Checking grain for pebbles and debris - necessary? Tips?
I finally got a NutriMill and love it. I'm using "heirloom" wheat berries from an apparently very conscientious grower who does not, however, mention on their website whether or not they check the wheat they sell for pebbles and other debris. I emailed the farm a month or so ago to ask them about this, but it says on their site that they're extremely slow at answering emails (it's a family farm), and sure enough I haven't heard back.
Since putting a pebble through a NutriMill can simultaneously wreck the mill and void the warranty, I'm concerned. So I carefully pick through the wheat before I mill it; a stultifying task, and long-drawn-out too, since I got a Bosch Universal along with the Nutrimill and am milling at least 12 cups of wheat kernels for six loaves of bread every time I bake.
I've used about 2/3 of the first of two 25# bags of wheat, and haven't found a single pebble or piece of debris so far. I'm thinking that if I get through the whole bag without finding anything, maybe I'll throw caution to the winds and use the second bag without bothering to check it.
I know there are companies that triple-check their grain - I think Honeyville is one of them - but so far I haven't found a triple-checker that stocks the kinds of grain I want.
So my questions are: If you buy grain that's not 3X checked, do you check it yourself? Do you ever find pebbles etc. in it? Has anybody ever wrecked a mill by putting a pebble through it? (Accidentally, I mean. :) ) Finally, if you do check grain, have you found ways to speed it up?
I Googled this question and used the search function here without results. Many thanks to anyone who can comment on this!
Joan
I would ask the farmer which millers they supply their grains to. Then contact those millers and ask them if they've had any problems with pebbles in the grain clogging up their grindstones. It's possible that their huge grindstones wouldn't be affected but I'm not sure. Either way, asking the miller rather than the farmer, will get you the info you need imo.
Joan, I had read a long time ago you should check, but I have never done it myself. I agree, it would be a long drawn out process at best. I have not heard of any easy way to check for stones, and haven't checked any of the bags I buy to see if there are pebbles or stones. Yes, you are right that a pebble would be a huge problem, I guess I am just lucky so far.
250 g of berries a week it is easy to search for rocks on a jelly roll pan. If I was baking more i probably wouldn't do it.and my mill would eventually be ruined as a result. Never found a rock yet in Sprouts, Winco or Whole Foods whole berries.
hi Joan when i was a bakery apprentice we visited a flour mill and they showed us the rubbish that comes in with the grain, sticks, stones, can, bottles and assorted deceased wild life wildlife, a lot of that can be screened out fairly quickly through sieving but the smaller stuff the same as the berries is more difficult, you could try panning it like gold where the heavier stuff will seperate you can also spray it with water to remove dust too.
With the modern grains that have been developed especially here in Australia the stalks are now quite short so the grain is quite close to the ground so the harvester is more likely to pick up foreign material and they go so much faster now too.
Kind regards Derek
"....asking the miller rather than the farmer, will get you the info you need imo."
That's a great idea, Panadero, that I'll probably use when I buy from other suppliers - this farmer, though, is Bluebird Grain Farms in Washington State, and they mill their own grain.
".....haven't checked any of the bags I buy to see if there are pebbles or stones...guess I am just lucky so far"
"Never found a rock yet....."
This is VERY interesting. It seems as though, if the presence of pebbles in grain were a common occurrence, you, dabrownman, would have found one while checking through, and Barry would have run into problems by now. (Depending somewhat on how long each has been milling, of course.)
With everyone so busy nowadays, I wonder if a grain supplier would stay in business long, once customers realized that the grain supplied had pebbles in it. Maybe it's only suppliers who are sort of marginal who don't check their grain, and the really reputable ones do.
"...rubbish that comes in with the grain, sticks, stones, can, bottles and assorted deceased wild life..."
Wow, Derek, talk about a valuable insight into the harvesting process! I bet THAT put you and your fellow students off lunch for a few days! Well, I guess it's another reason to pay extra for wheat grown from seed stock from before they started "dwarfing" it in the 50's.
I like your idea of checking grain like panning for gold - it would add some historical interest to an otherwise very dull process. Currently I spread out a couple of handfuls of wheat on a Silpat mat, look through it, and then pick up the edges of the Silpat and dump the grain into the Nutrimill hopper - it works okay but lacks that Goldrush flair.
Thanks 1,000 to everyone for very useful experience and ideas, which have given me some good insights into this topic. I appreciate your help! - Joan
Joan,
Pebbles are rare in grain from reliable sources, very rare, but they do occur and I have found them in my grain (one or two finds in thousands of pounds of grain). For many mills this is not a problem but for the Nutrimill or any other high impact mill this can spell disaster. Know that the errant pebble is possible and always look for it. Hopefully you will never see one.
Jeff
As a new owner of nutrimill, now I have more worry about :( I just hope I bought grains from a dealer that checks for pebbles. So far I have made two loafs of sandwich bread. Tasted great but the bread was dense. I am now reading a book from Peter Reinhart on Whole Grain Bread and hope it opens up a new world.
I've had wheat, rye and spelt from Walton Feed, Azure Farms, Heartland, Wheat Montana and others. I come across unhulled grains once in awhile and I have found vetch seeds in organic rye but never a pebble. I do scan the grain as I scoop it out and as I pour it into my mill. I've even gotten grain from a combine and sifted it clean myself. Still no pebbles.
I've gone through several hundred pounds of wheat in the last few years, mostly from Honeyville. I always find a few things I don't want, like non-wheat seed; but I've only found a couple of rocks. Rocks are more common in oats, which lodge more easily than wheat.
Looks like something I need to start scanning my grains before putting into my mill.
Thanks.