CEREALS

z AND MILLETS
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INTRODUCTION

▪ Good food is essential for health as well as survival of human beings. Human
beings depend on plants (and on animals that eat plants) for their food. The
food we eat provides substances needed for good health. These nutrients
provide materials for building, repairing or maintaining body tissues. They
also regulate body processes and serve as fuel to provide energy. Nutrients
are classified into five main groups: carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals
and vitamins. All of these are important in the daily diet; and are obtained
from different plants. The cereal or grain crops are the most important
sources of food for man and provide the basic or staple diet. They contain
carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals and vitamins, and thus have good
nutritive value.
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Cont.

▪ These were amongst the first plants to be cultivated or domesticated. They

have been grown and used by man since ancient times. It is believed that
barley and wheat were first grown in Western Asia at least 9000 years ago.
This provided the basis for civilizations of Mesopotamia, Sumeria, Babylon,
Egypt, Rome, Italy and others. Similarly, rice served as the important cereal
for the civilizations in Soah East Asia and maize for civilisations in the New
World. The cereals not only serve as food for man, but are also important for
many industrial purposes. Cereals as well as other grasses are also used as
fodder for livestock. Only a few of the more than 10,000 species of the grass'
family have been domesticated by man.
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Objectives
At the end of this lesson the students would be able to know the:
▪ importance of food for health and survival;
▪ discuss sources of plant food;
▪ explain different cereal and millet crops;
▪ Wheat Barley
▪ Maize Triticale.
▪ Rice
▪ Rye
▪ Oats.
▪ Sorghum
 z Cereal

A cereal is any grass that is grown for its grain. Cereal grains provide
more food energy than any other type of crop. A crop which is very important to the
world's diet is called a staple crop. The word cereal comes from "Ceres", the Roman
goddess of farming. Cereals were first cultivated by the ancient peoples called the
Sumerians in the area of the Middle East between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. Cereal
grains in their unprocessed form are called ' whole grain', and are a rich source of
vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, fats, oils, and protein. Because of their high energy
content, people on a diet are advised only to eat small amounts of them each day.
Processing cereals is known as refining. Refined removes the bran and germ from the
grain, leaving a white substance that is mostly carbohydrate. We know it as flour, and it is
used to make everything from bread to pizzas. Rice is often milled (put between rotating
rollers) to remove its hard outer shell, but this makes it less nutritious. People often call
grains processed for breakfast 'cereals' because wheat flakes, bran flakes, puffed rice
and so on are all cereal grains.
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Cont.

▪ The cereals are composed of endosperm, germ and bran.

▪ 1. Endosperm: a food storage tissue present in the seed. It is the starchy
part of the grain that remains after the refining of cereals; generally
obtained by removal of germ and bran.
▪ 2. Germ: it is the reproductive part of the cereal that germinates and later
grows into a plant.
▪ 3.Bran: the outer covering of a cereal grain is known as bran. It is used as
a source of dietary fiber.
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WHEAT

▪ Wheat is the world's most important food plant for more than one third of
the world's population. Hundreds of millions of people throughout the
world depend on foods made from the kernels (seeds or grains) of the
wheat plant. It is also probably the oldest crop known in cultivation. Long
before the beginning of agriculture, people gathered wild wheat for food. It
is believed that agriculture originated in the Middle East when wheat was
first cultivated in ancient times. There are several archeological evidences
to show the presence of carbonized wheat grains at the Neolithic sites in
Jarmo in northern Iraq, and in central and north eastern Europe dating
back to the period 6750 B.C. to 7500 B.C. These and other observatories
suggest that wheat spread rapidly and widely throughout Asia and Europe
after its domestication in the middle East.
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Structure of Wheat Plant Structure of Wheat Grain
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Uses
▪ Wheat is consumed in various forms and, in some areas it is consumed at
every meal in some form or the other. The grain is ground into flour which is
used for making bread. The flour contains gluten, a protein which makes the
dough elastic. This elasticity of the dough is essential in making bread, as it
allows the dough to rise when it is baked with yeast.
▪ The wheat grain is rich in nutrients including protein, starch, vitamins,
essential minerals , such as iron and phosphorus. Whole wheat flour made
from the entire grain is more nutritious than white flour made by using roller
mills.
▪ Besides food, wheat is also used in several other ways. The bran is an
important constituent of livestock and poultry feed. Wheat is used industrially
for the manufacture of starch, gluten, alcohol, adhesives, polish etc. Wheat
straw is used as a livestock feed, compost and for making baskets, hats,
strawboards, paper or even simple toys.
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MAIZE

