Emergency Food Storage - Grain Mill

In order to make the best use of your stored grains and beans, a grain mill is almost a requirement.

The grains and beans could be cooked as is, but milling grain opens up many more cooking and baking options - some which need less fuel and water than simply boiling the grains or beans, an important consideration in an emergency situation.

There are many different grain mills on the market - both electric and manual. Some manual mills can be converted to electric grain mills and vice versa.

Since I was looking for a grain grinder that I could use during a power outage, I chose the Country Living grain mill - which can be converted to an electric mill. Due to the cost, I haven't purchased the motorization kit, but it's good to know that I have the option.

The Diamant was another grain mill that I considered. However, it's quite a bit more expensive than the Country Living mill. Also, after reading the various reviews, I had the impression that, with the optional power bar, the Country Living mill would be easier to crank than the Diamant.

A Useful Book
For a good book that has information on choosing a grain mill, try Flour Power: A Guide to Modern Home Grain Milling by Marleeta F. Basey. It also has a tremendous amount of information on bread making, the properties of various grains, and the nutrients in grains. And it includes some recipes.

This book goes into more detail than some people will want, but those sections can easily be scanned or skipped. I read the whole book through and now use it as a reference.

Country Living Mill
In order to power the Country Living grain mill, it can also be hooked up to an exercise bicycle, but this does require some mechanical expertise. The grain mill has a flywheel with a v-groove to which a v-belt can be attached. You also need a pulley and some other parts. This option seemed too complicated to me, though I may change my mind in the future.

The Country Living mill is made of cast aluminum which is coated with a food grade powder coating finish, so the grains don't ever come into contact with the aluminum. It also uses two ball-bearings, an advantage over the brass bushings used in some other mills.

The grinding plates (or burrs) are made of carbon steel. The distance between the burrs is easily adjustable in order to control the fineness of the flour.

In order to grind beans or larger grains such as corn, you need to change from the standard auger to a larger auger (purchased separately). The first couple of times, I found this process difficult and frustrating. But now that I've done it quite few times, I wonder why I thought it was so hard at first.

Accessories
The accessories that I bought with the mill were the Corn and Bean Large Auger (mentioned above), the power bar extension for the flywheel, the polymer flour bin, and the "just-in-case" repair kit. You can see both the power bar and the flour bin in the photo above.

The power bar does seem to make quite a difference in the ease of cranking the wheel. If you're really strong, you might want to skip the power bar since the wheel can be turned more quickly without it, though it takes more energy.

I love the polymer flour bin because it fits nicely under the mill, has a cover, is easy to store in the refrigerator, and is really sturdy. I've accidentally dropped the top of the bin quite a few times and it hasn't cracked yet. I think polymer is unbreakable, but I'm not sure.

Using the Mill
Well, I have to admit I was a bit apprehensive while I was awaiting the arrival of my new Country Living mill. I was concerned that, due to a problem I have with my muscles, the wheel would be too difficult for me to crank - even with the power bar.

So I was relived to find that, although it's not really easy form me to crank, I was able to do it and that I enjoyed it! I find it to be good exercise. Sometimes I crank the wheel with my right hand and then switch to the left hand for a change.

My favorite way of grinding, though, is to stand directly facing the wheel and crank it with both hands on the handle. By leaning to one side or the other, I can switch the arm that's doing most of the work. This makes the job a lot easier.

Using C-clamps, I attached the mill to a cabinet that's fairly heavy (due to its contents). I put a little piece of wood between each clamp and the mill to avoid chipping the finish.

This is working fairly well for now, but the cabinet does move some - creating a bit more work during grinding. Ideally, I'd like to attach the mill to either a counter or to some piece of furniture that's bolted to the floor, as suggested by the manufacturer.

All-in-all, I'm very pleased with my choice of grain mill and find the process of grinding grain to be extremely satisfying. It's hard to explain the good feeling I get from grinding my own grain and beans. And, fresh flour sure makes food taste a lot better!

See also:
Nutrimill Electric Grain Mill

Posted by Beth on Saturday, August 19, 2006