Grains are a big part of our diet, providing carbohydrates that give us energy.
In England, the main grain crops that farmers grow are:
Oats
– make porridge, muesli, oatcakes, flapjacks, oatmilk
Wheat
– makes our most popular flour as it contains gluten which makes a stretchy dough that rises. Think bread, cakes, scones, pancakes, pizza bases, biscuits…
Barley
– used in breakfast cereals, brewing (beer & whiskey), soups and stews (pearl or hulled barley grains cooked whole)
In other, warmer parts of the world farmers grow rice, which is another grain that we like to eat.
Flour
Grains are too hard for us to chew and digest, unless they are boiled for a long time. But if we grind grains into flour then we can cook them much more quickly.
Grinding grain is called milling. In Roman, Anglo Saxon and Viking times people had to grind their grain by hand, crushing and grinding it into powder (flour) with a stone. It was very hard work and wealthy people got their slaves to do it for them using a basic stone mill called a Quern. See video here.
Then machines called mills were invented like watermills or windmills which use the power of wind to blow the sails around and the sails turn a stone mill which grinds the grain. Today, huge milling machines in factories are powered by electricity to make our flour.
White flour vs wholmeal or brown flour
If you eat ‘whole’ grains you will also get nutrients like vitamins and minerals which are just under the hull (outside skin) of the grain, and fibre which helps your tummy digest your food properly.
This is why wholemeal flour is better for you than white flour, wholemeal bread is better than white bread, brown pasta is better than white pasta etc
