Notes from Bluebird CSA Coordinator & Blogger, Lisa.
I recently commented on how I can’t go back to store bought flour. I am talking about the flour that has a long shelf life. My body and my family’s body can tell the difference between “shelved flour” and fresh milled flour. Let your body experience sound nutrition and your taste buds will be satisfied with flavor. Flavor? Now that is a concept. The lack of flavor alone will not take me back to “shelved flour.”
And it is not just about flavor, and I am sure I’ll get some argument on that, but your body will be a happy digester. Your colon will be ecstatic instead of possibly spastic. I am talking about the fiber! The Mayo Clinic will tell you that “whole grains that haven’t had their bran and germ removed are better sources of fiber – the part of plant-based foods that your body doesn’t digest.” High fiber can make a meal more filling. Aha! Another health attribute. This is not the first time you all have heard this. You already know this. But some of us were brought up on I “wonder” about this bread or I “wonder” where this bread came from. Remember “wondering” bread? In the community that we live it appears that the current generation is being raised on wholesome whole grain bread. They won’t be wondering where their bread came from. If the flour in their baked goods or other culinary achievements came from Bluebird Grain Farmsthen it came from flour milled straight from the grain, nothing taken away and nothing added. It is as simple as it sounds. We take the grain, put it in our mill, and out comes the flour. I encourage you to try it for yourselves. Get your own home mill, obtain the organic grain, and mill it for your home baked goods. I believe that everyone should have their own home mill as well as their own home garden. Whole grains store longer than flour, but if purchasing your own mill isn’t possible, then fresh milled flour is the next best thing. If you want to know more about fresh milled flour and its nutrition, look at the excerpt below. The following information was sourced from Ecological Agricultural Projects, McGill University, QC, Canada:
Because grains contain only about 12% water (or about 0.6 water activity), they are not predisposed to spoilage. However, grinding removes the protective layers and endangers the grain’s biological stability. Deterioration of sensory and nutritional qualities depends on storage conditions, such as temperature, humidity, oxygen concentration, and light exposure. The lower the water activity, the lower is the loss of vitamins (Munzing, 1987). For example, a vitamin E loss of only about 23% occurred after a 13 months of storage at a 0.6 water activity (Rothe 1963, Plasch 1984, Pelschenke 1961). In order to reduce oxidation of Essential compounds and the development of rancidity, many authors recommend storing ground flour for no more than two weeks (Solder 1984, Bruker 1984, Schnitzer 1986, Schnitzer (no year), Thomas 1982, Thomas 1986, Koerber 1986). Antioxidants present naturally in grains (vitamin E and lecithin) help prevent oxidation of the fatty acids and the associated rancidity only for a limited time, and under ‘favourable’ conditions.
Glutamic acid decarboxylase, the most sensitive enzyme in the grain, is used to indicate the health of the grain. When heated or exposed to increased humidity, even under ‘favourable’ conditions, it losses activity very quickly in wheat. It was found to be even more sensitive in rye (Muzing, 1987).
The B vitamins are liable to be destroyed by light and air, and it also seems that other substances, still unknown, are quickly destroyed (Aubert, 1989). Other deteriorations include denaturation of lipoproteins, phospholipid hydrolysis, auto-oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids of phospholipids, polymerization within lipoproteins, browning, Maillard reaction of amino groups from phospholipids and aldehyde groups from sugars, and carotene and aroma losses (Lea, 1957; Thomas, 1976).
Lipids in milled wheat are much more susceptible to enzymatic degradation, because enzymes are incorporated into the flour with fragments of bran and germ and with microorganisms from the surface of the grain. Associated with lipid deterioration are losses of carotenoids and vitamin E (Galliard, 1983).
Different ecological standards for flour storage set limits of 15 to 60 days (Picker & Pedersen, 1990), although rancidity has been detected as early as 2 to 14 days after milling (Larsen, 1988). Nutrient analysis studies are required to determine the exact nutrient losses accompanying the development of rancidity and thereafter.
