Do-it-yourself grain bin. How grain is stored, on an industrial scale and at home. Basic storage techniques

If Russia in 2018 again harvests a crop close to a record one, then all grain growers in the country will once again face an urgent question: how to save grain and sell it more expensive when prices creep up? "Agro-industrial complex market" has collected eight expert advice - from the obvious to the unexpected.

Clean the storage or hangar to a shine

The first step to high-quality grain, and this is a guaranteed 10-15% increase in its value, is cleanliness in the granary. Clean out every square meter of the hangar, grain pipelines, technical elements. Ideally, you need to get rid of every grain that may have remained from last year - then you will reduce the risk of insects to a minimum. Don't forget to check under the floor as well: for insects and rodents, this is the best place to hide and wait for the next grain feast. If at the end of the previous agricultural season there were insects in the storage, even single individuals, be sure to fumigate.

Place high quality grain at the bottom

In order for wheat, barley and other crops to lie as long as possible without losing quality, and to sell for more at the end of winter - beginning of spring 2019, it is necessary to competently approach the filling of the storage. This is not the easiest task, but its solution can bring an increase of 5-10%: place the highest quality grain first, and place the grain of lower class in the upper part of the store. Relatively speaking, first you will sell class IV wheat, and when it runs out, sell class III at a higher price.

Dry grain to optimum moisture content

The most common cause of grain spoilage during storage is the movement of moisture. Even in cases where the moisture content is low and evenly distributed at the time the grain is stored, changes in the temperature of the grain mass can cause convective air currents. They carry moisture from one storage location to another. So there are areas of wet grain, which begins to deteriorate.

A good agronomist should know by heart the optimal moisture content for each crop, depending on the period for which you plan to send it to be stored. The task of the manager is to control that the agronomist measures this indicator and takes it into account when planning storage. For example, if you plan to store corn until June 2019, the moisture content should be 15%, if you are going to keep it until the end of the next harvest - 14%, and if you plan for a year or more, then only 13%. The longer you need to store the grain, the more you need to dry it. Without a grain dryer, hoping to wait out the winter and sell at a higher price is completely naive.

This is detailed in the table.

Table. The maximum allowable moisture content of grain (seeds) during storage.

Culture, shelf life	Permissible humidity, %
Corn and sorghum

up to one year
over a year


up to one year
over a year
Wheat, oats, barley
up to six months
over six months
Sunflower
up to six months
over six months

Improve room aeration

Keep an even distribution of plugs, don't be afraid to add more than you think is necessary: they are very good at ventilating the grain. It is important to distribute the stubs so that they do not just collect in the center of the vault. Air behaves exactly like water: it seeks the path of least resistance, and therefore an excessive concentration of vent plugs in the center will cause the air to find its way through the top, and the grain in the depth will spoil. The ventilation unloading funnel and telescopic ventilation lance are other devices that will help you keep grain in good condition and sell at the best price at a convenient time.

If you have a large bin, the problem of aeration can be partially solved at the stage of grain unloading. To do this, use the method of repeating cones: you load the grain straight into the storage, and every 3-5 meters you pull out several tons of grain, creating an inverted cone. So the grain will be ventilated better.

Ventilation is more efficient than shoveling and moving grain from bin to bin. In addition, it does not lead to additional injury to the grain, which contributes to the development of molds.

Monitor the temperature in the bunker

Being able to control the temperature in the silo is the key to maintaining product quality. The recommended temperature naturally varies by region, but agronomists generally recommend dropping it to near freezing in northern latitudes in winter and keeping it at 5°C in southern areas. The current trend is to lay the temperature cable directly into the bunker, as this helps to more reliably monitor changes in this indicator.

Keep your grain cool when it's warm

There are dozens of conflicting recommendations on how to properly store grain in summer and warm autumn. Traditionally, agronomists recommend slightly warming the grain (3-4°C relative to the temperature outside), but in recent years other tips have also gained popularity: for example, leave the grain in the cold (at 5°C) in summer, and in spring, and in autumn ; or vary the grain temperature between 5 and 10 degrees Celsius. In most cases, these tips are based on the idea of when the grain is planned to be sold. Accordingly, if the sale is scheduled before June 1, 2019, the grain should be left cold; if you have to sell later, you can raise the temperature to 10-12 ° C.

Check grain as often as possible

At least once a week, check the condition of the grain in storage. If it weren't grain, but a huge basket of money in it, you would probably check it three times a day, while wheat or barley, being 100% equivalent to your money, does not cause such a desire. Many people forget to approach the bunker for months - and therefore they often miss the moment when it was still possible to maintain grain quality, when there was still a chance to get rid of pests.

