Chapter 21Cereal

Cereal Products

• Cereals are a major staple food for people throughout the world.

• East to grow and store• Low in cost $$• High-energy value

Types of cereal products

• Cereals are starchy grains that are suitable to use as foods

• Examples of cereals: Corn, wheat, rice, oats, barley, rye

• Cereal products are used to make the following: breakfast foods, flours, meals, breads, pasta products, and starches

Grain structure

• Differ in size and shape, but all have kernels• Kernel is a whole seed of a cereal

– Has three parts: bran, endosperm, and germ

• Bran: outer protective covering of the kernel– Good source of Vit., and fiber

• Endosperm: largest part of the kernel– Contains most of the starch ad protein, few minerals and

a little fiber– Holds the food supply the plant uses to grow

• Germ: reproductive part of the plant– Rich in Vit., protein, and fat– Smallest part of the kernel

Breakfast food• Corn, rice, wheat, and oats are popular

breakfast foods• Can be made from whole grain, enriched

refined grains or a combination of both• Can be presweetened, or unsweetened• Ready-to-eat or require some amount of

cooking– Ready-to-eat: puffed, shredded, flaked, granulated,

rolled, formed in diff shapes, completely precooked and require no further preparation

– Require cooking: cracked, crushed, granular, and flaked

• Require additional liquid and heat• Oatmeal and bran are good examples

Flour• Any grain can be made of flour• Wheat flours are most commonly used because the gluten in wheat flours is superior• Many different kinds of flours

– All-purpose: made from milled and sifted blend of different varieties• Consist primarily of the endosperm• Can buy bleached (whiter than unbleached) or unbleached • No nutritional difference between the two

– Cake flour: from soft wheat• Feels soft and satiny• Used for making cakes and other baked products with delicate textures

– Instant or quick mixing flours: all purpose flour that is specially treated to ………blend easily, • Used for gravies and sauces

Self-raising flour: all-purpose flour with added leavening agents and saltMust adjust your recipe when baking with this

Potato flour: made from cooked potatoes that are dried and groundpeople on wheat free diets use this type of flour

Buckwheat flour: made from sifted buckwheat mealUsed for many breakfast items, pancakes

Rye flour: sifted rye mealPopular for making breads

Soy flour: from ground soybeans• Has a strong flavor and must be combined with wheat flour in baked products

Rice flour: made by milling white riceWhite and starchy flour popular in Asia and the Far East

Rice• Rice (also called white rice) is the white, starchy endosperm of the

rice kernel• Brown rice has had the hull removed but contains the bran and

the germ as well as the endosperm• Classified according to length or method of processing

– Long rice is dry and fluffy when cooked• Used with meat

– Short grain rice is smaller and sticky when cooked• Used in puddings, croquettes and rice rings

– Parboiled or converted rice has been steeped in warm water, ………drained, steamed and dried

• Improves nutritive value – Precooked or instant rice has been cooked, rinsed and dried by ………

special process before packaging• Can be prepared at home in a short amount of time

– Wild rice is not really rice• Seed of a grass that grows in the marshes of Minnesota and Canada• Appealing nutlike flavor• Rather expensive

Pasta

• Pasta is nutritious• Shaped dough that may or may not be

dried• Some examples: macaroni, noodles,

spaghetti• Dough is made from semolina

– Produced from the durum wheat• Specially grown for pasta making

• Commercially made by a machine, can be home made by hand

Other grain products• Cornmeal: made from ground white or yellow corn

– Often enriched• Hominy: popular food of south

– Corn minus the hull and germ– When broken into pieces it is hominy grits

• Cornstarch: refined starch obtained from endosperm of corn– Used to thickening agent in cooking

• Pearl barley; whole barley grain minus the hull– High in minerals– Used in soups

• Bulgur wheat: wheat that has been cooked, dried, partly de-branned, and cracked– Popular in the Middle East

• Wheat germ: portion of wheat kernel separated during milling– High in Vit. and minerals– Add to foods for flavor and nutrients

