Wheat
Rice
Oats
Maize
Cereals are important foods all over the world. They are
relatively cheap to grow and people eat a lot of them. In
many countries cereals are a staple food e.g. rice in china
and the Far East, wheat in Europe, maize in Mexico.
Buying cereal foods…. Which cereals foods are used in the following
digestive biscuits,
oatmeal cookies, custard powder,
cornflakes,
rice crispies,
popcorn, muesli,
weetabix,
couscous,
cornbread,
ground rice,
tortilla chips,
semolina,
maize oil,
pasta,
bread buns
polenta,
rice paper,
porridge
NUTRITION
Cereals are an important source of
starchy carbohydrate for energy in
the starch, and whole grain products
from cereals contain fibre, for healthy
digestion. They also give us LBV
protein, vitamin B, and minerals
Flour
All cereals - and root crops - can be
ground or milled into flour
This flour then makes pasta,
noodles, bread, biscuits and
cakes
As well as thickening
sauces
Wheat flour
Can be classified according to:
a. How much and which parts of the grain are used
b. The type of wheat used
a.
• White flour is 72% of the
grain - the 28% not used is the
bran and germ
• Wholemeal flour is 80-90%
of the grain - the coarser bran
is not used
• Brown flour is a mixture of
white and wholemeal flour
b.
• Hard wheat produces strong
flour that has a high protein
content. The protein is called
gluten - this makes ‘stretchy’
dough
• Soft wheat produces soft
flour that has less protein in it
and makes a ‘crumbly’ dough
Wheat flour
Is combined with other ingredients and
used for a wide variety of food products:
Water and
sometimes egg
make pasta
Yeast to
make bread
Fat and water
to make
pastry
Fat, sugar and eggs
to make cakes and
biscuits
Water
and salt
to make
couscous
Water and eggs to
make noodles
(some noodles are made
from other flours such as
rice)
Strong and Soft flour
Strong flour with its high
protein content (gluten)
is ideal for mixtures that
need elastic stretchy
doughs such as:
•Bread
•Pasta
•Flaky or
puff pastry
•Choux
pastry
Soft flour has a very low protein
content and produces a melt-in-themouth texture. It is ideal for rich
cakes and biscuits
Self-raising flour or SR flour is a
medium soft flour with a chemical
raising agent added
The amount added is enough for an
ordinary sponge cake
But not enough for scones
And too much for very rich egg and fat
mixtures
Whole Grains
Maize is eaten whole
Rice and Quinoa are eaten as a
starchy food instead of the
traditional potatoes
Bulgur wheat (or
cracked wheat)
is a sort of whole
grain
Wheat is boiled, dried
and ground into small
pieces
Tabbouleh is made
from this
As a vegetable
Quinoa
• Is a ‘grain’ from the Andes Mountain in South America
• It has more protein in it than any other grain
• Its protein is complete like the protein in soya beans
and all animal foods
• It is a very good source of iron and other minerals
• When cooked - it looks like mini frog spawn!
Rice - can be brown or white and long or short grain
Short grain rice ‘clump’ together when cooked. Pudding rice
and Arborio (risotto) rice are examples
Long grain rice remain firm and
separated when cooked
Basmati rice is a very long thin fragrant
grain served
with curries