Too much liquid will make them soft, too little liquid, dry. A crooked lid and too high a flame may scorch them. But rarely are they inedible. If you are new to cooking and eating whole grains, there are a few things that will make a difference in how your palette and your body respond. This food group needs to have the respect and time of a good chew.
Grains begin digesting in the mouth with saliva while chewing.
The more you chew them, the tastier they become. Energetically, these grains, no longer whole in shape and form, are distinguished from millet, oats, quinoa, Job's tears, and the rice family, all of which are dish grains. Bread grains are usually milled into meal or flour before cooking. Occasionally bread grains are cooked whole, but rarely are they the main ingredients in a grain dish. Grains have individual personalities, but as a food group they are generically boring and sometimes dull.