Grains

April’s NH Harvest of the Month: grains!

Grains are the edible seeds of plants called cereals and pseudo-cereals. Grain types include amaranth, barley, buckwheat, bulgur, corn, einkorn, farro, folio, freekah, kaniwa, millet, oats, rice, rye, sorghum, spelt, teff, triticale, wheat, and wild rice.

Grain consumption accounts for 80% of the world’s calories. Grains are usually dried to preserve them and need to be reconstituted for eating. They can be cooked, sprouted, or made into flour.

Millet is a staple food in Africa and many parts of Asia where it has been cultivated for thousands of years. Kulish is a Ukrainian millet dish made with potatoes, carrots, onion, and salo or pig fat. Nasi Goreng is a popular fried rice dish in Indonesia. Wheat and barley are grown in Northern and Central Iraq. A dish made there with barley and beef is called Paqota. Khoubz is an Iraqi flatbread made with wheat flour and is usually cooked in a domed clay oven called Tanoor.

This webpage includes a variety of educational materials, activities, recipes, and more about grains for use at home, in youth or family programming, in the classroom, and in the cafeteria. More grain resources can be found here. For more New Hampshire Harvest of the Month resources for April, click here.

Additional resources about grains:
“Whole Grains 101,” Oldways Whole Grains Council
“The “Whole Truth” About Grains,” Grain Foods Foundation

Home Kit for Grains

Teacher, families, youth programs, and anyone
interested in incorporating grains into activities,
meals, and learning can use this home kit. This kit includes information, cooking tips, recipes, mini-activities, and more.

Download here (in English)
Download here (in Spanish)
Download here (in French)

Poster for Grains

Display your love for grains! Download the
New Hampshire Harvest of the Month poster at the
link below. The file is in PDF format and is sized to
print on 11×17 inch paper.

Download here

Videos about Grains

“How to Make Spanish Rice,” UNH Extension
“Everything You Need to Know About Cooking
Whole Grains,” America’s Test Kitchen
“Easy & Healthy Quinoa Bowls,” Simply Quinoa

Books about Grain

One Grain of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale by Demi
From Wheat to Bread (Who Made My Lunch?) by Bridget Heos

Lesson Plan for Grains

Developed in partnership with UNH Extension, NH Farm to School, and the UNH Education department, the Harvest Lessons lesson plan and curricular activities can be used by education professionals to incorporate grains into dynamic, long-lasting learning in the classroom and other education-based settings.

Lesson Plan Supplements
Click to download the lesson plan supplements to support learning through the activities in the lesson plan.
Somalia lesson plan supplement
Iraq lesson plan supplement

Download here