1. Chapter 21 Cereal

2. Cereal Products
Cereals are a major staple food for people throughout the world.
East to grow and store
Low in cost $$
High-energy value

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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 salt
Must adjust your recipe when baking with this
Potato flour: made from cooked potatoes that are dried and ground
people on wheat free diets use this type of flour
Buckwheat flour: made from sifted buckwheat meal
Used for many breakfast items, pancakes
Rye flour: sifted rye meal
Popular 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 rice
White and starchy flour popular in Asia and the Far East

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. Selecting and storing cereal products
Can be stored for extended periods of time without refrigeration

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. Uses of starches
Primarily as thickening

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. Cooking cereal products:
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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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