CFD Publications

GRAINS

GRAINS should have 10% or less moisture to store well.

WHEAT, sometimes called “wheat berries,” should be #1 grade (not less than 60 lbs. per bushel) hard winter wheat or hard spring wheat of 12-16% protein. It should be cleaned for human consumption (usually triple cleaned) and free from foreign particles or materials.

Testing “old” WHEAT (try both before considering discarding the wheat)
1. Sprout 100 kernels of wheat. If 50 or more sprout, the wheat is still good.
2. Grind the wheat into flour and make bread. If the bread rises and bakes well, the wheat is still good.

1 cup whole grain wheat = 1-2/3 cups whole wheat flour

BREAD FLOUR is flour with a higher percentage of protein than all-purpose flour. Therefore, bread can be made with less flour and still produce a good structure when it is baked. It is flour from hard wheat, whereas, all-purpose flour is a mixture of hard and soft wheats.
HARD WHEAT - high-gluten wheat generally used as bread flour.
SOFT WHEAT - low-gluten wheat used for pastry flour.
DURUM WHEAT - very hard spring wheat used for pasta and couscous.
WHITE WHEAT - usually refers to hard white spring wheat. It is lighter in color and flavor than hard red wheats and bakes into a lighter textured product.
BULGUR - whole wheat that has been steamed, dried, and then cracked.

“GLUTEN making is a novel process of extracting the major proteins from wheat flour by washing away the starch granules after the dough is developed. Unfortunately the wheat germ, which is higher in nutrition, is also washed away, as are most of the water soluble B vitamins and the small percentage of water soluble protein in the wheat. As the wheat kernel protein is not a high quality protein to begin with, the loss of the wheat germ protein and the water soluble protein is significant.
Though somewhat wasteful of nutrients, time, and food, using gluten is not a harmful practice unless people get the wrong idea of using it as a meat substitute. It has approximately one-half the quality of meat protein in sustaining growing children.”
--Dr. Hal Johnson, Brigham Young University

LONG GRAIN RICE - The most popular rice in the United States. It is usually enriched with powdered niacin, thiamin, and iron. Do not rinse before using.
CONVERTED RICE - White rice that has been soaked, steamed, and dried before the hull is removed. It retains slightly more nutrients than regular white rice. It is not precooked and may require more cooking time and more liquid than standard white rice.
INSTANT RICE - Rice that has been completely cooked and dried. It rehydrates when soaked in boiling water.
BROWN RICE - Rice that retains the grain's bran, but not its hull. Nutritionally, brown rice is similar to enriched white varieties, except that it contains slightly more trace minerals and a bit more fat. It also has up to three times more fiber--about 2 grams per half-cup serving.
WILD RICE - not actually a rice, but the seed of an aquatic grass.

PEARL BARLEY - has the outer hull, most of the bran, and some of the germ removed.
HULLED BARLEY (Scotch or Pot barley) - less processed than pearl barley. Requires a longer cooking time.
HULLESS BARLEY - cultivated so that the hull comes off more easily and does not require polishing or “pearling.”

DENT CORN - a variety of corn used for cornmeal, animal feed and hominy.
INDIAN CORN - ancient varieties of corn usually in colors other than yellow.
POPCORN - the only corn variety that will pop because of its hard outer covering and low moisture content. Can also be ground into cornmeal.

OAT GROATS - whole grain oats.
STEEL-CUT OATS (Irish or Scotch oats) - oat groats that have been cut into 2 or 3 pieces with a steel blade.
ROLLED OATS (Old-fashioned oats) - oat groats that have been steamed and rolled flat.
QUICK OATS - steel cut oats that have been steamed and rolled flat. They are thinner and cook faster than rolled oats.
OAT FLAKES - similar to rolled oats but thicker.

AMARANTH - the tiny seed of a broadleaf plant native to Central America. It is high in protein and fiber and contains Vitamin C.

BUCKWHEAT - the triangular seed of a leafy plant. Roasted buckwheat is called kasha.

JOB’S TEARS - an ancient grain highly regarded in the Far East. It looks like a large pearl barley or a small white bean.

KAMUT - an ancient variety of wheat sometimes called Egyptian wheat.

MILLET - a round yellow seed used throughout the world since ancient times. In the U.S., it is most commonly used as birdseed.

QUINOA (KEEN-wah) - a small flat round seed native to the Andes Mountains and used anciently by Aztec and Mayan Indians. It is one of the few grains that is a complete protein.

RYE - similar to wheat but contains less gluten. It is darker in color and stronger in flavor than wheat.

SPELT - similar to wheat and thought to be an ancestor of modern day hybrid wheats. High in gluten, it may be used like wheat in baking. People with wheat allergies are often able to eat spelt.

TEFF - the tiniest grain. It is a highly nutritious ancient grain still commonly used in Ethiopia.

TRITICALE - a cross between wheat and rye. It has less gluten than wheat but more than rye.

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Copyright © 2004 - 2008 Cheryl Driggs
Last modified: 04/15/2008