[FLPERMACULTURE] Local grain

[Pat Meadows]

On Mon, 27 Aug 2007 10:59:34 -0400, you wrote:

>This is good information, and can be useful by way of illustration of how 
>far we have to go, and what is missing.
>
>How and where are these farm products marketed? If they are milled, where 
>is that happening, and are the products marketed locally? Some of my 
>friends have grain mills, but I don't think everyone having grain mills is 
>the way to address the need for milling, nor is everyone driving to the 
>producers the way to address distribution. 

I don't see why not, actually.  We have a grain mill (electric); it cost
$200, and it makes very good flour.  Freshly ground whole-wheat flour makes
the very best bread!  And it doesn't get more freshly ground than grinding
the wheat, then ten minutes later using it to make bread.  

People spend more than $200 for a Vita-Mix blender, or a Kitchen-Aid mixer
or lots and lots of other kitchen equipment:  why not a grain mill?

If you have one, you can store wheat which, packaged correctly, keeps a
long time. Certainly, one yearly trip to a local or regional grain farm
would be sufficient.  Wheat can also be bought online, already packed in
6-gallon buckets, or ordered through natural food stores.  Grains in 50-lb
bags or 6-gallon buckets are quite economical to ship, too; no
refrigeration required.

You can use a mill for other grains (corn, barley, rye, rice, etc.), of
course, and you can also make cracked grains to use as hot cereal.  Beans
can be ground beans into bean flour to use for soups, sauces, in baking, or
for other purposes.

For those who want a non-electric mill, I am told that the Country Living
Grain Mill is easy to use and does a fine job.  I don't have experience
with one myself, though.

http://pathtofreedom.com/peddlerswagon/kitchen/helpers/countrylivinggrainmill.shtml

Pat

-- 
http://www.entire-of-itself.blogspot.com/
In Pennsylvania's Northern Tier, northeastern USA.

'Be the change that you want to see in the world'
Mohandas Gandhi