Workshop 6 Flashcards
Cereals/ cereal grains
= edible seeds of plants, belong to grass family
Cereals are rich/low in
- Rich in carbs
- Low in fat
- Contain fair protein
- Rich in iron, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, vitamin E, B vitamins, folate
Outer layers of cereals are rich in
in B vitamins, folate
Germ is rich in
Vitamin E
Amylose =
ex:
= tightly ordered, close bonds, require higher temperatures, more water & cooking time
Ex: Chinese rice
Amylopectin =
Ex:
= highly branched, forms looser clusters, stickier product when cooked
Ex: Japanese rice
Long-gain rice : high __ content
amylose
-> it hardens overnight in fridge
Short-grain rice : high __ content
amylopectin
- > remains soft overnight
- > sticky rice
What forms when cooking seeds in water?
Dextrin forms: enhances flavor
Grains require __ their volume in liquid
2-3 times
Gelatinization:
conversion of solid starch into a starch-water gel (improves digestibility), occurs at temperatures that depends on seed and starch (about 60-70°C)
What can help re-gelatinize
Reheating and/or adding liquid
To decrease cooking times:
Pre-gelatinization or addition of disodium phosphate
Retrogradation:
Starch molecules begins to reform in clusters, with pockets of water in between, causing the starch granules to firm up once again. = after cooking and cooling below gelatinization temp
Storage of cereals
Storage= 3-4 days in fridge once cooked
Cereal grain types :
BARLEY, CORNMEAL, MILLET, OATS, RICE, RYE, TRITICALE, WHEAT
BARLEY
- Excellent source of soluble fiber
- Used in beer production
- Flakes, grits, hulled, pearled, pot (Scotch)
- Hulled barley: includes bran, more iron, manganese, phosphorus, thiamin than pearled
- Pot barley: doesn’t have all the bran removed
CORNMEAL
- Coarsely ground corn
- De-germed to extend shelf-life
- Used in baking or as hot cereal
- Used to make polenta (Italian)
MILLET
- Africa
* Simmered with seasonings for a main dish, breakfast or dessert
OATS
- Oat bran, oat groats (whole kernels), rolled oats (old-fashioned, quick-cooking, instant), steel-cut oats (thinly sliced lengthwise, Ireland or Scotland)
- Used in granola (baked) or muesli (uncooked)
- Commercial cereal mixtures: high in hydrogenated and/or tropical oils
RICE
- Short, medium and long grain types
- Outer inedible husk is removed from rice grains –> milling: removes bran & germ (its extent influences the rice’s nutritional value)
RYE
- Robust flavor, Staple in Eastern Europe, Russia
- Thrives in cold & wet areas
- Cracked rye, rye flakes, whole rye berries
TRITICALE
- Hybrid of wheat & rye
- Nutty flavor
- Cracked triticale, triticale berries and flakes
WHEAT
- Doesn’t thrive in cold & wet areas
- Most important cereal crop
- Processed or ready-to eat breakfast cereals= more costly than cooked cereal in their natural form
Wheat is available as:
o bulgur (steam-cooked, dried and cracked into different granulations)
o cracked wheat
o rolled wheat
o wheat berries
o farina (cream of wheat): the bran + germ are removed from cream of wheat => enriched with lost nutrients
o wheat germ: eaten as cereal or used in baking (fair amount of fat, needs to be refrigerated)
o wheat bran: used as cereal or in baking
o Kamut + spelt: ancient grains of wheat
Pseudo cereals
= plant seeds, not members of the grass family, consumed similar to true cereals
Types of pseudo cereals
QUINOA, AMARANTH
QUINOA
- Ancient-grain like product, related to leafy vegetables
- Flatter than millet but same size
- Expands up to 4x its volume in cooking
- Rinse to remove natural, bitter saponin coating
- Cooks in 15 minutes, in double its volume of water
- More expensive than most grains
- Native to Andes, staple to Incas
Types of pseudo cereals
QUINOA, AMARANTH, BUCKWHEAT
BUCKWHEAT
- Fruit of a leafy plant
- Strong nutty flavor
- Buckwheat groats= kernels that can be cooked like rice
- Kasha= roasted buckwheat groats that are cracked (Eastern Europe)
- Grits= finely ground, makes hot cereal
- Indigenous to China
PASTA
- Homemade/fresh pasta = superior flavor & texture to commercial dried pasta
- Long preparation time
- Made from durum semolina from ground durum wheat grains (variety of hard wheat)
- Couscous= very small pasta often mistaken for a grain
- Homemade: the texture, is chewier. Cooks a lot faster. Eggs give it a softer texture.
Gluten
Some grains produce a protein complex
Gluten sources:
- Wheat
- Rye
- Triticale
- Barley
- Oats
Gluten-free grains:
- Rice
- Corn
- Millet
- Sorghum
- Teff
Cooking grains
2 basic methods:
Absorption method:
Pasta method:
Cooking grains
2 basic methods:
Absorption method: Boil water + grain – maintain a simmer – cover & cook until grains tender – remove from heat – sit & cover for 10 min
Pasta method: Boil water - add salt - add grains (water covers 3”) - simmer uncovered – drain - return to pot to steam for 10 min covered
Advantage of pasta method =
doesn’t require exact liquid measurement
Millet, quinoa, brown rice, whole wheat berries are cooked using __ method
Pasta method:
Millet, quinoa, brown rice, whole wheat berries are cooked using __ method
Pasta method
Rice, bulgur, quinoa, millet are cooked using __ method
Absorption method
Whole wheat, spelt, rye berries are cooked using __ method
Slow-cooking methods :
Quick-soak method
Pasta method:
How is the pasta method different for slow-cooking?
boil 4 cups water - add 1 cup of grain – simmer - drain – cover on heat to steam off for 5-10 min
Quick-soak method:
cover grains with 2” water – bring to boil – cook 2 min – remove from heat – sit 1 hour – drain and cook as directed
