HAVRE, MONT. — Nutrition has been a top priority for Gruff Grains since its founding in January 2022. The Havre-based company makes whole grain grits from ancient farro and emmer using regenerative farming practices. The company also produces Cream of the West, a whole grain cereal with all its bran, germ and endosperm intact, meaning that it is still full of protein fiber and minerals.

“We’re just trying to bridge the gap to wholesome delicious meals and we’re just excited to be part of a movement to bring more nutrition into the lives of consumers,” said Crystal Manuel, co-founder of Gruff Grains. “The natural fiber that our cereals offer is something that’s being talked a lot about in the food industry right now. It’s kind of funny, fiber’s kind of trending, but the reality is whole grains have always been a fantastic source of it. They’re actually a perfect source for it when whole, and so we’re really excited to be able to offer that to our consumers.”

In an August interview with Milling & Baking News, Manuel also discussed the company’s milling techniques and the future of Cream of the West.

When asked how Gruff Grains mills ancient grains, Manuel explained that she and her fellow farmers typically coarse crack ancient grains to keep them whole and keep the nutrients intact.

“Well, Gruff’s innovation is the milling process,” Manuel said. “Essentially, what we’ve decided to do is to coarse crack ancient grain grits … I have always worked with either whole grain flour or with whole berry ancient grains from off the farm that we grow, and I discovered that by coarse cracking them, we could cook them in 12 minutes versus 45 to 60 (minutes). And so that’s kind of where the idea came from to coarse crack them, but ideally the grains are left whole. It’s a whole berry, coarsely cracked. So essentially the nutrients are left intact, but it’s cracked enough that it cooks quicker.”

Speaking of nutrients, Manuel believes Gruff Grains’ grains are so nutrient dense because the company adheres to regenerative farming practices and undergoes thorough inspections.

 “So there are things that we have to adhere to every year,” Manuel said. “First of all, we have to do an organic certified inspection for that particular set of paperwork and for the certification of just the basic certified organic status on the farm. Once that’s complete, then we have another inspection by a different certifying agency for the regenerative organic certificate that we’ll receive. But in order to receive that, besides doing full farm tours and all the things that are required in terms of showing them what we do, we also have to provide soil samples. So we’re constantly monitoring the nutrient density and the health of our soils and then making adjustments on the farm as necessary to improve soils in whatever way that were able to with the means that we use, which could look like a number of things — from planting legumes to determining where to graze cattle — so that the fields have become naturally fertilized.”

Crystal Manuel. 

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| Photo: Western Ventures Photography

Regarding Cream of the West, Manuel said what separates it from other breakfast cereals is that it only contains one ingredient — 100% whole grains — whereas other cereals contain multiple ingredients.

“Well, the ingredient label is incredibly simple, which is something we’re really proud of, and it’s 100% whole grains,” she said. “Not just whole grains, which is definitely an identifier because oftentimes other cereal brands will use a variety of ingredients, sometimes even enriched ingredients or synthetic nutrients, to build out their cereal.  So the difference mainly with ours is that it’s essentially one ingredient. It’s just straightforward. It’s the whole ingredient. There’s nothing added and nothing stripped away from the grains that we use, so organic 100% whole grains.”

Cream of the West is sold in select grocery stores in Montana and the Western United States, as well as directly through the company’s website and through online retailers, including Walmart and Amazon.

Manuel said Gruff Grains plansto expand the Cream of the West brand into other categories while keeping the products organic.

“We have three new recipes designed for some really incredible organic, 100% whole grain pancakes,” Manuel said. “We have some things in the works for more blends and more types of cereal that will be coming forward. We have a granola product that is in the testing phases right now. So we intend on expanding the product line, but the most important thing is just the integrity of the sourcing of the ingredients and being true to the time-honored tradition of the company, which actually dates back to 1914.”