When checking grain, measure the temperature in the center of the bin and at a depth of 0.45-0.6 m from the surface. If grain temperature rises more than 2°C in winter between two successive checks, turn on the fan immediately and cool the grain until the air temperature differs from the grain temperature by less than 5°C.

Climb to the top of the hopper and carefully look around: is there a crust on the surface, are the grains sticking to each other, are there any foreign odors. If something seems suspicious, start ventilation. And don't forget to take a small grain sample to measure the moisture content. If the grain has started to go bad, frequent checks will give you a chance to sell it quickly - although the price may not be ideal, at least the goods will not go to waste.

Watch out for insects

If you're planning to store your grain until fall, then you might want to set up insect traps. So you can find out about their presence or absence. With the advent of warm weather within 2 to 3 weeks, the grain may be subject to a major infestation of insects. If you do not check at least once a week, you can miss the moment for the right actions.

To protect grain from pests, chemical methods are still the most effective and acceptable in practice. On the territory of Russia, two composite preparations of contact action are allowed for use - Zernospas and Prokrop, as well as monoinsecticides Actellik, Kamikaze, K-Obiol, Karate Zeon, Aliot and Bitoxibacillin. Of the eight products for pest control of stocks, all products are approved.

Storage of grain in bulk is more convenient than container storage. The benefits are: no packaging costs for products, maximum use of usable storage space, increased opportunities for reloading within the warehouse, insect control and product monitoring become much easier due to quick access to grain.

Thanks to the use of the latest technologies in the agro-industrial complex, it was possible to increase the overall yield of wheat, rye, oats, barley and corn, the gross harvest of which reached 116,118 million tons in the Russian Federation last year. Thus, there is a 13% increase in yield compared to 2015. The key to a successful business is not only high yields, but also the ability of the enterprise to maintain it until the next sowing season. Therefore, the requirements for grain storage are also quite high.

Elevators and their types

Special granaries in which the entire harvested crop is placed are called elevators. In fact, these are huge, well-equipped technical complexes, which are divided into several types:

Procurement grain bases;
Basic storages;
Transshipment warehouses;
Industrial elevators;
Stock complexes;
Port granaries;
implementation complexes.

Each of these complexes has its own characteristics and purpose.

Procurement granaries

Procurement-type granaries or grain-receiving complexes are used for temporary storage of grain. Such structures are often erected not far from large agricultural enterprises. Such warehouse complexes are usually used for storage and primary processing of grain. In addition, harvesting elevators are used to prepare grain raw materials for sowing. Dried and cleaned grain is soon transported to its destination by rail, road or water.

Basic elevators

The second destination of the harvest is the basic granaries. Here, the harvested crop undergoes a more thorough cleaning, and is stored for further consumption. In such complexes, grain is sorted according to the requirements of a particular enterprise and stored in very large volumes in homogeneous batches. Basic warehouses are located, as a rule, in areas of large junction stations and transport routes.

Transshipment storages

Elevators of this type are mainly used for short-term storage of grain. They are being built near farms in the areas where major railway and water routes adjoin. Such grain is intended for transportation over long distances, so at transshipment points it is reloaded from one type of transport to another. In rare cases, transshipment points are used for long-term storage of grain crops.

Industrial elevators

These enterprises are a kind of auxiliary depot for food factories for the production of flour, cereals, animal feed, etc. Since their purpose is the uninterrupted supply of grain processing plants with raw materials, the size of the storage facilities will depend on the capacities of the latter.

Stock complexes

The name of these elevators speaks for itself, because they are intended for permanent storage of grain for a certain number of years. In fact, these are storage facilities for state-appointed grain resources. Stock harvesting complexes initially have a very large capacity and are filled with only high-quality grain. The fence and shipment of grain from these elevators occurs in case of renewal of stocks or in the event of a shortage. Therefore, such storage facilities are being built taking into account accessibility to large railway lines.

Port granaries

From the base and transshipment warehouses, grain crops are transported to port complexes, which are used as temporary storage and preparation of grain for export. After processing grain crops with high-tech equipment, they are shipped to ships and transported outside the state. Such elevators can also serve as points for receiving foreign grain for the domestic Russian market. As a rule, port storage facilities are equipped with high-tech equipment and have a very large capacity in order to ensure not only high quality products, but also meet the volumes of the external and domestic market.

