Wheat is the queen of cereals. She was always treated with respect. Its spikelets, grain and products from it were even considered sacred by many peoples. It can be grown almost anywhere. No wonder wheat is distributed on all continents of the globe. It is divided into hard and soft grades. Today we look at what wheat is made of and why it is so popular. After all, this grain is extremely versatile, it can be used in many situations. Flour, cereals, pasta, confectionery, and even vodka and beer - this is not the most complete list of products from this grain. This is its main value. We will also mention whether it is worth consuming germinated wheat. The benefits, harms and advice of doctors on this subject will be discussed below.
Nutritional qualities
Wheat contains more than 60 percent starch, 22% protein. It contains fats and fiber. In wheat, many trace elements useful for health were found, such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, and also vitamins, especially group B. Almost all the protein of this cereal is absorbed by the body. Therefore, it makes special nutritious cereals for healthy breakfasts. The most basic protein found in wheat is gluten. On the one hand, it is useful, but there are many people for whom this substance is the strongest allergen. Therefore, young children under one year old are not recommended to give cereals from cereals, which are based on wheat flour.
Types of wheat
To correctly answer the question of what is made from wheat, you first need to consider how its soft and hard varieties differ. The latter have a very high protein content. Flour from such wheat may be cream colored. It is difficult to grind grain from it, but the dough turns out to be very elastic and elastic. Soft wheat has little protein. The flour from it is crumbly, and the products are very tender. Therefore, bakers and confectioners really appreciate her. No wonder it is from such flour that the most delicious desserts are made. The ancestor of all modern varieties of soft wheat is considered spelled. It was cultivated in ancient Egypt. Its grain is difficult to free from the shell, it contains more vitamins and nutrients than current types of grain, and gluten, on the contrary, is less. Now it is not grown on an industrial scale, although nutritionists highly recommend this particular plant.
Bread
What is made from wheat? First of all, flour. And bread is baked from it. He is the most nutritious and delicious. By its qualities, it surpasses bread from any other flour. But soft breads are needed to make bread. Its calorie content is 242 calories per 100 grams of product.
Since ancient times, people could not imagine life without bread. He was always considered the main thing on the table. Even the gospel speaks of the "bread of life." And in many cultures, it has a sacred status and has become a symbol of food. In addition, wheat bread is not only tasty, but also convenient. It is eaten for breakfast, taken with you to work or on a camping trip in the form of sandwiches. However, the most healthy bread is made from high-quality, not processed with chemicals, wheat flour, purified water and natural sourdough. Preservatives, vegetable oils, yeast, milk, eggs are often added to the store product. And the flour in such bread is refined. That is, all useful substances are removed from it. Therefore, it is best to bake the bread yourself. After all, then you control the entire process of its manufacture.
Groats
But not only wheat bread is on our table. Often cereals are made from this grain. It comes in many forms. The most famous in our area is semolina. This is coarse grits. It is used not only for making well-known semolina porridge, but also for various casseroles, dumplings, puddings, as well as pies. It is obtained most often from soft varieties of wheat.
Groats are useful in that when processing grain is not released from all shells. It is ground and crushed. And porridge is cooked from grains and added to salads. From it you can also bake muffin. In Asian and African countries, another type of wheat cereal is very common - couscous. To get it, wheat grains are dipped in water, then ground, rolled into miniature balls and dried. Another type of cereal is also popular - bulgur. For its preparation, wheat grains are steamed, and thus they retain most of their valuable properties. Pilaf is often made from bulgur. It can completely replace rice. Couscous has a neutral taste, so it is often combined with vegetables, meat, fish, spices. Bulgur is best warmed in oil or fat. Then his taste will be fully revealed. Durum wheat is used to make bulgur and couscous.
Yeast
This biological baking powder is actually a fungus or microorganism. It is most often made from wheat flour. In production, liquid yeast is used, with which bread is baked on an industrial scale. In the household, we are mainly dealing with pressed and dry products. Such yeast needs to be activated. Basically, they are dissolved in warm water or milk. Sometimes, to avoid baking with chemicals, people make wheat yeast at home. This process is rather laborious. But the bread becomes the most "home". Yeast is made from good wheat flour. Half a glass of it is mixed with 150 grams of warm water and left for three days. The temperature should be room temperature. Every day, pour a spoonful of warm water into the mixture. Then it is boiled over low heat, and when it cools down, add another spoonful of flour. The mixture is left for another two days. During this time, add another spoonful of flour there. Finally, the mixture is covered with a towel and wait another two days. The yeast is ready, but they are not stored for long.
Vodka
Wheat mash - or, colloquially, moonshine - is one of the most popular alcoholic drinks among the Eastern Slavs until the nineteenth century. Bread vodka was even considered a medicine. This is a strong drink. At least it should have 32 degrees of alcohol. It is prepared on wild yeast from grain, insisting with the addition of sugar. The best quality moonshine is wheat mash. To prepare it, take 4 kilograms of grain, pour water and add 800 grams of sugar. Wheat is left for 5 days in a dark place without a lid, and when fermentation begins, syrup is prepared. It is boiled in a volume of 1 kilogram of sugar per 5 liters of water and poured into the sourdough. Then the container is closed with a lid, put under a water lock and maintain room temperature, so that after 6 days a wort is formed. It is filtered and distilled using any apparatus. Since the resulting drink is very strong (up to 80 degrees), it is diluted with water.
What kind of wheat is pasta made from?
It would seem that the answer to this question is very simple. These are flour products of various shapes, and before eating, they are boiled. But the real wheat pasta is Italian, or at least cooked according to the recipe from this country. They should be made only from flour and water. Wheat is used for their production of hard varieties. Of course, eggs, vegetables, and milk are often added to pasta. But it will not be quite that. Durum wheat pasta has a lot of healthy proteins, no fats, and nutrients are balanced. Therefore, from such products do not get fat, and the body at the same time gets everything you need. In other countries, including Russia, pasta is often made with the addition of soft flour. This is pasta. If you use them, especially with fatty sauces, then you can really quickly gain weight.
Sprouted wheat: benefits, harms and advice of doctors
This product is often considered essential for a healthy diet. Doctors and scientists discuss how beneficial it is to the body and whether it can be harmful. The established fact is that sprouted wheat not only contains the same nutrients and valuable substances as in grain, but also in much larger quantities. This is especially true for iron. This is because the seed "comes to life", and the enzymes that are in it begin to break down proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Therefore, they do everything in advance that our gastrointestinal tract must fulfill. We can only learn all this. Therefore, those who eat sprouted wheat receive a huge charge of vivacity and energy. But such a product can cause harm to children under 12 years old, patients with a stomach ulcer, who are allergic to gluten, and also who have recently undergone surgery. Doctors also note that sprouted wheat contains a large amount of pectin protein, and this can badly affect the metabolism.
What is made from winter wheat
This type of grain in terms of protein exceeds spring. However, among 22 types of winter wheat, only a few belong to durum, the rest to soft. Therefore, mainly bread, pastries, desserts are made from it. What else is made of winter wheat? It makes delicious buns. But pasta is good only from a few varieties of this grain. Basically pasta comes out of it. Groats from winter wheat differ in color from spring - it is fawn or with a shade of gray.