Wheat is the world's most important crop and apart from bread it has many hundreds of other uses. Growing wheat in Britain is easy as the climate and soil are well suited.
After beef and sheep farms which are the two most common types of farming in England the production of cereal is the next biggest with wheat being the most popular by volume.
The origins of wheat go back many thousands of years to the early examples of production in Mesopotamia. Like so many other things it is to this region of the near Middle East that the first example of bread-making is discovered.Wheat is one of the earliest examples of exported goods from the UK and precedes the Roman times. Even today a large percentage of production is exported.
Wheat is used in bread, biscuits and countless other processed foodstuffs that include many items on the supermarket shelves.The seed consists of three parts and whole grain bread uses all of them. They consist of an outer husk called the bran and two other parts called the endosperm and the germ. Brown bread has had a proportion of the husk and germ removed and white bread consist solely of the endosperm.
One of the advantages of wheat over other cereals is that the seed at the top of the stalk is easily cropped by harvesters and this means the threshers are picking up very little stalk and weeds. The stalk of the wheat plant is of little commercial use other than the tiny straw croft making business for which it is ideal.
Other cereal stalks are collected and dried in bails and moved around in special bale trailers which typically carry ten tons.
Harvesting of this crop is usually done in August in Britain and growing is in spring or autumn. These days the normal yield of the seed is about ten tons a hectare where the Romans thought they had perfected it at three tons for the same area.
Modern agricultural science is constantly looking for ways to improve yields whether it is milk quotas from cows or wool from sheep and cereal growing is no different.
One of the inequalities of life on Earth is in the distribution of foods and the resulting overweight westerners gorged on fatty daily hamburgers and the millions of others in poorer countries with barely enough water to drink.
Countries like Britain have learnt the hard way over a thousand years or two that the balance of production and import of other foods is a critical matter to get right. It also means constant investment from central government in the form of subsidies which includes the set-aside practice where a farmer can get paid to do nothing with his arable field.
The economics of farming is a complicated matter to the layman.
Farmers always complain about something or other but most are in a job that they enjoy which is more than can be said for many other walks of life.
Rice is one of the most widely consumed staple cereal food in the world. 89 % of the diet of Asians constitutes rice; while 45 % of those who have their origin in the Western countries have wheat as their major source of diet, rest consuming rice as major source of food1. However, with increasing population and rising economical constraints with widening margin between the rich and the poor, especially in the Asian regions, the per capita consumption of rice is predicted to increase remarkably. This may in turn reflect on rice economy in those countries trying to become self-sufficient in rice production. But what makes rice a major crop of the world and as a preferred staple food for many?
1. Nutritional value:
FAO figures indicate that rice supplies 698 calories per day; wheat 267 calories per day; maize 208 calories per day; millet and sorghum combined 145 calories per day.
Even though the chemical composition of rice varies with the genotype, the conditions under which that they have been grown, their genetic factor and other environmental factor such as location and season of cultivation, fertilizer treatment, degree of milling, and conditions of storage also influences the nutritional status of the crop and its yield.
In general rice grain contains: 80 % starch, 7.5 % protein, 0.5 % ash, and 12 % water. The starch in rice is a mixture of amylase and amylopectin, and the proportion of these two determines the cooking and eating qualities of the rice. However, the carbohydrate status of the food does not affect the nutritional quality of the rice. In spite of the fact that rice is a primary source of carbohydrate, is also the main source of protein. The main problem for rice eating population is with children for whom the protein requirements are very high and their stomach is too small to hold enough intake of rice, for it does not suffice their calorie requirements. In such instances, wheat is a good alternative, or supplement rice with a legume diet. However, the point to be noted at this juncture is that, even though the protein content is quite small in rice the quality of protein found in rice is superior to wheat, maize or sorghum.
For example, lysine, the most important limiting essential amino acid constitutes 4 per cent of rice protein, which is twice the amount of that found in flour or hulled maize. Two other essential amino acids, threonine and methionine are higher in rice protein than in wheat, maize or sorghum. However, the quantity of these amino acids is less than the required daily intake and so has to be supplemented with an additional grain legume, fish or meat in their diet. Like all other cereals rice do lack vitamin A, D and C. Nevertheless, small amounts of niacin, riboflavin and threonine are found in brown rice than in unpolished rice, as the B-complex vitamins are concentrated largely in the bran and germ.