Implementation bases

Granaries of this type are designed to provide enterprises with goods in the form of grain, as well as related products. Sales storages have the ability to receive crops from small farms for the purpose of subsequent sale of grain. Grain products are stored at such enterprises, as a rule, for a short time and are released in relatively small batches.

Grain storage methods

Since stocks of oats, wheat, rye and other crops can be stored at different elevator-type enterprises, the requirements for their storage will vary. Today, three types of grain storage are practiced:

Dry;
Cooled;
Airless.

In Russia, it is more customary to store grain in a chilled state or using a dry method.

Features of grain storage in bulk

Storing grain in bulk is considered to be the most efficient method for long-term storage at receiving, sorting and cleaning points. In the bulk storage method, the dry storage method is used, when the grain is simply poured into huge piles. This method has many advantages over others, including:

Rational use of granary resources;
Ease of loading, unloading and transportation of products;
More effective pest control;
Convenience of monitoring of a condition of grain masses;
Save money on packaging.

Bulk storage technology can be used both for warehouses and in open areas of grain complexes. Grain packing under the condition of a dry storage method is resorted to only in the case of seed. In other cases, grain is stored in bulk in special containers of elevators or in heaps supported by a special protective collar and covered with waterproof material.

Dry storage method

When extracting moisture from grain crops, all harmful organisms go into a state of suspended animation. This storage principle is based on the xeroanabiosis method. Then it remains only to protect the grain from eating it by various insects and rodents. The method of complete or partial drying is used when grain is stored for a long time in basic or stock storages.

Methods for dehydrating grain products may differ, however, all methods are conventionally divided into two main principles of drying:

Without the use of heat;
With the help of thermal energy.

The most profitable was the drying of grain crops, in which they are poured into containers and treated with solar heat and air.

Storing grain without oxygen

The implementation of airless storage technology is carried out using special sealed containers in which raw materials are placed. Sometimes carbon dioxide or dry ice is used to speed up the preservation process, which releases carbon dioxide when exposed to air.

Cold storage of cereals

The method of storing cereals at low temperatures is popular in small farms or warehouses. From an economic point of view, this method is second only to the dry method of conservation of grain raw materials, and is also marked by a low percentage of product losses.

The principle of operation of the method of cooling during storage of grain is similar to the principles of its drying. The bottom line is that both at high and at moderately low temperatures, the life of microorganisms and insects in the grain mass slows down or stops. If during the drying of grain, it is enough to pour it out on a flat surface to provide an influx of solar and air energy, then for chilled storage it is necessary to artificially create a temperature in the range of 5-10 degrees, which is quite expensive and problematic on hot days of harvesting. Usually, with a cooled method of storing grain in warehouses, supply and exhaust ventilation is used, which is turned on at night in the summer, and around the clock in other seasons.

Sometimes the grain mixing method is used, using conveyor belts and fans. However, this method is less popular due to increased costs.

Storage of grain in bags

This method of storage is used in order to preserve or transport planting seeds of elite varieties or the grain of the first crop of a new variety. Seeds of simple planting material are usually stored in bulk. It is also customary to store sometimes calibrated planting material in bags, or expensive varieties of wheat and barley, which have a thin-walled structure.

To prevent damage to raw materials, it is necessary to use coarse fabric bags. On elevators, nylon or polypropylene bags are more often used, which are moisture resistant and resistant to mechanical damage.

Sometimes paper bags with a special fabric lining can be used. In the manufacture of paper bags, special coarse kraft paper is used, which is widely used in the packaging industry. It guarantees the safety of the product and does not emit harmful substances.

Most often, bags of grain are stacked in a special way on pallets made of boards. At the same time, they are stacked with a double, tee or fiver. According to regulatory requirements, the height of stacks for manual storage should be from 6 to 8 bags, and for machine - 10-12. The width between two stacks and from the stack to the wall must be at least 0.7 m.

Storage Requirements

To guarantee the safety of grain raw materials, elevators must be equipped in accordance with all technical requirements of granaries. The technology of acceptance, unloading, storage and subsequent delivery of grain for transportation must also be observed.

Grain is placed in bunkers or warehouses according to the plans of previous years. But with all the positive experience gained earlier, the possibility of quick shipment of grain of the desired grade for its transportation to its destination is also taken into account.

Tanks and premises of grain warehouses must be in good condition. If necessary, scheduled repairs and disinfection of premises are carried out.

Basic requirements for grain storage technologies

Absolutely at all storage enterprises, grain is sorted according to the amount of moisture in it, according to its type, contamination and grade. Mixing different grains is strictly prohibited. Regarding the percentage of moisture, grain raw materials are divided into:

Raw up to 22%;
Raw over 22%.

