How to Cook Grains

Agatha M. Thrash, M.D.

Preventive Medicine

Whole grain cereals and breads are indeed the staff of life. They represent the most important single item in the world dietary. In many countries grains in some form represent the main dish at all meals. There are minerals and vitamins in whole grains that give one a better disposition, greater ambition, increased ability to do successful work, and probably a heightened ability to experience happiness.

Before grains appear on the table, there are two mistakes that are often made: The first is that of polishing and bleaching them in the mistaken idea that polishing increases palatability and eye appeal, and the second is a failure to cook grains a sufficient length of time.

The polishing of grains removes the entire outer layer where most of the vitamins and minerals are carried. Generally some 25 to 30 minerals and vitamins are lost in the milling process, and with enriching only four are used to replace those that were lost. The trace elements that are lost in the milling process are difficult to make up through other foods, and the loss is therefore a serious one. It is true that the grocer gets advantages of longer shelf life and less appeal to insects after the outer layer of good nutrients (which bugs like) has been removed.

The starch and protein present in the central portion of the grain are more difficult for the body to use without the accompanying minerals and vitamins to stabilize the metabolic systems in which starch and protein are used. The B vitamins are required in the metabolism of starches and sugars. Many minerals are required in the metabolism of protein, as well as some vitamins. The bleaching process is another thief of both vitamins and minerals, taking about 60% of what was left from the polishing process.

Many people use the same cooking principles for vegetables as for grains, but the two foods are not comparable. Many vegetables can be eaten raw and are palatable and tender. Grains need long cooking as they often contain substances that cannot be released to digestion until the cooking process has softened the bonds of the physical and chemical unions that hold nutrients locked in position. Whole kernel grains such as rice, oat groats, wheat berries or whole kernel rye require perhaps one and three-quarter to two hours of thorough cooking before the grain is ready for digestion. Microscopic examination of the starch kernels reveals a progressive softening which is not completed until after two hours of steaming or boiling.

Rice is one of the favorite grains throughout the world. Whole grain rice has flavor qualities that make a whole new world of eating experiences for those who have not used brown rice. Rice may be cooked out dry and flaky and used with a number of sauces, spreads, gravies, and soups. By increasing both the cooking time and the amount of water, the end product can be made creamy to be used as a porridge for breakfast; leftovers to be congealed and sliced, dipped in a batter or sprinkled with wheat bran or wheat germ and baked until toasty brown. It can be shaped into patties while still hot, after seasoning with a variety of herbs, onion, or leftover vegetables, rolled in flour or fine cornmeal and baked for burgers.

Readers wishing to ask questions or make comments may address them to Uchee Pines Lifestyle Center, 30 Uchee Pines Road #75, Seale, AL 36875. Please enclose a long stamped, self addressed envelope.

For more information contact:

Uchee Pines Lifestyle Center

30 Uchee Pines Road #75

Seale, Alabama 36875

Tel. 334-855-4764

www.ucheepines.org