Benefits Diluted by Unhealthy Preparation : Cookbook Offers Nutritious High-Fiber Choices, ‘With Decided Misgivings’

Cooking with whole grains can seem like a paradox.

Many recipes--including a number of those in the acclaimed “The Grains Cookbook” (Workman Publishing: $14.95, soft cover, 403 pages)--demonstrate the illogical combination of a food with a perceived health benefit and an unhealthy method of preparation.

Written by the late Bert Greene, the book was named this year’s winner of the single-subject category in the IACP/Seagram Awards for outstanding food and drink books. The anthology of high-fiber recipes was written, according to Greene’s introduction to the book, “with decided misgivings” since “they were being ignored by much of the population, yet they were being touted in every newspaper and magazine as major sources of complex carbohydrates, fiber and vitamins--what we all need to protect against heart disease, cancer and digestive distress.”

Many of the recipes, however, include the very ingredients--cream, butter, salt pork and other fatty meats--health authorities have been encouraging the public to stay away from.

Comprehensive Look

Still, as an authority in the field of whole grains--how to store them, where they come from, where to purchase them and how to cook with them--the book is a winner.

Green took a comprehensive look at such lowly old-fashioned grains as barley, bran, bulgur, grits and hominy, oats and rice, while introducing the reader to what he terms “the new grains”: amaranth, quinoa and triticale.

In addition to recipes, the book offers nutritional information and a few anecdotes on cultivation to give the grains a historical perspective. Greene’s book teaches the reader how to buy, store and cook grains in the witty, conversational style that was his trademark.

The book is replete with recipes for rich desserts, puddings cakes and pies, toothsome breads, savory stuffings and one-dish meals. Experienced cooks will find it easy to make substitutions for the high-fat ingredients in the recipes, which are otherwise excellent examples of cooking with grains, American-style.

Grains Listed

Here is a list of some of the whole grains featured in the book, as well as some others that may be of interest:

-- Barley: An extremely hardy grain that flourishes in a variety of climates. It is believed to have been one of the first grains cultivated by humans, though much of the American crop is fed to livestock. Sprouted barley is used to make malt and beer. It is typically available as pearled barley, a process of refinement that removes the bran and germ. Brown barley is merely hulled and can be ground into flour, and Asian-pressed barley or hato mugi is pressed and flaked. Barley is a good source of water-soluble fiber as well.

-- Buckwheat: Probably first cultivated in ancient China, then spread to Europe by migrating tribes, it is most popular in Eastern Europe and Russia where the groats are roasted and cooked into kasha. In the United States, it is mostly fed to animals. Buckwheat has a distinctively nutty flavor. It is available as flour and groats. Its nutritional value is similar to wheat, but it is extremely high in the amino acid lysine.

-- Bulgur: Available from red or white hard winter wheat processed by cleaning, washing and cooking until the starch is gelatinized. It may undergo drying, partial debranning to reduce fiber content, cracking and sifting to give a more uniform size. It contains the same nutrients found in whole-grain wheat. It’s ideal soaked for use in salads, desserts and breads or cooked and used in casseroles, cereals and stuffings.

-- Millet: An ancient Chinese staple that predates rice. Millet flour used by Africans in Ethiopian bread, injera. Delicately flavored tiny grains that are high in minerals. Very digestible grain. Toasting before cooking will add to the sweet nut-like taste. Millet triples in bulk and is usually hulled before sale.

-- Oats: Available in several forms: whole groats (hulled only), steel cut (lengthwise sliced groats), rolled oats (oatmeal), instant or precooked rolled oats, oat flour and oat bran. Subtle flavor with sticky consistency when cooked. Since it absorbs water, it’s a rich source of water-soluble fiber.

-- Quinoa: “ . . . is truly crammed with protein,” writes Greene; “a cup cooked is equal to a quart of milk in calcium content.” The yellowish grain is a cross between mustard and millet and possesses a grassy scent. It is coated with a “sticky substance” called saponin. Thorough rinsing before cooking is recommended.

-- Rye: Possibly first grown during Roman Empire days. Popular in black rye bread when sweetened with molasses or sourdough rye and pumpernickel in Germany. A soft grain nutritionally similar to wheat, it is high in minerals and B vitamins: particularly potassium and riboflavin. Available as whole berries, which can be ground nicely into rye flour, rolled rye flakes, delicious in granolas or muesli, and commercial rye flour, which has some of the bran removed. It’s delicious in granolas or muesli.

-- Triticale: A cross between wheat and rye, it features the best qualities of each: the high-protein, high gluten content of wheat and the high yield and ruggedness of rye. Available as whole berries, flakes or flour. Subtle flavor, crunchy texture even after cooking.

--Wheat: May have originated in Middle East and is also one of the oldest cultivated grains. Contains the highest amount of gluten of all grains and is almost synonymous with bread making. Extremely nutritious, rich in magnesium, iron, phosphorous, B and E vitamins, carbohydrates, proteins and trace minerals.

Whole forms become rancid quickly. Unless the label says “100% whole wheat,” it has been refined in some way. Available as cracked wheat, wheat bran, wheat germ, whole wheat, all-purpose or unbleached flour, pastry flours, berries, stone-ground and sprouted, and as flakes, shreds and nuggets for breakfast cereals.