Just received my "Lehman's Best Grain Grinder" and it includes an instruction booklet that states that it will grind just about anything but popcorn! Too hard! I remember reading a lot of posts somewhere (here?) a while back of people stocking up on popcorn. Try it before you buy more.

Also, I am no expert but I have purchased a lot of "recleaned whole yellow corn" from my local feed store - decently clean and I called their supplier and asked about Aflatoxins and they said they constantly test for the presence of the toxin and the causative fungus and this should be fine. About $8.00 per 50#. Also bought some whole wheat cheaply too - no specifics on variety but if needed I think wheat is wheat...Good Luck!

-- Kristi (securx@Succeed.Net), April 20, 1999

Answers

Please, Kristi, don't eat pig food, we're not that bad off (yet). There is a difference between human-grade corn and animal- grade corn. That's why animal-grade is so much cheaper.

You can get 50# of organically grown, triple cleaned corn, dried and bagged, from Pleasant Hill farms -- see http:// www.pleasanthillgrain.com. The farmer is named Gary Hansen. He's a nice guy with great prices, a clean farm and a view to selling some of his extras. Shipping costs may do you in, if you're nowhere near Nebraska, I understand that. But be aware feed corn is simply not the same, or it would be priced the same.

Typical corn like Gary sells is Dent corn, field corn. It is not the super-sweet cob corn you get in the stores. It is standard corn that is usually made into corn meal, corn tortillas, corn chips, etc. etc. You can rehydrate it in soups or grind it into something.

Most popcorn is literally a different breed of corn altogether. It IS too hard to grind.

I am stocking some popcorn because it is a good source of fiber, it is fun and tasty for everybody especially kids, it cooks very easily in a pot on a small flame, etc. I'm not stocking it to use it as "regular" corn -- it isn't regular corn.

On the bright side, assuming some luck, eating animal-grade feed won't kill you.

PJ in TX

P.S. Don't feel bad. I only know all this because I made the same conclusions you did early on and learned something about it.

-- PJ Gaenir (fire@firedocs.com), April 20, 1999.

I asked a wheat grower in our area what the difference in quality was between feed and human quality wheat. He said the standard was based on how much rat poop was in it. (I interpreted that as how much cleaning it had received. There are perceiveable nuggets of stuff in it, chaff and a little bit of weed seeds. You are supposed to be able to winnow it by running a fan in front of a garbage can and dropping the grain through the air stream. The chaff will go in the can and the wheat straight down.) He said he imagines some people do buy it and eat it. He did say to be careful about using seed grain as it is treated. I think I will stick to human quality.

Has anyone tried blanching or soaking popcorn, drying it and then grinding it? Maybe that would soften it. Hey popcorn will be great for christmas tree decorations!

-- marsh (armstrng@sisqtel.net), April 20, 1999.

Stocking lots of popcorn but not to grind. It is a very nutritious snack and a good stomach filler! I have one of those old fashioned long handled poppers that can be used over a fire,grill,stove or in the fireplace.

What surprised me is that the stores in this area stock very little or no varieties of regular popping corn anymore as the microwave kind is what sells nowadays. Have to plead guilty to using the microwave variety myself now that all the kids are grown and gone but I didn't realize that it has driven the regular kind nearly into obsolescence.

-- sue (deco100@aol.com), April 20, 1999.

As always, the truth is somewhere in the middle! We buy corn by the ton for our donkeys. We usually get 3 TO 4 ton at a time. It comes right out of the silo into our clean garbage cans. This same corn can be eaten and is. One of the Major health food stores buys out of the same silo that we do. This corn is very clean and in picking through a 5 gallon bucket of it, I won't have a handful of bad kernals or trash. There is some dust in it. For our consumption I wash the corn just as one would dried beans. Then I lay it out in the sun on a screen to dry. Then I put into a 5 gal bucket with a gamma lid. We eat out of that bucket. I have 400# sealed in drums for people consumption out in the barn. Talk with the farmer and find out what if any pesticides he has used and make your decision. My corn grinds just fine and is very tasty in corn bread. PS: I can't speak for anything but the wheat farmers of eastern Washington State and they use non hybrid seed. I don't think we are in danger of losing non hybrid wheat seed.

Gotta Corona CORN GRINDER??

-- Taz (Tassie @aol.com), April 20, 1999.

"Wheat is Wheat!" Wrong....Just try and get some of the midwest wheat from local elevators to rise when you bake it!! No can do! Use that good Montona gold or similar wheat! There's a reason it is popular with those baking companies that are famous!:>

Check out the Country Baker on the Web.( Midwest area.)

-- Moore Dinty moore (not@thistime.com), April 20, 1999.

You mentioned your grinder would not grind the corn--you really need a corn grinder to do that. Some grinder can do wheat, corn and coffee. Sam's Club is currently selling a corn mill for under $18. It is made of cast iron.

-- Hope (daniel@stic.net), April 20, 1999.

Hello folks!

Thank you for all the "feedback" re: corn from feed store. I definitely will research it further re pesticides, etc. However I will admit to a certain cynicism (sp?) about there being a big difference between animal grade and human grade that couldn't be corrected by a quick sifting or even rinsing. Have you ever picked up a prescription med for your dog and soon after for yourself, realize it is the exact same pill, code, brand, etc. except the dog's cost $17.00 and yours $60.00? I have. I also used to work for a vet and many of the meds are the same, just priced about 1/3. Pretty sad state of affairs. So I will be careful about the feedstore grains, will look into it further but am actually optimistic about it being ok. Thank you again for the info and concern you all shared. (smile)

-- Kristi (securx@Succeed.Net), April 20, 1999.

P.S.

When I spoke previously with the "scientist" (?) at the grain supplier he stated that they also distributed human grade and that it was "triple-cleaned" instead of just "recleaned". I will call him back to ask about any other differences, quality tests, etc. Will keep you posted because if it is ok, this can save folks alot of money and waiting time.

Regarding "Corn Grinders": It may be true that they can also grind popcorn but I still recommend trying it before trusting it because I also have a cheaper cast iron "universal" grinder which says it will grind corn and WILL, except popcorn - too hard. I certainly hope that your grinders DO work for the purpose you need and I don't have any experience with the other brands, I was just trying to update with what I had found. I had never heard this before.

Bye for now!

P.P.S.

My sister worked for the local cannery for years - and will never eat canned tomatoes again! Realize that there are accepted amounts of contaminants (read "organic matter", rat hairs, etc) that apparently are normally allowed.....yech!

-- Kristi (securx@Succeed.Net), April 20, 1999.

As for "acceptable" contaminant levels in canned produce, we've all been eating this stuff since we grew our first teeth (earlier yet with Gerbers, etc.!) By now our immune systems have adapted to the challenges -- or we wouldn't be here. Why stop now?

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), April 20, 1999.

Sams also has 50 pound bags of popcorn for $12. Haven't tried grinding it.

-- Shimrod (shimrod@lycosmail.com), April 20, 1999.

When I was a teen, a guy I babysat for told me he'd worked in a tomato factory when he was younger. He said catsup is "graded" by a chemical analysis of the worm content in the batches. The high grades (less worm) are the more expensive name brands; the low grades (more worm) are the plain-wrap brands, etc. I've avoided anything but Heinz ever since. ;-) What's funny is that more tomato worm in your catsup is probably better for you, really....

PJ in TX

-- PJ Gaenir (fire@firedocs.com), April 20, 1999.