CEREALS

TYPES

PROCESSING

STORAGE

FUNCTIONAL PROPERTIES

Wheat

Maize

Rice

Oats

Barley

Rye

Rapeseed

Should b ekept in a cool dry place

Prone to infestations by insects if kept for long periods of time

Wheat - usually ground to flour which is used to make a variety of products, type of flour differs according to extraction rate

Maize - can be processed to make many different ingredients/products, milled similar process to wheat or its germ refined to produce corn oil.

Rice - many different types - categorised by size, shape and region where they are grown. Brown rice has outer husk removed & white rice is milled and polished further to remove the bran and germ.

Oats - rolled during processing - coarse, medium and fine grades available

Rye - contains little gluten so produces breads with low volume and dense texture.

Barley - mainly sold as pearl barley which is whole grain with husk removed.

Rapeseed - mainly cultivated for its oil rich seed

Protein - bread's characteristic open texture and appearance relies on high protein flour e.g wheat and rye flour. Products such as cakes, biscuits, pastry - low protein cereals used to produce crumbly and light textures

Gelatinisation (thickening) - when flour is added to a liquid starch granules begin to swell on heating, eventually rupturing and releasing starch into liquid - starch granules absorb liquid + cause sauce to thicken

Bulking - sometimes used to 'bulk' a food product e.g vegetarian burgers