What Are Wheat Berries?
Small, chewy, and packed with nutrition. Here is everything you need to know about the whole grain behind your flour.
Have you ever heard of wheat berries? These small, chewy kernels are a staple ingredient in many cultures, yet they tend to fly under the radar in the Western world. They are nutritious, delicious, and far more versatile than most people realise.
Here is the simplest way to think about them: wheat berries are the whole grain form of wheat before it is milled into flour. They contain all three parts of the kernel: the bran, the germ, and the endosperm. Nothing has been removed. Compare that to conventional white flour, where the bran and germ are stripped away, and you start to understand what makes wheat berries such a nutritional standout.
What do wheat berries taste like?
Wheat berries have a slightly nutty flavour and a satisfying chewy texture. They cook similarly to rice and hold up well in a wide range of dishes. They absorb flavours beautifully, which makes them incredibly easy to cook with once you get started.
Why are they so nutritious?
Because the whole kernel is intact, wheat berries retain their natural fibre, protein, vitamins, and minerals. They are low in fat and have a low glycemic index, meaning they are absorbed slowly and help keep blood sugar levels steady. That is the difference between eating a whole food and eating something that has been processed into a fraction of its original self.
When we mill our flour at Better Basics, we start with the same whole wheat berry you see here. Stone milling keeps all three parts of the kernel intact, which is why our flour tastes and performs so differently from what you find on a grocery store shelf.
Ways to use wheat berries
This is where it gets fun. Wheat berries are one of the most versatile whole grains you can keep in your pantry. Here are some of our favourite ways to use them:
Ideas
- Mill them into your own fresh flour at home
- Toss cooked wheat berries into salads for great flavour and chew
- Add to soups and stews for extra texture and heartiness
- Stir into chilli for a whole grain boost
- Serve as a side dish in place of rice or quinoa — try cooking them in bone broth for incredible flavour
- Mix into bread dough for added texture
- Cook into a warm breakfast porridge
- Season with herbs and garlic and serve alongside your protein
Try them in these recipes
Not sure where to start? These two recipes are a great introduction to cooking with wheat berries.
Wheat berries are easy to cook, endlessly versatile, and genuinely good for you. Once you start cooking with them you will wonder why it took so long.
Know better. Do better.
It starts with what is in your bag.
Our organic wheat berries are sourced from Canadian Prairie farmers and available to order direct from the mill.
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