Cereals are edible seeds that are used to create many different food products.
An edible seed[n 1] is a seed that is suitable for human consumption. Of the six major plant parts,[n 2] seeds are the dominant source of human calories and protein.[1] A wide variety of plant species provide edible seeds; most are angiosperms, while a few are gymnosperms. As a global food source, the most important edible seeds by weight are cereals, followed by legumes, nuts,[2] and spices.
Grain crops (cereals and millets) and legumes correspond with the botanical families Poaceae and Fabaceae, respectively, while nuts, pseudocereals, and other seeds form polyphylic groups based on their culinary roles.
Grains
Grains are the edible seed of a plants in the grass family Poaceae. Grains come in two varieties: the larger grains produced by drought-sensitive crops are called cereals and the smaller drought-resistant varieties are millets. Grains can be consumed in a variety of ways, all of which require husking and cooking, including whole, rolled, puffed, or ground into flour. Many cereals are present or past staple foods, providing a large fraction of the calories in the places in which they are eaten. Today, cereals provide almost half of all calories consumed in the world.[3]
A pseudocereal, or pseudocereal grain, is the edible seed of a pseudocereal, one of a polyphyletic group of plants that produce seeds that resemble those of cereals. Pseudocereals are used in many of the same ways as cereals.
A legume, or pulse, is the edible seed of a legume, a plant in the family Fabaceae.[4] Legumes can be divided into grams, which do not split, and dals, which split.
Although some beans can be consumed raw, some need to be heated before consumption. In certain cultures, beans that require heating are initially prepared as a seed cake. Beans that need heating include:[5]
According to the botanical definition, nuts are a particular kind of fruit.[6] Chestnuts, hazelnuts, and acorns are examples of nuts under this definition. In culinary terms, however, the term is used more broadly to include fruits that are not botanically qualified as nuts, but that have a similar appearance and culinary role. Examples of culinary nuts include almonds and cashews.[7][8]
↑ "Pulses and derived products". Definition and Classification of Commodities. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 1994. Archived from the original on 2018-10-17. Retrieved 2006-12-26.
↑ Isaacs, Jennifer. Bush food: Aboriginal food and herbal medicine.
↑ "Nut". Biology Online Dictionary. October 3, 2005. Retrieved 2006-12-26.
↑ "Nut". The Columbia Online Encyclopedia. 2003. Retrieved 2006-12-26.
↑ "Nuts and derived products". Definition and Classification of Commodities. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 1996. Archived from the original on 2018-12-24. Retrieved 2006-12-26.
Further reading
Bailey, L.H., Bailey, E.Z. and Bailey Hortorium Staff (1976). Hortus Third. New York: Macmillan.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
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