▪ Maize or corn is one of the three major cereals which are the
chief sources of energy in the human diet. In the order of world
grain production, maize ranks second, after wheat. Rice is a
close third. Maize is the most widely distributed cereal crop with
a very interesting history of its origin. It is perhaps America's
greatest gift to mankind. Maize has an amazing number of uses
as food for man, livestock feed and for making many kinds of
non-food products.
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Structure of Maize Plant
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▪ Maize is used for three main purposes: (i) as human food; (ii) as feed for
livestock; and (iii) as raw material for many industrial products. Besides these,
maize also has a number of subsidiary uses. The maize grain is especially rich
in starch. Besides starch, maize also supplies fats and proteins. Zein is the
predominant protein in maize. However, maize protein is deficient in the amino
acids tryptophan and lysine. Because of this, it is necessary to supplement a
diet of maize with an alternative protein source to provide a balanced diet.
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Rice

▪ Rice, (Oryza sativa), edible starchy cereal grain and

the grass plant (family Poaceae) by which it is produced. Roughly one-half
of the world population, including virtually all of East and Southeast Asia,
is wholly dependent upon rice as a staple food; 95 percent of the world’s
rice crop is eaten by humans. Rice is cooked by boiling, or it can be ground
into a flour. It is eaten alone and in a great variety of soups, side dishes,
and main dishes in Asian, Middle Eastern, and many other cuisines.
z Structure of Rice Grain
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Uses
▪ Being an important cereal, rice supplies about half the calories in the daily diet of
millions of people in South East Asia. It is an excellent source of carbohydrates and
also has small amounts of proteins, minerals and vitamins. Rice has very little fat
and is easy to digest. About 90% of the rice is cooked and eaten in various ways
with pulses, vegetables, fish or meat.
▪ There are several byproducts of rice which are useful in various ways.
▪ Rice husk is used as fuel for rice mills, for making hardboard and as an abrasive.
Furfural (see maize) is also made from rice hull.
▪ Rice bran, obtained during polishing brown rice for producing white rice, is used as a
livestock and poultry feed. Oil, extracted from the bran, is used for cooking and in
the manufacture of soap.
▪ Rice straw is fed to cattle. It is also used for making straw board, thatches, mats and
hats.
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Rye

▪ Rye, (Secale cereale), also called cereal rye or winter

rye, cereal grass (family Poaceae) and its edible grain that is chiefly
used to make rye bread and rye whiskey. It is high
in carbohydrates and dietary fibre and provides small quantities
of protein, potassium, and B vitamins. Rye is also used as livestock
feed, as a pasture plant, and as a green manure crop that is plowed
under to improve the soil. Its tough fibrous straw can be used for
thatching, mattresses, hats, and paper.
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Structure of Rye
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Uses
▪ Rye is sometimes called the "grain of poverty" because it provides the
daily bread to a vast population in areas where natural conditions provide
no other alternative. Beside wheat, this is the only other cereal which can
be used for making bread. The food value of rye is nearly equal to that of
wheat. The bread made from rye flour is dark, almost black and bitter but
nutritious. Since rye flour has less of gluten, the yeast cannot raise the rye
dough as easily as wheat dough. Thus rye bread is heavier and more
compact than wheat bread.
▪ Rye is also used in the manufacture of alcoholic beverages such as
whiskey, gill and beer. It's straw is long, smooth and easy to bend. 'It is
ils~d as packing material, for stuffing mattresses, or ifor making hats,
mats and paper. This is also used for thatched roofs because it decays
less rapidly than most other kinds of straw.
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Oats
▪ Oats belong to the botanical genus Avena, which includes a large number of types,
the principal being A. sativa, A. sterilisand A. strigosa. Oats are widely grown in
most countries but are not suitable for Mediterranean climates. Oats are frequently
grown on farms as feed for the farm’s livestock. They are well balanced chemically,
with fairly high fat content, and are particularly suitable for feeding horses and
sheep.
▪ Although a large portion of the world’s oat production is used for animal feed,
oatmeal is a popular human food in many countries. Thin-skinned grains, fairly rich
in protein and not too starchy, are selected. Preliminary cleaning is essential for
human consumption. The oats are then kilned (roasted). Thin-husked oats yield 60
percent oatmeal; varieties with thick husks yield only 50 percent.
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Cont.