Regarding the degree of contamination, it is divided into:

Pure raw material;
Grain of average purity;
weed;
Weed grain over restrictive conditions.

Raw materials with a high percentage of contamination are preliminarily cleaned at the elevator.

Grain infected with bugs, ticks, frost-resistant, smutty grain is usually stored on elevators in separate containers or compartments. If a large percentage of germinated material is observed in the grain mass, then such raw materials are also stored separately.

During the storage of grain in bulk, the height of the heap is set based on the moisture content in it and the presence of debris:

Heap height for dry grain is not limited by regulations;
For wet grain raw materials, it is no more than 2 m;
For short-term storage of wet grain containing up to 19% water - one and a half meters;
At humidity over 19% - 1 m.

The shape of the grain embankment, according to the norms, should also have the form of a pyramid, over which careful supervision is carried out throughout the entire period of storage.

Norms and indicators during storage

To carry out high-quality monitoring over the stored embankment, it is conditionally divided into an area of one hundred square meters, which will be constantly monitored, making periodic measurements of temperature and moisture. Also in these areas, analyzes are carried out regarding the number of pests present.

Measurements are made in 3 places: in the upper, lower and middle layers of the embankment, provided that it has a height of more than one and a half meters. After each measurement, the thermobar is rearranged by 2 m.

Temperature readings are taken using special thermal rods, which are thermometers in protective cases. The frequency of control in relation to the indications of the degree of infestation is regulated by the temperature and the mass of the embankment:

Once a week - at a temperature of 10 degrees and above;
Once every two weeks - at temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius;
Once a month at a temperature of 0 degrees and below.

Grain stored in bags is checked for infection once a month in winter and twice in summer.

Pests and methods of dealing with them

In elevators and in open-type warehouses, a surge in the activity of all insects that eat grain is observed either in the hot summer period, or when grain self-heating in storage tanks. Also, each type of insect occupies a strictly defined layer of grain.. The most common pests are:

Ticks;
weevils;
Mill fire;
Moth.

In winter, these pests usually do not breed.

Basic pest control methods:

Chemical treatment of fields before harvesting;
Grain processing at granaries;
Mechanical removal of small insects using sieves;
Compliance with temperature and humidity while preserving grain.

Before warehousing, two main methods of grain disinfection are often used: gas and aerosol treatment. The aerosol method is used both for processing warehouses and the territories adjacent to them. For this, pyrethroid insecticides and organophosphorus agents are often used.

Aerosol insect control methods have proven to be quite effective. However, for economic reasons, warehouses use a less expensive procedure for gas treatment of premises. Aluminum and magnesium phosphide in tablet form, as well as ethyl bromide, are used as deterrents. Warehouses and storage tanks are gas treated only by licensed companies and qualified personnel.

Traditional methods of processing raw materials and warehouses can become an analogue of the chemical impact on pests:

Drying grain;
Cooling or raising the temperature of the warehouse;
Installation of pheromone traps and the use of microbiological preparations;
The use of poisons for rodents.

Such methods of insect control are cheaper, but no less effective.

Waste during storage

Despite the observance of all norms and the creation of ideal conditions at the elevators, it will still not be possible to save grain by 100%. There is such a thing as the rate of natural loss of grain. For example, when storing grain for more than 3 months, the following formula is applied: x=a+b>c/g, in which:

a - loss for the previous period;
b - the difference between the current and previous norms;
c - the difference between the average and previous storage standards;
r is the number of months of storage.

Natural loss is a natural process that occurs due to loss of moisture, grain cleaning, sedimentation of mineral impurities to the bottom of the storage, etc.

And you bake homemade bread and other pastries, the question arises - how to store grain at home? We have had a mill for several years now, we use it all the time, because we only eat homemade bread. Grain is stored in bags - sometimes in 5-kilogram, sometimes - in 50-kilogram ones. See where and when you buy. It is inconvenient to use. And it's not pretty, of course. Which is also very important. :-)

Photos from the site (there all this is for sale):

Shelf-barn for grain and a stand where we put a home mill. Pictured is the Octagon.

We are looking at solutions for storing grain in the house. As it turned out, there are such solutions, and you can buy it in the same place as a mill. It's just that they didn't pay attention before, but for a long time it was possible to "ennoble" the place of grain storage. Still, the main food is worthy of respect and convenient, beautiful storage.

