Text 2081, 128 rader
Skriven 2010-09-26 21:58:00 av JIM WELLER (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av GLEN JAMIESON
Ärende: Wheat
=============
-=> Quoting Glen Jamieson to Ruth Hanschka <=-

 RH> It might be a royal pain milling the fresh wheat into
 RH> flour though.

You don't. It must be dried, one way or another.

 GJ> Wheat farmers test their crops by picking heads while the wheat is
 GJ> still growing and checking the size of the grains.  I probably did
 GJ> that when young, as I ate everything then

They test by rubbing the wheat head between their fingers and then
chewing on a grain. If the grain cracks in the mouth rather than
squashing, it is mature enough and dry enough to harvest.

Wheat must be below 18% moisture content to combine and thresh. And
it must be below 13.5% to store long term without fermenting or
molding. Once the wheat is cut by hand sickle or machine combine or
whatever, it is left to dry further in the field for 2 to 3 days. If
it rains during that interval it must be air dried a second time.
Successive wetting and drying lowers the quality.

Once down to 15% it can be stored in shallow bins and air dried with
fans until it gets down to 13.5%. Heat can be used too if needed due
to high moisture content in the grain and/or high relative humidity
in the air but that also reduces quality.

 -> would be possible to reap the rice while it is still green, but
 -> husking would be a lot more difficult.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, newly havested rice although "dry"
is moister than aged rice.
 
 RH> I've never seen it in the husk, so it's hard to judge.  I'd guess that
 RH> local people who grow the stuff occasionally hand-thresh a few grains
 RH> here and there and munch.  

 GJ> I think it would then be necessary to hand peel individual grains.

Were you talking about rice or wheat there?

In any event wheat is sometimes harvested green in parts of the
middle East. It is called freekeh (or frikeh or farikeh etc). It
goes through a roasting process during its production.

The grain is harvested still green and soft; it is then piled in the
field (stooked) and sun-dried. (That happens quickly in their arid
climate, so no fermentation or mold issues). Then the piles are set
on fire and only the straw and chaff burn but not the seeds, which
still have quite high moisture content. Then it is threshed and sun
dried further. Finally the seeds are cracked like Bulgur.  
  
MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06
 
      Title: Lamb with Green Wheat (Frika Lahma)
 Categories: Lamb, Middle east, Grains
      Yield: 4 Servings
 
      2 lb Bone-in leg of lamb;
           -trimmed of fat
           Salt
           Freshly ground black pepper
    1/2 ts Freshly ground allspice
           Extra-virgin olive oil
      5 tb Clarified butter
      1 sm Finely chopped onion
  3 1/2 c  Boiling beef broth or
           -boiling water
      2 c  Green wheat (farik); picked
           -over and rinsed
    1/2 ts Freshly ground coriander
    1/2 ts Baharat
      3 tb Pine nuts
      1 c  Fresh or frozen peas
      1    Sliced green tomato
 
  Rub lamb all over with salt, pepper and allspice. Coat with film
  of olive oil and roast at 325 degrees until very tender and
  falling off bone, about 4 hours.

  About 1 hour 15 minutes before lamb is done, heat 4 tablespoons
  clarified butter in heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, then add
  onion and cook until golden, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes.
  Carefully add boiling broth or water (both may splatter) and
  return to boil. Add green wheat, 1 teaspoon salt, coriander and
  Baharat, cover and cook 5 minutes over medium-high heat. Reduce
  heat to low and cook 15 minutes, covered. Reduce heat to very low
  and cook until liquid is almost absorbed, about 15 minutes more.
  Place heat diffuser under pot or turn heat to very, very low and
  leave farik for 30 minutes, covered. Turn off heat, place paper
  towel over top of pan under lid, and leave until lamb has finished
  roasting in oven, about 15 minutes more.

  Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 tablespoon clarified butter in small
  pan over medium-high heat and cook pine nuts, shaking pan almost
  constantly, until golden, about 3 minutes. Set aside. Bring small
  pot of lightly salted water to boil and cook peas until tender, 10
  to 12 minutes for fresh and 3 to 4 minutes for frozen. Set aside
  and keep warm until farik and lamb are done. Season farik with
  black pepper to taste and stir. Remove lamb from oven. Remove meat
  from bone and pull into serving-size chunks with fork. Mound farik
  attractively on serving platter. Using slotted ladle, arrange peas
  on top of farik. Place meat on top and sprinkle pine nuts over.
  Serve with green tomato slices as garnish, if desired.
  
  Comments: Farik or farikeh is wheat harvested when the stalks are
  still green and then toasted to dry it and remove the chaff. If
  you can't get farik, substitute bulgur, but cook it only until
  reconstituted and drain it well.
  
  Recipe Source: Los Angeles Times - 03-28-1999
  Recipe from "A Mediterranean Feast: The Story of the Birth of the
  Celebrated Cuisines of the Mediterranean" by Clifford Wright
  Formatted by Lynn Thomas
 
MMMMM
 

Cheers

YK Jim


... In Saskatchewan you never run out of wheat.

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