# Germade



## sparkysarah (Dec 4, 2007)

I got 75 pounds of Germade today. Three different flavors. Would you freeze this before packaging? I'm thinking of just vacuum sealing. What do you think?


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## YuccaFlatsRanch (May 3, 2004)

If canning with oxygen absorbers then no need to freeze. If just vacuum packing in plastic bags then I would freeze either before of after packing.

Explain to others that Germade is Farina cereal.


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

Had no idea what it was, till Yucca mentioned farina...

I'd have to guess that they didn't have a good marketing guy, when they named this stuff... uh, Germ (just what I want to eat.... Germs) and ade ....


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## Freeholder (Jun 19, 2004)

LOL! I was trying to figure out what it was, too! Sounded like something you take when you think you are coming down with a cold!

Kathleen


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## sparkysarah (Dec 4, 2007)

So, it would be okay to freeze after vacuum sealing? That would certainly make it easier being I don't have a ton of room in my freezer at the moment. Smaller bags would be easier.


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

Being a processed grain, I'd say freezing vacuumed sealed bags would be the best way to go... in my case, ZERO bags last long in my freezer, without getting punctured by something... moving frozen blocks of food around cause dents... maybe you could put the processed bags in a milk crate or something, to protect against puncture.

Just remember, you'll have a lot of stuff to deal with, if the electricity goes off for a week or so... I know I'd have a "fun" couple of days if I had to emergency can all of my freezer meat.

Have you looked into making farina... exactly what is farina? isn't it a cooked wheat product? I think if I had a 'jonesing' for farina, I'd figure out how to make it from whole wheat, rice, corn whatever... seeing as the whole grains can be store for decades, in proper dry storage, whereas processed products last only a short time (months? a year at most?) without refrigeration. Refrigeration/freezers won't last long after the grid goes down. They do have freezers/fridges that'll work off grid, but they're mighty pricey, and don't 'function' the same way grid fridges/freezers work... Absorption cooling is great if you have no alternatives, but long term storage of grain isn't one of it's best uses....

good luck, and happy farina'ing....


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## Guest (Mar 19, 2008)

Seventy five pounds of Germade is a life time supply! {laughing}

Vac-seal OR pack with oxyge absorbers OR use dry ice, but there's no need to use them in combination. Freeze treating is for when you want to simply pack it in buckets, bags, or jars without vac-sealing or any of the other long-term storage methods. 

.....Alan.


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## sparkysarah (Dec 4, 2007)

Hey, it's good stuff. Thank you for all the info.


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## texastami (Sep 13, 2002)

We just bought 25lbs of Farina (breakfast 2x weekly for family of 6) We DO eat it on a regular basis.... but I have also added Cornmeal mush and homemade grape nuts to the breakfast rotation so we have some new things to try....

I wish I could get another 50 lbs of it... (at a killer price) For now, I will just wait for that day!

Good job!!!


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## Guest (Mar 19, 2008)

I didn't know what it was either.


texican said:


> Have you looked into making farina... exactly what is farina? isn't it a cooked wheat product?


I think farina is just coarsely ground wheat.


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## sparkysarah (Dec 4, 2007)

Farina is: Wheat Farina, Wheat Germ and Wheat Bran.

I purchased mine from Alison's Pantry. I got 25# Plain for 12.99 and 25# Strawberries & Cream for 13.99. When I went to pick it up she had two bags of the Maple & Brown Sugar for 11.00 each. I decided to take one to try...at that price. I had never had flavored, but decided to try it. I tried the Strawberries & Cream this morning. It is very good. You don't have to add anything to it, unlike the plain. I add butter and sugar to the plain. I'm now looking forward to trying the Maple & Brown Sugar.


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## sparkysarah (Dec 4, 2007)

How do you eat your cornmeal mush? I tried it once and didn't care for it but it probably had to do with what I added to it. I do like to make it thick (can't remember what it is called, polenta? hoecakes?), put it in the fridge, slice and fry in butter with syrup. Yum.


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## Guest (Mar 19, 2008)

texastami said:


> ...but I have also added Cornmeal mush and homemade grape nuts to the breakfast rotation so we have some new things to try....


 How do you make your homemade Grape Nuts?

.....Alan.


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## Guest (Mar 19, 2008)

A.T. Hagan said:


> How do you make your homemade Grape Nuts?
> 
> .....Alan.


Someone posted it a while back in the recipe forum. I haven't tried it yet but I'm going to. It looks really easy.


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## Guest (Mar 19, 2008)

I searched and found several topics about homemade cereal. This is a good topic.

http://homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=213077


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## pmondo (Oct 6, 2007)

ladycat said:


> I didn't know what it was either.I think farina is just coarsely ground wheat.


Cream of Wheat that is what most people know it as


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## MisFitFarm (Dec 31, 2007)

BlueJuniperFarm said:


> LOL! I was trying to figure out what it was, too! Sounded like something you take when you think you are coming down with a cold!
> 
> Kathleen


Me, too!


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## diane (May 4, 2002)

So........I have read on this thread that germade, farina and cream of wheat are all the same thing but it dosen't sound like it when people describe it. I know what cream of wheat is and frequently cook it, but it sure doesn't look like it has any wheat germ in it to speak of. Someone enlighten me......are we really all talking about the same thing???


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## Guest (Mar 20, 2008)

diane said:


> So........I have read on this thread that germade, farina and cream of wheat are all the same thing but it dosen't sound like it when people describe it. I know what cream of wheat is and frequently cook it, but it sure doesn't look like it has any wheat germ in it to speak of. Someone enlighten me......are we really all talking about the same thing???


This says they're all the same thing:

https://www.usaemergencysupply.com/food_storage/farina_cream_of_wheat_germade_honeyville.htm

More on farina:
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-farina.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farina_(food)


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## diane (May 4, 2002)

Thanks Ladycat!!! Now I know that I have germade in my preps.:sing: I just called it cream of wheat. I do think that the cream of wheat you buy has not much actual wheat germ in it. How could it be so white when wheat germ is so brown? Oh well, I was just reading Gene Logsdon's book on Growing small grains on line and he was talking about making his cereal in the blender by just putting a hand full of wheat in the blender and grinding up good and then cooking. I have frequently use my blender to make "blender pancakes" from wheat berries. Maybe we should start a whole thread on things that can be done with wheat without having a grain mill?


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## Guest (Mar 20, 2008)

diane said:


> Maybe we should start a whole thread on things that can be done with wheat without having a grain mill?


That's a GREAT idea!!


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## sparkysarah (Dec 4, 2007)

I second that!


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