What to choose - depends, of course, on many things: on how much grain you spend per week, and on the size of the kitchen (or the place in the apartment where you put it). I like the 3-chamber hopper with glass doors most of all, and the stand under it, where the mill is placed (in the photo on the right - I take it from the store - just our Octagon). This bunker holds 15 kg of grain - even with active baking, like ours, this week is enough for two weeks. It is very convenient: bags with the main grain reserves can be stored separately in the barns, and such a beautiful shelf-stand can stand in the house, and you will not often have to run for grain. But this solution is quite expensive: a shelf and a stand - 215 euros each. Total 430. But I focus on it - because it is also a very beautiful option, and there is a place for the mill, I immediately took grain - and into the mill.

Device 3-chamber for grain, in each branch - 1,2 kg of grain. Easy to pick up grain. Perfect for the kitchen if you don't bake very much. 125 euros.

Another option - simpler, but also very convenient - special bags for grain: from 5 to 25 kg capacity. They are convenient because they open at the bottom, the grain can be picked up with one hand - self-closing. And there are special wall mounts for one or more bags. Depending on the size, these cost 28-50 euros, plus a mount from 13 to 23 euros. This is an economical solution. The convenience is that you can immediately hang 25 kg of grain on the wall for almost a month. Perhaps at first you can choose this option, and then - a shelf with a stand.

Grain storage bags - hang on the wall, grain is collected with one hand, the bags are closed from the bottom. They cost 30-50 euros per bag, fastening - 13-23 euros.

Also really like wooden jars and containers(especially those with a glass insert - you can see what's inside), they are also great for grain, but I would like these more not for grain, but for nuts and dried fruits. You can store rice there, and herbs, and coffee, and homemade fireweed tea ...

Prices for wooden cans are different, depending on the volume: without glass - cost from 25 to 35 euros, with glass - 60 and 75 euros (for 2 and 5 kg of grain, you can use other products).

If anyone buys such beauty - write (through contacts or in the comments to the article)) what reviews, especially bags are interesting, share your experience!

Storing grain at home

Grain is best stored in a dry, cool and ventilated area. Special cotton storage bags will protect your grain from mold and pests. The self-closing place for grain intake allows you to collect the required amount with one hand. 3 kg - Bag diameter 21cm length 43 cm 5 kg - Bag diameter 21cm length 65 cm 10 kg - Bag diameter 21cm length 75 cm 25 kg - Bag diameter 25cm length 107 cm

Decorative storage containers for cereals, legumes, oilseeds and spices. Equipped with a convenient dispenser mechanism. Made of solid beech (treated with linseed oil) and glass. This material guarantees hygiene and protection against pests. The container is filled with a funnel. For cleaning glass bottles, the dispenser can be unscrewed with a simple movement.Capacity: 3x 1.2 kgDimensions HxWxD: 30x41x12 cmBottle: 3x 1.5 lWeight of the set: 5.5 kg

A home grain storage barn is suitable for any kitchen. Different colors of grains lure you inviting you to grind delicious flour. A special slide system makes it easy and clean to pick up the grain. The color matches perfectly with the Oktagon 1 and 2, which are also made of beech. A simple shape with a rounded border and discreet wood texture, fits well into the design of any kitchen. Grain is filled from the top and discharged by a valve from the bottom. Capacity 2 x 5 kg Weight 6.4 kg h x w x d 457 x 297 x 175 mm

barn and standBARN - Capacity 3 x 5 kgWeight 9.75 kgh x w x d 457 x 435 x 197 mmSTAND - Weight 12.55 kgExternal dimensionsh x w x d670 x 435 x 237 mm (with stand extended: 430 mm)Internal dimensions x w x d 460 x 390 x 205 mm extendable stand 205 mm Material Beech

Where there is no space on the wall for mounting massive grain storage bins, elegant wooden jars with a lid can be used. Of course, you can store not only grain, but also other food products, such as corn, legumes, pasta, seeds, nuts and more.

Ideal for storing grains in the kitchen. Made of breathable solid wood, the body is treated with beeswax inside and out, the lid closes tightly

hopper for 5 kg of grain The surface is varnished and easy to clean. Before cleaning the hopper, the glass can be removed. Capacity: 5 kg of grain Dimensions HxWxD: 50x17.5x13 cmWeight: 7 kg

Baking homemade bread is done by those who want to be sure of its quality. In addition, it is very tasty and fragrant. But not only therefore, many are interested in how to store wheat at home. Someone needs it for animal feed, and someone makes medicines based on it or uses it as a general tonic. At the same time, the question of how to store germinated wheat is no less relevant. It is these storage issues that we will touch upon in today's article.

