The diagram below and contained in most of
my class packets shows a typical grain configuration.
As most of you know, the part mainly
used in commercial flour and meal is the endosperm or starchy portion.
Even some commercial flour billed as whole wheat isn’t really made
by grinding the whole grain.
This simplified drawing is applied mainly
to wheat but most other grains have similar parts, but arrangement may be
different. Quinoa, for example, has a tail-like germ portion that rings
the grain and pulls away and curls when cooked.
Chaff, Husks and Hulls: Many
grains, including wheat, have a loose outer coating that is removed during
the harvesting process. Without the husk, the grain can still sprout as a
seed. How easily the husk can be removed has influenced grain selection
and development over time. Ancient Spelt, a form of wheat, probably lost
favor because the husk isn’t easily removed. Regular barley has a
tenacious husk sometimes called a hull or spiklets that must be removed
before cooking or grinding. Its two outer most layers are inedible.
Bran: A coating under
the husk designed to protect the germ and the endosperm that it surrounds.
The bran may be in several layers and in some grains, such as tef, may
account for a significant part of the whole; Bran is an excellent source
of fiber. It is often sifted from flour, although the home miller can
leave it in, producing a more rustic flour or meal, which is what we
recommend.
Germ: The embryo of the
grain ¾ the part that sprouts
into a new life. It is packed full of vitamins and minerals, as well as
oil. Commercial millers remove this to extend the shelf life.
Endosperm: The largest
part of the grain, made up mostly of starch or carbohydrates and used as
food for the developing embryo during the sprouting and early growing
stages. Generally, it makes up by far the largest part, in volume, of the
gain.
Berry (e.g., Wheat Berry, Rye
Berry): The whole kernel of the grain, minus the easily removed
outer husk. The berry always contains the several layers of bran, the germ
and the large endosperm, which contains most of the starch. Usually, the
term “berry’ is applied the wheat, rye and wheat-like grains, not to corn,
oats or barley. But the term is not exacting. Essentially, however, a
grain berry is simply a seed. Berries can be in the dried or cooked
form.
Grist: Gains and seeds
suitable for grinding into meal or flour. Colonists’ mills were referred
to as gristmills.
Groats: This term generally
applied to hulled grains, especially buckwheat, but also works with barley
and other grains. Groats is the correct term for oats as well.
Flour: The berry or groat, or
a portion thereof, ground down to a powder. The term usually applies to
wheat flour, available in many forms, nutritious or not! The term “whole
wheat” can be misleading because such flour is not necessarily made by
grinding the whole berry.
Meal: Similar to flour
but not as finely ground. The term usually applies to cornmeal but is not
limited to maize (corn). Too often meal comes from degerminated grain.
Grits and Cracked Grain:
Refers to a coarse meal. The term “hominy grits” is misleading. The term
“cracked” can also be used to describe grits and grain products of similar
texture. These can be made by grinding or by pounding. Ideally, the very
fine grits and the very coarse will be separated by sifting, leaving the
main product of uniform size.
Polished: Some commercial
grains, such as white rice and pearly barley, have all or part of their
bran ground away, mostly for appearance. With the bran goes all or part of
the germ.
