wheat flour 2

WHEAT FLOUR 2

I should clarify something.  I started grinding my own wheat about two years ago.  It was so much better than store bought whole wheat flour.  Better, as in Tasted Fresh rather than Tasted Semi-Rancid.  But it did NOT taste better as in This Is What Bread Should Taste Like.  We are all used to talcum powder consistency flour.  With my cheap ass mill I was getting flaky and lumpy flour like a peasant with two rocks would get.  So, I loved and craved the freshly milled, but it wasn’t “normal” flour.  It was a chore to eat, and it was a bizarre taste.

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It is like when you go pick dandelion leaves for a salad.  It is loaded with nutrients ( as long as it wasn’t from oil soaked dirt on the side of the road ), compared to factory farmed food which is grown in dead soil and only sees artificial fertilizer.  You want to eat it as your body craves fresh food.  But you have to talk yourself into liking it.  It tastes too weird.  Even with unhealthy ranch dressing it just tastes “off”.  I still love my fresh ground wheat but I didn’t want too much of it every day.

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Store bought flour gives me that “normal” taste.  But it does NOT taste fresh, even milled just a few weeks ago ( okay, I’m ASSUMING.  I assume a one year expiration and that is three weeks shy of a year ).  And as I said, the price premium bothers me.  If I only eat one half cup of that flour a day, a five pound bag lasts me a month ( one quarter cup flour is an even 100 calories ).  But what happens if I go back to my old One Third Of Daily Calories wheat consumption? 

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Then I’m paying almost $4 a week for flour.  The feed store kernels cost a buck.  $2.79 a week cost difference means I waste almost $150 a year.  Who in their right minds thinks this is a good deal?  You are wasting good money, and for an inferior product.  One possible work-around is to substitute White hard wheat for Red hard wheat ( the hard winter wheat has the highest protein content ).  It is slightly easier to grind and delivers a slightly less course flour.  But I am thinking it might be time for an equipment upgrade.

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Now, please do NOT mistake this as an excuse to piss money into a black hole.  The Victoria grain grinder is $44.  When One Is None, you MUST have more than one grain grinder.  Even if it is only capable of delivering course flour, it is cheap enough to buy several ( Chinese versions are half the price.  I don’t recommend unless you are really poor.  Then, do NOT grind with the plates touching.  You will get metal shavings ).  If wheat is almost all of your apocalypse calories, you MUST have back up grinders.

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Come the collapse, if must be you will learn to love course flour.  However, if you are eating a lot of flour now, to free up prep budgets, to improve your flour quality might be necessary to save that money.  You might be forced to upgrade your grinder ( your back-ups can remain the Victoria ).  The store bought WILL increase in price.  Hell, your state might start or increase sales tax on food ( sometimes, feed store grain won’t be taxed-but if it is it will be on a much lower price ).  Should you buy a better grinder?

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Remember, this is for TODAY, pre-collapse.  It is a luxury item in one aspect, but if it gets you eating a lot more whole wheat flour it is an investment.  I hate expensive grinders for the apocalypse, but it could be just fine if you don’t need duplicates.  The best budget mill that gives fine flour is the Wonder Mill brand.  These have a good reputation and are $220-$250.  The manual model and the electric one cost almost the same, so your choice.  But the manual can be converted to bike chain or electric drill driven.

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For an extra fee, of course.  And the replacement steel heads are $50.  So, to get a mill you just use on-grid is $220, but one that can run past the pull date of civilization is more like $330.  I’m only going to be using this mill for a cup of flour a day, if my current use stays the same.  At a savings of $5.50 a month over store bought, it will take me a minimum of forty months to pay off my investment.  Ouch!  I think I’m better off spending just half that amount, for a luxury item.

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I have three Victoria mills and two Chinese knock-offs.  As these are pretty much a lifetime tool, I am only buying this mill as a treat to myself.  It certainly is not a necessity.  I have enough mills as it is.  Far more than enough.  But if I buy it, I’ll be eating more flour.  I won’t treat myself with a four year tool, but one that is paid off in just over a year and a half?  Sure.  The NOL has not one but TWO Kitchenaid’s.  And grinder attachment is only $110.  That I can afford.

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It has some bad reviews on how long it takes to grind flour, and how hot the machine gets.  I think this is people using the 300 watt version of the Kitchenaid ( Artisan model ) rather than the 600 watt machine.  No problem.  I’ll just pre-grind the kernels in my Victoria.  Two passes on course then medium on my manual mill won’t be as difficult as my regular three grinds.  And it will deliver much finer flour.  That is fresh.  The only way I lose on this bet is if the grid goes down prior to that twenty month pay-back.

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And yet, even then, I’m better off with a 300 watt Kitchenaid running off my 1,000 watt inverter and 100 watt solar panels than any other electronic mill needing 1,500 watts of juice.  The pre-manual grind is little more than what I’m doing now ( three grinds now, four grinds later ) and gives me improved flour.  And I’m immune from any grocery store price hikes.  And I’ve gambled comparatively little. 

( .Y. )

( today's related Amazon link click here )

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note: the TV series "Tremors", is on YouTube.  First one here .  It was good enough.  Decent acting, good budget.  I just thought it drug on too much.  But, you might enjoy.
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