Brookfield7

All content, of both the original Brookfield7.com and this blog, is written from my point of view and is my opinion. I believe it to be accurate at the time it is written. ~ Kyle Prast, Brookfield resident since 1986

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Ever roll your own? I do; I roll OATS!

Yes, I have been rolling my own for about 10 years now--oats, that is. I make my own oatmeal.

Why? It is healthier. You see, the whole grain seed or groat, as it is called, will stay fresh for years, but only if it is in its whole condition. Once a grain is ground or rolled, it starts to break down, deteriorate, and oxidize. The fats become rancid and molds begin to grow. That means the oatmeal and flour and whole grain baked goods you buy in the store have all started to spoil.


Rolling oats is easy to do. All you need is an oat roller. Mine is Italian made and resembles a pasta maker. The whole oat groats go in the top, I turn the crank, the goats are smashed between steel rollers, and out come the rolled oats into the hopper below. There are electrified models, but I figure I can use the upper arm exercise, and it is not hard to turn. I just roll the oats I need before I begin baking.

If you and your family enjoy hot, cooked oatmeal cereal, or you bake a lot, you might consider rolling your own too. I use oatmeal primarily for oatmeal muffins. I eat them for breakfast. (I never did master eating cooked oatmeal--it's a texture thing.)

When I used to bake cookies every few weeks, I would use oats for oatmeal cookies. Since middle age spread hit, we've had to substitute oatmeal muffins as our middle age treat.

I get my oat groats as well as other grains and baking supplies from Barbara, a homeschool acquaintance. Barb grew her interest in whole grain baking into a business. She organizes a bulk shipment, usually twice a year, for a spring order and fall order. Barb recently began holding baking classes at her home. You might ask her about the dates for her next session.

Spring orders are due May 13th with a pick up the following month at Waukesha Bible Church in Waukesha. She also has a Madison area pick up. Check out her new blog at Barbara's Breadspot. If you are interested in placing an order, email her at breadspot@sbcglobal.net and she will email you an order form. If whole grain and bean cooking interests you, you can think about it over the summer and place a fall order later on.

I am always fascinated with what people order. There are buckets of bulk honey, grain, bags of dried beans and other grains, maple syrup, baking supplies like yeast and dough enhancer, and even cook books! Barb runs a well oiled machine. Pick up is easy and efficient: You just drive in, they get your order sheet, they load you up, and away you go!

Guess I better dig out my oatmeal muffin recipes and share them with you. They are pretty tasty and guilt free. They just might get you rolling your own.

Links:
Practically Speaking, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, RandyMelchert, CNS News, Jay Weber, Mark Levin, Vicki McKenna Jay Weber, The Right View Wisconsin, The Heritage Foundation

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9 Comments:

Blogger Cathy Earley said...

I have read on another site that oats (whole) only keep for about 3 months and then they turn rancid. Your site seems to indicate they least at least 6 months, probably longer. Does anything special need to be done to allow that longer storage time? Thanks for your site...! Cathy

11:59:00 AM  
Blogger KYLE PRAST said...

Sorry, Cathy, I wasn't aware of the 3 month expiration. I keep mine in the basement (cool) with the dehumidifier going in the summer (dry). I Googled oat groat shelf life and found one site said 1 year if stored properly. It mentioned the garage was not a good location. http://www.versagrain.com/storing-grains.html

If you do store them in the basement on concrete, put them up on a shelf or at least on a wood platform, so they can't wick up moisture from the concrete.

I keep mine in a food safe plastic pail that seals on a wood platform.

Usually your nose tells you when things have gone rancid--it is a distinctive odor.

Hope that helps.

9:05:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Rolled oats from a store are listed to last at least a year and they have already been 'opened' and thus will go bad faster. I store a large amount of food for emergencies and I have eaten 2~3 year old rolled oats from standard commercial packaging with no problem. If oats are left whole, they should last longer. Remember that God designed berries and seeds with a pretty stout storage system as they are; thus the need to roll them (crack them open) to be able to digest the nutrients inside. Keep them in a cool, dry and thermally stable spot (ie., not a garage) and they should last very long. Just keep them sealed.

2:56:00 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Thanks very much for your posting, it is the information I was looking for so I can try this method myself. Regarding the long shelf life of processed foods, they typically over heat them or even expose them to atomic radiation before packaging them. This destroys nutrition and extends shelf life. So perhaps commercial rolled oats go through one of those processes.

7:52:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hello,

Could you please tell me where I can purchase an oat-rolling machine, or can you use a pasta one?

Many thanks
Lauren

11:16:00 AM  
Blogger KYLE PRAST said...

Lauren, I have had mine a long time, but I think I got it from Urban Homemaker http://www.urbanhomemaker.com/productcart/pc/Marcato-Marga-Grain-Roller-and-Flaker-p1373.htm

You can Google it, it's a Marcato Marga and they sell for around $100 - $130

9:44:00 PM  
Blogger Amy said...

Have you ever rolled your own buckwheat? I was an English teacher for a Russian family years ago and have been craving their porridge made of buckwheat flakes. Buying it from Russia is too expensive so I thought I would seek advice from someone who has rolled their own oats.

11:58:00 AM  
Blogger Amy said...

Have you ever tried and had success rolling your own buckwheat? I would really like to make some porridge with buckwheat flakes but am unsure about how to go about it.

12:00:00 PM  
Blogger KYLE PRAST said...

Amy, Sorry, I don't know and don't have any buckwheat groats to try. I did just try to roll some spelt, but it was quite difficult to crank my roller and didn't make a rolled grain but rather more of a crushed or cracked wheat grain.

7:26:00 AM  

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