The Search Continues: Bulk Bin #3387
The grains from bulk bin #3387 are about to be shown Who Is Boss. I’m tired of #3387 mocking me as I push past it to reach for properly labeled grains. I will figure out what the fuck this grain is and use that entire bag in one sitting. So. There.
In case you are wondering what I’m talking about, last week I pleaded for someone to come forward and name this unmarked grain I had sitting in my cabinet. To recap…
We had a few guesses:
NeeNee: really short grain brown rice or wheat berries
AW: some sort of barley
Maids: yellow dent corn from the Andes. Or Kamut.
dosdos, negged those guesses: I’m pretty sure farro is longer than that. Kamut’s pretty long and narrow. Wheat berries is a good guess but it doesn’t have the line down the middle splitting it in half like a little long booty…. I’m really leaning towards rice.
Danielle: Amaranth?
ajjelibean: Does raw sunflower kernels from Tree of Life sound familiar?
But no one could claim certainty and I have no idea what the Tree of Life is.
Although there were a few other tips. Olga from Mango & Tomato suggested I cook it like brown rice and Brit and westcoast thought I should think just a bit harder where I may have bought the grains to trigger an answer.
My guess is farro because I know that I’ve wanted to try it. But no one thinks that it looks like farro.
Oh well. So here is one last shot. Maids suggested that I show the mystery grain in comparison to other identified grains. See above. Please help.
Who are you bulk bin #3387?!?!
Um, looks most like Millet to me. Can you go to the store and look for Common Millet or White/Yellow Millet? Here’s a pic from Google, lemme know what you think: http://shangchy.win.mofcom.gov.cn/www/20/shangchy/img/20079281042.jpg
have you tried eating one? you may need to soak a small handful in water for about 4 hrs but you’d be able to get the flavor of it. I’m still putting my money on raw sunflower seeds. btw I dont know what Tree of Life is either lol…
How about brown arborio rice? Take a look at this pic:
http://www.chieftainwildrice.com/products/specialty-rices/specialty-rices/
I think arborio is a good guess. farro it is not.
amarath it still could be up my mind. but you cook them up the same way.
Didn’t realize there was a follow-up. As I commented on the previous post, it looks to me like sweet brown rice. Sweet rice has the “soft”, rounded edges that these grains seem to have, and the color is similar to brown rices (as many commenters have pointed out).
This may help: http://www.culinate.com/articles/features/grain_glossary
I know I’m way late to the party but I’m curious to hear the report – did you make it? Did you enjoy it?
It is without doubt sweet brown rice. I live on the stuff. It took me a long time to be able to tell it apart by sight from short-grain brown rice, but I can now, and that’s what you’ve got there in your mystery bag. If you haven’t braved it yet, cook it like you would any brown rice. It’s so delicious!
I’m kind of shocked at how many people seem to know the names of grains (amaranth, millet, farro) but still not have any idea what they look like! I guess maybe as everyone encourages us to eat more whole grains, people form images in their minds of what these new, exciting foods look like?
thanks for the grain info, @Scrumptious. i still haven’t cooked with it but really need to get my ass to the store to see if they do in fact have a bin #3387 so i can finally figure out what it is.
kamut? i saw that in the bulk bins at MOM and thought it looked similar.
This is a really old article (I’ve been reading your site at work…just found it!), but that’s definitely sweet brown rice. I eat it for breakfast every day with brown sugar and some sort of dried/fresh fruit. I make it the same way I make risotto except with hot half-milk/half-water. And butter instead of olive oil.