How to choose

When choosing grain, it is important to see documents that will confirm its quality. But even a visual inspection will help draw preliminary conclusions about the condition of the wheat.

Quality grains have a uniform muted orange or brownish color. They should not have spots and gray plaque. They cannot be hollow or wrinkled. But the wheat should not be too wet either. The normal degree of humidity should be 14%, but this can only be found out from the documents that are attached to the product.

The main enemy of wheat is the weevil. The second no less dangerous pest is the bug - the turtle. Insects are capable of destroying all stocks in a short time. They eat away the grain from the inside, leaving noticeable traces of their activities. Such raw materials will no longer be suitable for the manufacture of high-quality flour. The bread will be cracked, low and sticky. Therefore, the “beaten” grain will remain to be fed to animals or thrown away.

How and where to store

Before storing wheat grain, it is disinfected to destroy mold spores and possible insects.

Wheat storage should take place:

in places with a low level of humidity,
closed from the light
equipped with ventilation.

High humidity leads to souring of the grain, as a result of which it becomes unsuitable for consumption by both humans and animals.

The shelf life of wheat for baking and animal feed is about 6 years. And the grain, which is planned to be used as planting material, should not be stored for more than 14 months.

Saving grain on an industrial scale takes place in special storage facilities - elevators. And for home storage, it is better to place it in a suitable sealed container. Such containers must be adequately ventilated.

The storage temperature of wheat should be between +10°C and +25°C. Particular attention should be paid to the level of grain moisture. It should not exceed 15%.

Depending on the variety and hardness, the shelf life of unpeeled wheat can range from a few months to a year or more. But at the same time, stocks will need to be regularly inspected in order to notice the appearance of pests or mold in time, and have time to take action.

The necessary storage conditions for wheat are not only temperature and humidity levels. She needs constant access to air. That is, grain storage containers must be equipped accordingly. If the stocks were previously well dried, they can be stored in linen bags with ties.

What to store

The easiest way to store wheat is to keep it in cloth bags. But there are also disadvantages here. Grains often crumble, begin to crumble. The fabric can tear, and besides this, it is not quite convenient and aesthetically pleasing to keep bags in a city apartment.

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Wheat grains are well stored in glass containers or barrels made of quality wood.
There are special bags for saving bulk products. They are mounted on the wall and do not take up much space. They open at the bottom, so you can easily pour out the required amount of grain.
For those who have livestock and keep grain for feeding poultry (chickens, ducks, geese), it is most convenient to place supplies in a separate room with concrete floors and iron-clad walls. Wheat is stored in bulk and periodically inspected for insects and moisture levels.
You can store grain in small quantities in special boxes. Such a locker can be made on its own from boards and timber. From above, the container is upholstered with tin so that mice and other rodents cannot get inside.

Whatever container the grain is stored in (boxes, bags, kegs, etc.), it must be on a stand so as not to absorb moisture from the floor.

Storage in spikes

The tradition of storing wheat in ears at home appeared many centuries ago. On Christmas and Spas, a small sheaf was placed in the corner of the room, which symbolized well-being in the family.

But even today such a “bouquet” of ears can be seen in many houses. It serves as an unusual interior detail, even if it does not carry a semantic load.

Ears can be stored for a long time if they are cut off while still unripe. You can also weave a wreath from them, which is then fixed on the front door to attract good luck and prosperity to the house.

Storage of grain for sprouting

If the grain is intended for sprouting, it should not be treated with high temperatures (hot steam, roast, oven drying). Such processing can increase the shelf life of wheat grains, but at the same time they will lose the substances necessary for germination.

The grain, which has not been subjected to heat treatment, retains all the useful substances that nature has put into it. At the time of germination, it contains the largest amount of vitamins and nutrients. Therefore, people who monitor their health use wheat germ as a dietary supplement. They also make salads and other dishes based on it.

Store wheat, which is intended for germination, in dry glass containers covered with gauze for air access, or in canvas bags.

Storage of germinated wheat

At the time of germination, wheat has medicinal properties to a greater extent than other grains. But in order for the effect of the use of sprouted grains to become noticeable, they should be consumed for a long time. Therefore, the question of how to store sprouted wheat is of interest to many.

To get a serving of germinated grain, soak 2-3 tablespoons of wheat and leave until it germinates. It should be consumed fresh, but if any part remains unused, it is sent to the refrigerator.

The shelf life of germinated wheat in the refrigerator does not exceed 2 - 3 days. It makes no sense to leave it longer, because after 3 days it will lose most of its useful properties.

