In whole-grain foods, the plant's cellular walls protect nutrients from oxidation. The process of oxidation begins to occur as soon as grain is ground, exposing the cell's contents to oxygen in the air. Flour that is several days (or more) old, has been exposed to oxygen that inevitably diminishes its nutritional value. The way to get full nutrition from whole grain foods is to mill them when you need them, right in your kitchen. Modern high-speed grain mills make it fast and easy to enjoy the freshest, best tasting and most nutritious food imaginable!

All of our durum wheat is triple-cleaned to ensure purity and protect your grain mill from any foreign objects. (Durum wheat that isn't sufficiently cleaned may contain small stones that will damage or destroy a grain mill... not to mention that you don't want such things in your food!)

Our durum wheat has a shelf life of 10+ years when unopened and stored in a cool, dark, dry environment.

All of Pleasant Hill Grain's whole grain products are natural (non-GMO). Also, PHG does not sell any grains, beans, lentils, pulses or seeds sourced from China.

Durum wheat (triticum durum) is the hardest type of wheat and, like all wheat, contains gluten. The word “durum” is latin for “hard”. Although it contains gluten, the type of gluten in durum wheat isn’t suitable for yeast bread, because it doesn’t create the strong elastic structure that’s necessary for dough to rise. It is used, however, for some Middle Eastern and North African flatbreads, such as kesra.

Durum flour is light golden yellow and has a mildly sweet, buttery and nut-like flavor.

Dough made from durum flour is not elastic but still holds together well, making it ideal for rolling out pasta. Because of its suitability for pasta, durum wheat is sometimes referred to as pasta wheat. If you’re making pasta, durum flour is the way to go!

Semolina—the endosperm of durum wheat—is made by sifting cracked, or coarsely ground whole grain durum flour to separate the endosperm from the bran and germ. The endosperm portion, or “semolina,” can then be cooked or ground into flour. Among other dishes, semolina is used to make pasta, couscous, and a porridge dish called halwa that’s traditional in India and Asia. Other grains can be ground and used in the same way, but when it’s referred to as “semolina,” the grain used must be specified (e.g., “rice semolina”). Corn semolina is often referred to as “grits.”

Partially cooked durum wheat that’s been dried and then cracked is called bulgur. Bulgur can be cooked and mixed with fresh vegetables and herbs for tabbouleh, used to make hot cereals, or added to salads. Bulgur is commonly used in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Because bulgur has been partially cooked, it cooks faster than raw, cracked grain. Kibi (or kibbeh) is a combination of bulgur with ground lamb or ground beef. Kibi is used to make meatballs and many other traditional dishes in the Middle East.

Durum wheat contains gluten, like all types of wheat, but because the gluten in it doesn’t have the elastic strength necessary for bread to rise well, it’s best to mix this flour with hard red or white wheat , or spelt flour when making yeast breads. It’s best not to mix durum flour with other wheat flours when you’re making pasta though, as the texture will suffer.

Durum is a tetraploid grain, meaning it has four sets of its seven chromosomes for a total of 28 chromosomes, whereas modern red and white wheat, and spelt, have six sets of seven chromosomes, for a total of 42 chromosomes. The simpler genetic structure of durum makes it easier to digest than modern wheats. Many people who experience gluten sensitivities are able to enjoy baked foods made with durum flour, but since it does contain gluten it isn’t recommended for people with Celiac disease.

Kamut wheat is related to durum. Both are ancient grains, and have similar baking characteristics and flavor. Kamut is a larger grain with a more oblong shape. Substituting up to 50% of flour in yeast breads with durum or Kamut flour adds a delicious flavor and wonderful color to breads.

Our emmer is certified organic, cleaned and great for baking & cooking purposes. Like all of Pleasant Hill Grain's whole grain products, it is GMO-free.

Our grains are cleaned to protect your grain mill from any foreign objects. (Organic emmer berries that aren't sufficiently cleaned may contain small stones that will damage or destroy a grain mill... not to mention that you don't want rocks in your food!) Also, PHG does not sell any grains, beans, lentils, pulses or seeds sourced from China.

Our emmer is certified organic and non-GMO, and comes in heavy duty buckets containing 43 lbs. net weight. When you store grain at home, it needs to be protected in a couple of ways. First, it needs to be protected from a variety of little critters who'd like to get to it before you do. Weevils and rodents, for example. You also need to protect your organic emmer from picking up excessive additional moisture, which can be drawn from the atmosphere. The buckets our organic emmer berries comes in provide full protection against these storage risks. They have airtight gasket-sealed lids, sealed Mylar liners, and oxygen absorber packets that remove the oxygen from the air in the bucket after the lid is put on. The O2 absorbers leave an atmosphere of nitrogen in the bucket, because air consists almost entirely of oxygen and nitrogen. (The oxygen absorber packets themselves are completely food-safe, being made of powdered iron and salt, which are kept separate from the grain itself.)

Our SuperPail buckets safely lock out pests, and biological processes are put "on hold" in the Mylar protected, oxygen-free nitrogen atmosphere, so your organic emmer enjoys complete peace and quiet until you want to use it, even if that’s ten or twenty years from now. Note: If you don't already have a bucket lid removal tool, they make lid removal easy (see lower section of this Web page).