• Farina: wheat product made by grinding and sifting wheat that has had the bran and most of the germ removed– Used to thicken products– Cream of wheat is a popular brand

Selecting and storing cereal products

• Can be stored for extended periods of time without refrigeration

Nutritional value of cereal products

• Should eat 6-11 serving per day• Excellent source of complex carbohydrates• Whole grain cereals contribute thiamin,

niacin, riboflavin, iron and phosphorus• Enriched products have added nutrients to

replace the ones stripped in the milling process

• Federal law requires that some products be enriched

Cost of cereal products• Generally inexpensive• Convenience products and products with added

ingredients tend to cost more• Ready to eat cereal cost more than cereals that

require cooking• All purpose flour generally least expensive type of

flour• Specialty flours higher in price

• Pasta products regardless of shape or size are low in cost

• Fresh made pastas are more expensive

• Long grain and short grain rice are the lowest priced rice products

• Wild rice and seasoned rice mixes carry higher price tag

Storing cereal products

• Store in tightly covered containers in a cool dry place

• Breakfast foods keep well for up to 3 months

• Brown and wild rice keep for up to 6 months

• White rice keeps for up to 1 year

Cooking starches

• Starch is a complex carb. • Stored in plants• Cereals grains as well as roots and

tubers contain plant cells that are the sources of starch

• Wheat flour, cornstarch and tapioca are used in cooking

Uses of starches

• Primarily as thickening

Food science principles of cooking with starch

• Differs in chemical structure and composition

• All behave differently– Some form gels, weak gels, soft gels,

some are clear, some are semi clear others are opaque

Effects of heat and liquid on starch

• Granular starch is unable to dissolve in cold water• Dry heat causes starch to lose some of thickening

power• Dry heat also cause color and flavor changes• Dry heat causes dark crust on baked goods• Mixing starches with water and heating causes

them to become soluble, they absorb water and swell, as heating continues the thickening continues until it reaches gelatinization

• During cooling starch mixtures form a gel, gel network holds water, if stands too long, water may leak out, this is called syneresis

Factors affecting starch thickened mixtures

• Temperature, time, agitation and mixing method all affect outcome– Temperature: must be warm but not hot– Time: depends on the kind of starch used

• Once gelatinization occurs, cook for short period of time

– Agitation: gentle stirring helps to keep mixture smooth

• Aggressive stirring may break down starch granules and make mixture thinner

– Mixing method: if added directly to hot liquid, they will be lumpy

• Prevent lumping by coating with fat, combining with sugar or mixing with a cold liquid too form a paste

Cooking cereal products:Food science principles

of cooking cereal products

• Cereals contain large amounts of starch; principles used in cooking starches apply to cooking cereals

• Should use enough water to allow granules to swell

Preparing cooked breakfast cereals

• Boil water• Coarse, cracked cereals require 4 times their

volume of water • Flaked cereals (oatmeal) require two times their

volume of water• Whole grains cook more quickly if first soaked in

water to soften bran• Whole grains require four times their volume in

water• Add cereal to boiling water to prevent lumps• Cook over low to medium heat• Should be smooth and free of lumps

Preparing rice

• White rice requires two time their volume of water– Rice should absorb all the water in the cooking

process

• May cook over direct heat in a double boiler or in oven

• May substitute milk, bouillon or another liquid for all or part of cooking water

• Use same preparation method for brown rice as white rice– Brown rice takes twice as long to cook unless you

soak it first

Preparing pasta

• Cook in boiling water (2 quarts of water for each 8 oz of pasta)

• Bring water to boil, add pasta gradually • Water should not stop boiling; pasta

may stick if it does• Simmer until tender• Do not rinse after draining, water

soluble nutrients can be lost by rinsing

Microwaving cereal products

• Cereal, pasta, rice do not microwave much faster than they cool conventionally

• Less likely to stick and burn when cooked in microwave

• Can cook and serve in same dish, saving on cleanup