One of the most ancient cereal grains, barley has been around since the Stone Age. Once widely grown in many areas of the world and used as a staple grain, it is now mainly used in the Middle East. It can be used in soups and stews, breakfast porridges, cooked with brown rice, or combined with vegetables for a delicious, light grain salad.

Add variety to your meals with this delicious and nutritious whole grain. Hato mugi is the seed of an Asian wild grass known as Job’s Tears. Cook it by itself, or combine it with brown rice, add it to long-cooking soups, or combine it with vegetables and dressing for a summer grain salad. Long valued in the Orient, hato mugi’s properties include helping the nervous system and stomach and purifying the blood. This remarkable grain’s complement of protein, fat, calcium, iron, and several B vitamins and the quality and value of its amino acids are superior to those of many other grains.

Originally from Africa and widely eaten in Asia, millet is quick-cooking (15 minutes in a pressure cooker or 30 minutes boiled) with a soft yellow color and a mild, sweet taste. It has a light, fluffy texture and is packed with B vitamins and complete protein (15% to 25%, depending on the particular variety). Millet is especially soothing and healing for spleen, pancreas and stomach disorders. It makes a wonderful main dish when cooked with cauliflower and mashed to resemble mashed potatoes, and served with a mushroom/kuzu gravy. It makes great patties, burgers, grain loaves, breads, and soups and stews.

This centuries-old grain originally was grown in Scotland, Ireland and Northern Europe. Higher in fat than most grains and long eaten to provide warmth, stamina and endurance, whole oats is a wonderfully sweet and hardy grain that makes excellent soft porridge for breakfast and grain puddings for desserts. Oats also are exceptionally high in iron. When cooked and puréed, they can be used as a non-dairy base in making “cream” soups; vegetable or fish chowders; and sauces. Oats also are wonderful in pancakes, waffles and desserts. Try cooking with brown rice.

The kernels of wheat are called berries. Superior in protein to many grains and highly nutritious, whole wheat berries are usually ground into flours used in noodles, breads, seitan, pasta, pancakes, and waffle mixes and desserts. Try soaking whole wheat berries six to eight hours, and cook with brown rice for a sweet and chewy texture or with organic azuki beans for a wonderful treat.

A traditional grain from Europe with a hearty flavor. Though it is usually milled into flour to make rye bread, whole rye berries can be soaked or pan-toasted and combined with brown rice as a main grain dish or a soft breakfast porridge.

A staple grain of the Inca civilization in the Andes mountains, this quinoa is grown domestically. A powerhouse grain with a mild nutty flavor, it is quick-cooking, easy to digest, and can be cooked with other grains, by itself or in desserts.

Traditionally grown from Siberia to Manchuria in China and later in Northern and Eastern Europe. It was also grown in India and Japan. Hearty, warming and strengthening, kasha can be cooked by itself or with vegetables for either a main grain dish or breakfast porridge. This quick-cooking grain also is delicious in soup, salads, stuffed cabbage, deep-fried croquettes or combined with brown rice. Try grinding to flour for buckwheat pancakes.