Unopened emmer has a shelf life of 10 years when stored in a cool, dark, dry environment.

Emmer is high in fiber, containing 26-40% of the fiber we need in a day. Fiber helps lower cholesterol, prevents constipation, normalizes blood glucose and insulin. 

Emmer does contain gluten, but in lower amounts than regular wheat. This also makes for slightly denser bread when baking. 

Emmer is also an excellent source of niacin and pantothenic acid which are both important for metabolism. Niacin also plays an important role in our skin, digestive systems, and nervous systems. Emmer is also an excellent source of magnesium and selenium, which are important for bones, protein creation, immune system function, muscle contraction, and the nervous system. Just 1/2 cup of emmer contains 29% of the daily value for magnesium. 

Emmer has a low glycemic index. Food with lower glycemic indexes are better because they release the glucose more slowly and steadily. This helps keeps blood glucose and insulin levels under control. 

Our einkorn wheat is certified organic, cleaned and great for baking & cooking purposes. Like all of Pleasant Hill Grain's whole grain products, it is GMO-free.

Einkorn, the oldest form of cultivated wheat, has been grown for thousands of years, making it an ancient grain. You can read much more about its unique history, and its uses, further down in this description.

Our grains are cleaned to protect your grain mill from any foreign objects. (Organic einkorn wheat berries that aren't sufficiently cleaned may contain small stones that will damage or destroy a grain mill... not to mention that you don't want rocks in your food!) Also, PHG does not sell any grains, beans, lentils, pulses or seeds sourced from China.

Our einkorn is certified organic and non-GMO, and comes in heavy duty buckets containing 26.5 lbs. net weight. When you store grain at home, it needs to be protected in a couple of ways. First, it needs to be protected from a variety of little critters who'd like to get to it before you do. Weevils and rodents, for example. You also need to protect your organic einkorn from picking up excessive additional moisture, which can be drawn from the atmosphere. The buckets our organic einkorn berries comes in provide full protection against these storage risks. They have airtight gasket-sealed lids, sealed Mylar liners, and oxygen absorber packets that remove the oxygen from the air in the bucket after the lid is put on. The O2 absorbers leave an atmosphere of nitrogen in the bucket, because air consists almost entirely of oxygen and nitrogen. (The oxygen absorber packets themselves are completely food-safe, being made of powdered iron and salt, which are kept separate from the grain itself.)

Our SuperPail buckets safely lock out pests, and biological processes are put "on hold" in the Mylar protected, oxygen-free nitrogen atmosphere, so your organic einkorn enjoys complete peace and quiet until you want to use it, even if that’s ten or twenty years from now. Note: If you don't already have a bucket lid removal tool, they make lid removal easy (see lower section of this Web page).

Unopened einkorn has a shelf life of 10 years when stored in a cool, dark, dry environment.

Einkorn wheat hasn't been widely produced for many years because it’s more difficult to harvest and yields only one fifth as much volume compared to modern wheat. But interest in it has grown rapidly as awareness of its great nutritional advantages has spread.

The protein content of einkorn wheat is 30-50% higher than in modern wheats. In addition to its high protein content, einkorn contains large amounts of essential fatty acids, antioxidants lutein and beta-carotene, minerals phosphorus, iron, zinc, potassium and manganese, and vitamins A, B2 and B6. Einkorn also contains 30% less starch than modern wheat.

Einkorn is a diploid grain, meaning it has two sets of its seven chromosomes for a total of 14 chromosomes, whereas modern red and white wheats, and spelt, have six sets of seven chromosomes, for a total of 42 chromosomes. The simpler genetic structure of einkorn wheat makes it easier to digest than modern wheats. Many people who experience gluten sensitivities are able to enjoy baked foods made with einkorn flour, but since it does contain gluten it isn’t recommended for people with Celiac disease.

Einkorn berries can be cooked for a side dish or hot cereal, or ground into flour and used in a variety of baked goods. Whole grain einkorn flour can be used in place of any other type of wheat for breads, pasta, pancakes, biscuits and more!

Bread dough made with einkorn flour is less elastic than dough made with modern wheat, and because there isn’t a lot of elasticity to develop, einkorn dough can be fully kneaded in a very short time. Einkorn bread dough can easily be mixed and kneaded by hand. The gluten structure of einkorn is less strong than that of modern wheat, so to prevent falling while baking, it's important not to let the dough over-proof.

Einkorn flour absorbs less liquid and takes a little longer to absorb liquid than modern wheat flours do; this should be taken into consideration when substituting einkorn flour for modern wheat flour in yeast bread recipes. A good place to start when converting yeast bread recipes for einkorn is to use ⅓ less liquid than the recipe calls for (eggs and butter shouldn’t be considered a liquid).