If you create normal storage conditions for wheat and protect it from pests, the stocks will remain usable for a very long time.

For me, the question of choosing quality grain has been open for a very long time, just go and buy a bag of good wheat for homemade flour, you know, can be a daunting task. Even if there are several sources, you need to be able to make a choice, and for this you need to have an idea of \u200b\u200bwhat quality wheat should be.

It was important for me that the grain had all the necessary documents confirming the quality, and that it could be bought directly in the city in order to be able to replenish stocks at any time in the future.

On the market, you can mainly find feed wheat of grade 5-6, in which there is practically no gluten and a number of other bad defects, it is mainly sold in buckets for animal feed. The one that is sold for sprouting, the so-called “food”, I also don’t want to take it: it’s not known what class it really is, and cunning grandmothers somehow want too much for it. Last time I saw, my aunt was standing, selling a glass of rye (about 200 gr.) for 12 hryvnias (48r Russian rupees, if anything) and wheat for about the same money. I think for a completely unknown grain - unreasonably expensive.

During my searches, I managed to see, feel, taste a lot of wheat, and, I must say, almost all of it is similar to each other, like twin sisters. Moderately weedy, with impurities of sand and earth, with particles of ears, brown or spotty, sometimes badly damaged or badly dried, withered. The taste is almost the same, sometimes sweetish, sometimes bitter. Here, for example, on the left is fodder wheat, and on the right is a higher class. What is the fundamental difference between this wheat, you can’t immediately say.

I remember my first acquaintance with wheat gluten: my brother and I were small, maybe we had just gone to school (late 80s), and passionately dreamed of chewing gum. An attack of acute desire for chewing gum happened to us exactly at my grandmother in the village during the summer holidays, in a beautiful, picturesque and, in general, far from civilization, a village in the Kursk region. That is, there is no chewing gum and there is nowhere to take it from. We then tried to roll balls of gray bread, as if from plasticine, chew what happened, chewed paper with sugar and jam, fruit resin from cherry trees, but it was not the same. Until they tried to chew a handful of wheat just out of curiosity. In the mouth, it miraculously turned into a lump of elastic rubber, however, all covered with particles of chewed grain, but it was it - chewing gum with the taste of wheat. We rejoiced because we figured out the secret of chewing gum. I could not have imagined then that I would remember this funny experience for the rest of my life and, moreover, that it would come in handy later! So, all the wheat that I had a chance to chew on the market has never turned into a piece of wheat chewing gum, and this is already saying something!

Having such a serious experience behind me, it was still not enough for me, I wanted a more detailed and serious approach, at least more serious than childhood memories. I asked millers and textbooks, and they told me that for making whole wheat flour, factories usually use second-class grain (and there are six in total), in which the gluten content varies from 23 to 27%. This wheat has certain indicators of moisture, glassiness, and other indicators, but all these characteristics cannot be determined by eye, laboratory studies and documents must speak about them. Therefore, when choosing, first of all, you should pay attention to how the grain looks, based on its “external data”, you can draw at least some initial conclusions about its quality. It should be a muted orange or brown color, preferably without spots. In addition, it should be “full” to the touch, not dried out, not shrunken, not sprouted. Wet soft grain may indicate marriage, but it is also difficult to judge moisture from external signs, it can be hard and full at first glance, while being raw inside. The moisture content of the wheat grain should be about 14%, but, again, only the documents that are attached to this grain can tell about this.

The main pests of wheat - weevils and turtle bugs (sorry for stupidity, ninja turtles immediately come to mind)), leave behind traces that are clearly visible to the naked eye: this is a grain with voids, beaten, “eaten away” from the inside. Usually this goes to feed animals, it is almost impossible to wash gluten out of it, and bread from defective flour will be terrible and inedible: sticky, low, cracked, blurry, in general, one chagrin.

Here, for example, is a grain affected by weevils (on the right) and the weevil itself (on the left). It is immediately noticeable that the whole wheat is like a sieve.

But the bug-turtle and the grain affected by this pest.

Photos of beetles from the Internet

By the way, similar losses in quality are expected for products made from flour ground immediately after harvesting - the dough will unruly blur, tear, and the bread will be ugly, tasteless, with a lot of defects. The thing is that freshly harvested wheat, before turning into flour, must rest for 45 days. Then the grain is cleaned with air from impurities of sand, earth and other debris (this is done on special equipment, I do it manually at home), and, in fact, grind the flour.

This is the garbage I chose from a handful of my wheat of an indeterminate grade.

