Creamy wheatberry pudding. Creamy vanilla orange rum wheatberry pudding. Spiked vanilla & orange wheatberry pudding. Creamy orange rum wheatberry pudding. Guys, I just spent 15 minutes trying to decide what the heck to call this thing.
Let me summarize: Uh-mazing. Epic. Creamy. Vanilla-y. Zesty. Dessert. Breakfast.
Take your pick.
The flavor is so intensely vanilla you’d never know this lone bean has been shoved in three different pantries for the last 3 years because I refused to throw out the $7.32. I bought it from Whole Foods when we lived in Florida. The sell by date said 2007. Somebody call Hoarders, I bet that right there would qualify me.
How I didn’t slice a finger off scraping out that vanilla bean goodness from the dry as a bone bean is a complete miracle but totally worth the risk. I didn’t have to use any sugar, just a drop of maple syrup (which in retrospect you could totally omit) because the vanilla flavor from the bean was so sweet. Such a good use of 3 years of patience and $7.32.
Why wheatberries? Well why the heck not?
If you’ve never tried them, get yourself to a bulk bin ASAP. If you’re dying to make this and have none on hand, I’ll allow for a one time brown rice substitution, but only once! Promise?
I’ve decided wheatberries are my favorite grain. It was a toss up between millet and them for awhile but this sealed the deal. Their chew is just fun and they’re so versatile. I cooked up a big batch of them when I made this and ate them in cereal, yogurt, mixed in with oatmeal, used them in a salad…the possibilities are endless. Can’t really say the same thing about rice, can you?
Oh, and then there’s the orange and rum I mentioned in the title I finally decided on. Those are like the best supporting actors ever.
Zesty, fun and boozy. Kinda like Haymitch.
And everybody loves a fun drunk, don’t they?
- 1 cup cooked wheatberries
- 2 cups milk (I used half 1% and half coconut milk from a carton)
- ½ an orange, zested
- 1 vanilla bean, insides scraped out
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon orange extract
- pinch of salt
- ½ tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon dark rum
- Combine wheatberries, milk, vanilla bean, cinnamon, extract and salt in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and let cook, stirring often for about 20 minutes until wheatberries absorb most of the milk and it starts to thicken.
- Add maple syrup and rum and simmer for another 10 minutes. Pudding should be creamy and thick by this point with little milk left.
- Garnish with additional orange zest.
- Best served warm.
{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh yum! I like wheatberries, there so chewy!! Your pudding looks yummy! Have a great day!!
you had me at spiked and I knew this was gonna be something gooood. I have never heard of or had wheatberries — look at you, always introducing me to new thannngs, me likey! This pudding looks great and hearty for breakfast….with or without the rum — hey, everyone needs a kickstart for the day, right?
Mmmm! I totally need to try this.
This looks like breakfast to me!! I’ve never tried wheatberries but after your recommendation, I definitely will! Always looking for different grains to try and the recipe looks great. P.S. I’dda done the same with the vanilla bean
Looks like you got your $7.32 out of it!
Glad you held out and saved your precious vanilla bean for a special ocassion. I will give you a shout when I decide to use my tofu that expired in 2009 that is hiding in the pantry.
omg, that’s bad! haha I’m not sure I would want to even see what 3 year old expired tofu looks like!
YUM. These flavor combinations sound so freaking good. And I don’t blame you for toting around that vanilla bean – I did the same thing with a tiny jar of saffron. That stuff’s expensive!
depends if that fun drunk ends up being the person I have to carry home from the bars at 2am
which I’m totally used to at this point.
I’ve never had wheatberries but always imagine they have an incredibly chew factor kind of like short grain brown rice, mmm!
true. Very true. That can either be really funny or REALLY annoying.
Haymitch pudding (with protein and fiber)? Love!
Mmmm, I LOVE wheatberries– best chew out there!! This looks great for breakfast (or anytime).
I love wheatberries, especially PUFFED. MMM, now I have to go eat some.
I almost ordered two vanilla beans from an online site the other day but they wanted like $15 bucks for 2 and I got el cheapo and removed from online shopping cart. Now I wish I hadn’t! 2007 & many moves later..that is something I would do
Love the wheatberries. I need to get some!
I just read the first six chapters of the hunger games…I know I am a bit late on the uptake! but oh well, they’re still awesome. And this pudding looks like the jam. that’s a good thing
It’s never too late to discover a great read. But think of it as “just in time on the uptake”. With the third book just coming out last year you don’t have to agonize about what’s going to happen next and just gobble them up one after another. And IMHO gobbling them up is the right way to approach this material. Have fun.
Rum, and orange, and cinnamon, and chewy grains! A dream come true.
Can I just say the pics are simply stunning? Too late, already did!
Yum! You had me at dessert for breakfast!
I recently nominted you for the Versatile Blogger award. I’m so glad to have found your blog and love all the amazing recipes you share!! You can find more info here – http://thecornerkitchen.blogspot.com/2012/03/award.html
OK, so I love brown rice pudding. I’ve even thrown in some wheat berries for some extra chewy goodness, but I’ve never made a wheat berry pudding! It looks delicious – I really need to try that.
Were you drunk when you wrote this? lol, you sound so happy!
You sure love your wheatberries, don’t you. I wanna kick myself because I was gonna get some at the grocery store last weekend, but I didn’t because I wouldn’t know what to do with them. Never tried them before. Then, you posted this! I will be sure to pick them wheatberries this weekend.
I don’t believe I have ever had a wheat berry. Although there was something that looked like it in this salad I just had and if they are one in the same, then I agree…fantab. I like your idea about adding them to everything…now where to find them…..
Hi just found your blog and really like it. It’s always great to find blogs on running and eating!
I already wanted to make this, but the Hunger Games reference set it in stone. I read the whole series twice in a week (I read really fast so I re-read to make sure I didn’t miss anything the first time)(the number of times I’ve read Harry Potter is just embarrassing). I will get myself to a bulk bin. I’m kind of guessing I won’t need a bow.
I’ve always wanted to scrape out vanilla beans!! This recipe gives me the perfect excuse. Yum Gina!
Definitely call this whatever you’d like…I would eat it! I love the wheatberries paired with rum. It’s the perfect naughty/nice combo. So worth the vanilla bean.
Yum! I love wheatberries! Never thought to use ‘em in dessert. You hooked me with rum!
Sometimes I put rum in my oatmeal before going to work. Look, if you worked with the lunatics that I work with, you would too. Not a ton of rum, but just a touch. And sometimes I put Bailey’s in my coffee too. Ok, this is getting embarrassing. I’m out.
You need to make this for me,! afterall, I made you Ina’s rum raisin rice pudding for your birthday
dessert last year! and like mother like daughter….wheatberries are my favorite grain too. love the chewiness.
yeah and this year you’re leaving me AND not even watching my dog…so I’ll have to think about it!
Ok you convinced me. Must buy some wheat berries.