# Wheat Germ...to toast or not to toast?



## lactationlady (Feb 16, 2004)

I usually buy toasted wheat germ to add to my morning oatmeal and various other baked goods. When I was doing my grocery shopping I noticed that raw wheat germ was much less expensive. Is it interchangeable with toasted wheat germ, or should I go ahead and toast the raw wheat germ to make it taste the same? I assume I can just toast it in a dry skillet, right? Does toasting change the nutritional value?


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## Mama Lori (Mar 11, 2002)

Toasting does change its nutritional value, but only minimally as long as it's not TOO toasted. I think the toasted kind you buy at the health food store is just fine.

The reason for toasting it is that it tastes better. Also, raw wheat germ is prone to rancidity so you have to be more careful. I read in Laurel's Kitchen that it's best to get wheat germ that is toasted where it is milled, to ensure freshness.

I have bought raw wheat germ and toasted it myself. Yes you can do it in a skillet on the stove, or on a tray in a toaster oven. Toast at 300 degrees and watch very carefully and stir frequently - it burns fast! This is why I prefer to buy the toasted kind.


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## lactationlady (Feb 16, 2004)

I may try toasting a little and see how it comes out. The raw is about half the cost of the toasted, so I don't have alot to lose by trying to toast it on my own. Thanks!


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## tubeist- dan (Jul 19, 2017)

The usual methods (which I've done on the past) to often have been prone to burning before toasting.

Today I tried something else:
A wide-ish, thick-bottomed (you want it FLAT) fry pan and slightly less wide pot, pre-heated in the oven, 300 degrees. (350 degrees pushes the red-line too much for my liking, though some people call for it).
Now, in a separate bowl, microwave a third-cup of wheat germ at half-power for a minute. Take out and stir around, give it another minute, stir again. Pour this in an even mound in the frying pan. This is the only tricky part: you want a sloping rise from sides to center.
Scrunch the pot down on the mound and scrunch it some more, twisting the pot this way and that.
This does two things:

1. produces and fairly uniform layer that will be evenly heated
2. Excludes as much oxygen as possible, which enables more burning, and damages the nutrition.

The pot still down firmly, slide the oven rack back in, close the door and leave it at 300 still, for 5 minutes. After that, lift the pot, stir it around (you'll find it's now a bit 'clumpy' in places, but that's OK, break them up a little), and try to get it back into a reasonably flat, even layer again. Give it another 5 minutes under that big ol pot.
Open the door, pull out the rack and let it cool, but leave the pot on. After 10 minutes, take the pot off. The wheat germ should be evenly toasted, albeit without that nice (browned) toasted look. However, it will now have a fine, mellow, mild toasted flavor, decidedly un-raw, and without any trace of burning or oxidation, much as the commercial products that are roasted in nitrogen or argon.

I confess, I _like_ :grin: a trace of toasty-burn in my wheat-germ flavor, but the oxidization of sensitive oils and vitamins is a price that's bit steep to pay 0 . But perhaps a slightly higher temperature will give that flavor a bit, but still exclude as much oxygen-burn as possible, and prevent the burnt-wheat-germ annoyance that comes so easily with open-pan methods.


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## ameliaharry654 (Oct 16, 2018)

tubeist- dan said:


> The usual methods (which I've done on the past) to often have been prone to burning before toasting.
> 
> Today I tried something else:
> A wide-ish, thick-bottomed (you want it FLAT) fry pan and slightly less wide pot, pre-heated in the oven, 300 degrees. (350 degrees pushes the red-line too much for my liking, though some people call for it).
> ...


Helpful reply


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