Whole Grain Baking - Sue Gregg Cookbooks

All Grains are Low Cost!
Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, Listen to me, and eat what is good.
Isaiah 55:2
Some grains do cost more than others, yet as a food group, grains
are a low budget food item. The higher the proportion of grains to dairy
and meats in the diet, the less costly meals will be, even when more
expensive grains are included.
Comparative prices of certified organic grains, recorded below from
SunOrganic Farm, 2006 prices (www.sunorganic.com), will give you
some idea of grain costs. Note that bulk prices are lower cost per lb.
than smaller packages.
GRAIN 1 lb. 3 lb. 25 lbs.
Rye Berries 1.95 2.95 15.00
Wheat, Pastry 1.95 2.95 16.00
Wheat, Hard Red Winter 1.95 2.95 16.50
Wheat, Hard Red Spring 1.95 2.95 17.50
Cornmeal, stoneground 1.95 3.25 17.50
Corn, whole kernel 1.95 3.25 18.50
Millet, hulled 1.95 3.35 24.50
Wheat, Hard White Spring 1.95 3.45 18.50
Barley, hulled 1.95 3.50 18.50
Buckwheat, sprouting 1.95 3.50 19.95
Oats, Rolled 1.95 3.50 21.00
Oat Groats 2.25 3.95 23.85
Kamut ® grain 1.95 4.25 22.25
Brown Rice, Long/Short Grain 1.95 4.65 26.75
Triticale 2.25 4.85 29.50
Buckwheat, hulless 2.25 5.85 35.50
Spelt 2.25 5.65 32.50
Quinoa 2.75 7.35 43.50
Amaranth 3.50 9.35 49.50
Wild Rice 7.65 22.50 147.00
Translating cost into a recipe, e.g. Blender Banana Muffins, p. 108:
3 lbs. pastry wheat @ $2.95 = about 8 cups grain. Divide 8 cups grain
by 1¹⁄₃ cups per recipe = 6 recipes. Each recipe makes 14 muffins or
84 muffins for 6 recipes; $2.95 divided by 84 muffins = $.035 per
muffin. The average cost of most whole grain muffin recipes is about
$.20 per muffin. The flour is less than 1/5 the total cost. Be aware,
however that when mail ordering, the cost of shipping and handling
must be added.
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