▪ Rapid development of rancidity is a serious problem in oats and oat

products. The free fatty acid content must be controlled because formation
of these acids tends to produce a soapy taste resulting from the activity of
the enzyme lipase. A few minutes of steam treatment normally destroys
the lipase activity in the grain.
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Structure of Oats
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Uses

▪ Oats are inexpensive, but the most nutritious of all cereals. They are
rich in starch high quality protein, vitamin B, fat and minerals. However,
only a small proportion of the oats cultivated in the world are
consumed as human food. Oat meal, made by coarse grinding, and
rolled oats are commonly eaten as breakfast cereal. This is not
suitable for making bread because it does not contain gluten. Oats are
also used in making cakes, biscuits and infant foods. The major portion
of the oat crop is consumed as feed for livestock, especially horses,
cattle and poultry. Oats grown for hay or silage are harvested when the
plants are green and the seeds are soft. These are fed to livestock
during winter. The straw frorn oats is used as bedding for livestock.
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Sorghum

▪ Sorghum, also called milo, is of smaller size than corn but is generally the
same type of cereal, with similar appearance. Its numerous types are
mainly used for animal feeding. It is grown extensively in the United
States, Pakistan, central India, Africa, and China. In the sorghum
endosperm, the proteins soluble in hot 60 percent alcohol, called
kafirin, constitute the major portion of the protein. Milo germ oil is
similar to corn germ oil; its major fatty acids are palmitic, stearic, and
particularly oleic and linoleic. Milo is commercially graded in the United
States. In waxy varieties the starch is principally in the form of
amylopectin, with very little amylose. Such starches possess special
viscosity characteristics.
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Structure of Sorghum Grain
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Uses
▪ In USA and other developed countries, the grain is chiefly used as feed
for livestock. Sorghum is widely used for brewing beer in Africa. This has
a high vitamin B content but it becomes sour rather rapidly due to the
production of acetic acid.
▪ Varieties with large juicy sweet stems are called sargos. They contain as
much as 10% sucrose and are chewed like sugarcane or used for the
manufacture of syrup from the juice. The presence of sugar in the stem,
makes the plant important as a fodder crop. The straw is also fed to
cattle. Some varieties with shortened inflorescences are used for making
brooms. The plants are harvested soon after flowering and the
inflorescence is dried after removing the seeds.
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Millets
▪ Millets are small-seeded grasses and grow well in dry zones. Millets require
warm temperature for germination and also for the development. Millets
cannot grow in water-logged soils. Millets are also preferred by the farmers
as they have a short growing season. It nearly takes sixty five days to
mature. Millets are known for their nutrition content. They are easy to digest
and also contain a high percentage of minerals like magnesium,
phosphorous and potassium. They are best grown by using farmyard
manure, under purely eco-friendly conditions.
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Cont.
▪ Millets are generally mild sweet and nutty. The seed of Millet is known to be an
ancient seed that was originally cultivated in the dry climates of Africa and
Northern China since the Neolithic Era. Ground form of millet is used in
making flatbreads. Millet has been used as bird and livestock feed in Western
Europe. The varieties of millet include pearl, foxtail, proso and finger. It is used
in main dishes as well as in desserts. Due to its nutty flavour it is preferred as
an additive to the basic recipe.
▪ Thus, we can define millets as a type of cereals. Like other cereals, millets are
also very rich in nutrient. Millets and other cereals are very important as they
help to meet the nutrient needs of humans. Millets are of great importance as
they have a short growing season and yield higher productivity even under
heat and drought conditions.