Whole grain einkorn flour can usually be substituted in equal measurement for modern wheat whole grain flour in quick breads, pancakes, cookies and cakes, but generally you’ll need to reduce liquid by 10-15% in these recipes. Einkorn doughs and batters will be a bit stickier to work with than those made with modern grains, but baking results are not adversely affected. We recommend The Einkorn Cookbook as a great resource for tasty, wholesome recipes.

The word einkorn is German and means “one kernel”, referring to the single floret in a spikelet of einkorn grass; modern wheats grow 3-5 florets per spikelet. Einkorn is also known by other names including farro piccolo (Italian), shippon (Hebrew), and le petit épeautre (French).

Our long grain brown rice is certified organic, triple-cleaned and perfect for all baking and cooking purposes.

Our whole grain rice is certified organic and non-GMO, and comes in six-gallon buckets (or pails... another word for the same container), containing 40 lbs. net weight. When you store brown rice at home, it needs to be protected in a couple of ways. First, it needs to be protected from a variety of little critters who'd like to get to it before you do. Weevils and rodents, for example. You also need to protect your brown rice from picking up excessive additional moisture, which can be drawn from the atmosphere. The buckets our long grain brown rice comes in provide full protection against these storage risks. They have airtight gasket-sealed lids, Mylar liners, and oxygen absorber packets that remove the oxygen from the air in the bucket after we put the lid on. The O2 absorbers leave an atmosphere of nitrogen in the bucket (because air is mainly oxygen and nitrogen). Our buckets safely lock out pests, and biological processes are put "on hold" in the Mylar protected, oxygen-free nitrogen atmosphere, so your brown rice enjoys complete peace and quiet until you want to use it.

In whole-grain foods, the plant's cellular walls protect nutrients from oxidation. The process of oxidation begins to occur as soon as grain is ground, exposing the cell's contents to oxygen in the air. Flour that is several days (or more) old, has been exposed to oxygen that inevitably diminishes its nutritional value. The way to get full nutrition from whole grain foods is to mill them when you need them, right in your kitchen. Modern high-speed grain mills make it fast and easy to enjoy the freshest, best tasting and most nutritious food imaginable!

All of our whole grain rice is triple-cleaned to ensure purity and protect your grain mill from any foreign objects. (Brown rice that isn't sufficiently cleaned may contain small stones that will damage or destroy a grain mill... not to mention that you don't want such things in your food!)

All of Pleasant Hill Grain's whole grain products are natural (non-GMO). Also, PHG does not sell any grains, beans, lentils, pulses or seeds sourced from China.

Our organic brown rice has a shelf life of 10+ years when unopened and stored in a cool, dark, dry environment.

Brown rice (oryza sativa) is a gluten-free cereal grain that can be ground for flour or cooked whole. It’s easily digested, may lower the risk of diabetes, lower cholesterol, and help maintain a healthy weight.

Rice is predominantly grown in South Asia, but is cultivated on every continent except Antarctica, in over a hundred countries worldwide. Rice is a staple food in Asian countries and is popular in many western cuisines as well, making it the most popular grain for human consumption.

One way to classify rice is by the length of the kernel. Rice is available as long, medium, and short grain. Long grain has an elongated kernel, while short grain is nearly round. Short grain rice is sometimes referred to as sticky rice because it’s higher in amylopectin (a type of starch) which causes it to stick together when cooked. Sticky rice is perfect for making sushi, eating with chopsticks, and making rice pudding. Long grain rice stays fluffy when cooked, making it the preferred option to use in soups, casseroles, salads or as a side dish.

Have you wondered what the difference is between white and brown rice? White rice starts out as the same grain as brown rice, but the nutrient-packed bran and germ part of the kernel are removed in order to make a rice that cooks up softer and is white in color. The bran and germ remain intact in brown rice, and they give the cooked rice a slightly chewy texture and earthy brown color. Both white and brown rice have had the inedible outer hull removed. Brown rice is considered a whole grain food, while white rice is refined.

Rice bran, which is not present in white rice, contains most of the grain’s fiber. Fiber aids in the digestion of carbohydrates by slowing down the digestion process, and this helps the body sustain a steadier blood sugar and energy level. Fiber also keeps you feeling full longer, making it easier to eat less, for those who want to lose weight.

Rice germ, which is also absent from white rice, contains 30% of the grain’s nutrients even though it comprises just 1% of the total weight of the whole grain! Rice germ is high in protein, essential amino acids, fatty acids, and fiber. It’s also a good source of thiamine, vitamin B6, vitamin E, iron and magnesium.

There are endless varieties of rice—over 40,000! Some of the most common varieties are basmati, jasmine, and arborio. Each of these varieties are available as either whole grain brown rice or refined white rice. Our organic long grain brown rice is a variety called Mermentau and it’s grown in Texas.

Beyond cooking, rice can also be ground into gluten free flour, puffed to use in baked goods like granola bars, or fermented to make saké. Brown rice can be ground with any type of grain mill. Brown rice flour should be used quickly after milling to avoid rancidity. Rice flour is popular in gluten free diets.

To cook, boil 2 cups of liquid (water, or stock) for every 1 cup of rice. It’s important to keep the pot covered while cooking to allow the rice to steam. When brown rice is cooked it swells to twice its dry volume.