It is important that the wheat during the resting period is stored in an open container or bags with constant air access, this will ensure the safety and oxygen supply necessary for ripening. Cloth bags, wooden, glass or metal open containers, for example, are well suited for this. The same applies to flour. It is known that freshly ground flour must also go through the process of oxidation, ripen in order to improve its baking properties. Under the influence of oxygen, gluten becomes stronger, and the lower the percentage of gluten in flour, the more noticeably its properties improve. Flour with initially high levels of gluten also improves its qualities during maturation, but not as dramatically as it happens with weak flour. If wheat flour is left to ripen in a vacuum, such an experiment has already been carried out, nothing will happen to it, it will not improve in any way, but it will not worsen either. Therefore, it is very important to store flour in containers that allow the flour to "breathe".

L.Ya. Auerman, in his textbook "Technology of Bakery Production", claims that whole grain or wholemeal flour should ripen for about 3 weeks, in reality, in production, even a small one, it ripens for a shorter time - about two weeks, or even immediately after grinding goes to sale. However, the shelf life of whole grain flour is not as long as, for example, the highest grade. White wheat flour of the first and highest grade can lie without damage for more than three years and only improve its quality. But whole grain flour should not be stored for long - about six months, due to the fact that it contains all the components of the grain, including wheat germ, which contains valuable oils in large quantities. And wheat germ oil, in turn, contains vitamins (A, E, D, vitamins of group B), microelements (potassium, calcium, phosphorus, manganese, iron, zinc, selenium, copper, sulfur, iodine, etc.) .) and essential fatty acids (Omega-3, Omega-6, Omega-9). It is the latter, by the way, that provide a short life of useful flour - they oxidize rather quickly and the germ oil goes rancid. Such flour, first of all, ceases to be useful, begins to taste bitter, and the bread baked from it turns out to be bitter and has a musty smell of old butter. For example, until recently I kept flour in closed glass jars, but it turned out to be fundamentally wrong: firstly, access to oxygen is closed, which prevents maturation, and secondly, flour, which naturally contains moisture, cakes, crumple and "suffocate". Ideally, it should be stored in .

In general, everything is logical, but I switched to storage in banks solely for reasons of protecting my stocks from pests. Before that, I tried to wrap cereals and flour in bags, jars and special containers, put a few cloves of unpeeled garlic in them, but it was all in vain. Once a year, mainly in the summer, small gray butterflies began to fly around the apartment to thunderous applause. Each time I had to throw everything away, hang useless moth repellent flavors in cabinets, and so on until the next visit of impudent insects. With the move to a new apartment, we seemed to get rid of the moth, but this summer it appeared again and gobbled up the reserves of wheat germ, bran and flax, some flour and a whole mountain of cereals (I have not yet looked into a bag of malt and bran). I had to throw everything away again, wipe the cabinets with a weak solution of vinegar, drip lavender essential oil on the shelves to scare away the voracious beast. Yes, I have to admit, I let my bins run a little and a whole settlement of uninvited guests formed there. Anything can happen in factories, but most often grain and flour are not stale there, and warehouses are sanitized a couple of times a year, steadily, during periods when there is neither grain nor flour in them. For me, the way out was lavender essential oil, it is not only safe, but also useful for the body, and maintaining order on the shelves.

Returning to the issue of grain for the mill. I still managed to solve this problem - to find high-quality reliable grain, backed up by documents - just recently I bought a bag of second-class wheat. As I wrote earlier, I was actively looking for grain in the markets, even relatives from the village gave wheat for testing, but all this was grain of uncertain origin, and I could not reliably assess its quality. Private farms and small industries flatly refused to sell small quantities, like a bag or two, they were interested in "machine volumes" from "20 tons". But, as you know, if you really want to ... Now it remains to find where to buy rye like that!

As a result, I want to note that the quality of the grain depends on how the bread will turn out, how viable and “workable” the sourdough will be, and it will not work to “cheat” on it. Having tried it on my own experience, I can say that flour from the most affordable low-grade wheat, even with a strong desire, will not give a good result, so the only possible way is a proven grain, ideally with all the necessary documents confirming the quality and environmental friendliness (organic , bio). The latter means that wheat was grown without the use of chemical fertilizers, was not treated with any chemicals and grew on land that has also not been treated with anything chemical for the past three years. In Russia, such grain can be bought, including at the Khlebomoly store. There is a fairly large selection of good grain for every taste: there are environmentally friendly Russian wheat, rye, oats and green buckwheat, German rye, wheat, and spelled, Austrian chickpeas, green peas, amaranth, oats and much more environmentally friendly and healthy for the soul and body)