Help! I have received my wheat order from a local farmer, and it has not been cleaned. Any advise on how to sort "the wheat from the chaff" will be greatly appreciated. Some corn kernals are mixed in with the wheat also. I have it in galvanized metal garbage cans. Hope that is ok. Any suggestions? Thanks a bunch!

-- Nancy (sewsnancy@aol.com), November 20, 1999

Answers

Nancy,

One way to clean your wheat: take it outside on a windy day and slowly pour it into a container from a height. The wind will take a lot of the chaff out. Use a big fan if it's not windy. Not too sure about using the galvanized tub for storage, but I would opt for using a food-grade bag to separate it from contact with the tub.

jw

-- j werner (jwerner15@hotmail.com), November 20, 1999.

If you are grinding the wheat to make flour, simply grind it all up. It won't hurt you and you probably won't notice it.

Another option is to pour the wheat into a container and fill it with water. The chaff and many small seeds will float to the top. Do it a couple of times, while agitating. Then you can use the wheat for purposes other than grinding (otherwise you have to dry the wheat).

-- farmbeet (farmbeet@farmin.corn), November 20, 1999.

I have instructions on how to do this in the grains section of the FAQ. Winnowing is probably the best way to go. Provided the grain is dry, keeping it in galvanized cans will be OK. It would be a good idea to preventatively treat against weevil infestations. It'll be easier to do this after the grain has been cleaned.

..............Alan.

The Prudent Food Storage FAQ, v3.5

http://www.providenceco-op.com

-- A.T. Hagan (athagan@sprintmail.com), November 22, 1999.