Home-pounded rice and par boiled rice are usually found to contain large amount of these vitamins than polished rice. This is the reason why nutritionists recommend eating brown rice. However, there is a "cultural stigma" on the economical status in consumption of brown rice, as brown rice is packaged before the polishing stage and, hence does not take into account the cost of polishing; and so the overall cost is less, and the cooking quality of the rice is reduced.
2. Negatives can also be positives:
Nevertheless, poor nutritional resources in rice as a staple food, like low in protein, minerals, and vitamins, in fact contributes advantageously for placing rice as a main food, for many in the world is the readiness of the carbohydrates to be digested with ease, and that in turn improve its protein utilization efficiency - 63 for rice, compared with 49 for wheat and 36 for maize 1. Above all, rice is relatively non-allergenic, which means cases of hypersensitivity reaction to this cereal food are rare.
This is the main reason for rice being prescribed as not only the main source of diet for hypersensitive patients, but also as the first source of diagnostic staple diet sans other ingredients, followed by adding other sources one by one, until the source of allergen is identified. Moreover, the low sodium content in rice allows rice to be recommended as a good diet for patients suffering from hypertension. Overall, the acceptability of rice as a food has increased the demand by all countries to become self-sufficient. Consequently, rice has foreseeable future, and in fact all rice-producers are unrelentingly looking forward to increase the yield and the total production of rice.
3. Agricultural Produce:
From the peasant's frame of mind for world-wide cultivation in various soil types and terrain using irrigation and monsoon-dependent agriculture, rice is the only available semi-aquatic cereal crop. In other words, rice is the only crop that thrives and survives under standing water, while majority of the world's most important world crops like cassava, wheat, sorghum, yam, white potatoes, and sweet potatoes all dies. Rice is the only crop that can be grown year after year in standing water without any problems. In addition, the increased silicon content in rice hulls, to a lesser degree in their leaves and stems, enhances its resistance to insect and pathogen attack, which is a common problem frequently encountered under waterlogged conditions. Above all, rice also grows in a wide arrange of soil conditions ranging from acidic to alkaline conditions, the fact being that the pH of the soil gets neutralized to acceptable levels under waterlogged conditions.
When you wake up early this morning for your Everest Base Camp trek will you be eating a bowl full of hearty porridge or some cereal?
Hmm€¦porridge does seem like a good choice as you will want a slow release of energy€¦have you ever wondered where your breakfast might have come from? Being close to Annapurna will give trekkers a chance to see where some of their Nepalese breakfast comes from by visiting Millet Fields.
What are Millets?
Millets are a group of small seeded grasses which are more commonly known to us as cereal crops or grains. Millets come in a wide variety, the most popular four are:
1. Pearl Millet
2. Foxtail Millet
3. Proso Millet
4. Finger Millet
Millet is an important crop, especially for Asia and Africa; it is favoured due its great productivity as it grows under dry and high temperature conditions. Pearl Millet is mostly grown in India and Africa; it is the most popular type of Millet. Millets are adapted to poor, infertile soils and droughty climates.
Millets Variety Pack
Millet plants usually grow up to 4 metres, the grains vary in colour some displaying a near white pigment and others ranging from pale yellow, brown, grey, slate blue and even purple. Millet shapes vary from elliptical, obovate, hexagonal, globular and lanceolate; these may be a little hard to spot in your bowl of porridge€¦ The length of the grain for different Millets can differ for example, Finger Millets can grow from 40cm-1 metre ranging from orange to almost black in colour. The protein in Millet is close to that of the protein level in wheat making it a healthy snack in the form of a cereal bar.
Millets in Food and Drink
So if you are a curious trekker, take some time after your Everest Base Camp trek to discover the colourful Millet fields in Annapurna. The bright greens and yellows are a sight to see and photograph.
It began over five thousand years ago. The soybean grew wild and was cultivated by Chinese farmers. They called them tatou, meaning the "greater bean." There is a stone mural in Northern China that is believed to date back before the Common Era, showing soymilk and tofu being made. In 2838 B.C. the Chinese Emperor Sheng-Nung wrote about soybeans and listed it as one of five sacred crops, along with barley, rice, millet and wheat. This Emperor researched over one hundred plants for their healing properties and compiled his findings. The translation, The Medical Bible of the Yellow Emperor is the earliest known medical manual.
The Traveling Soybean
The soybean plant was domesticated and its use spread throughout Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia. Because of the vegetarian philosophy of the Buddhist religion, as the religion expanded so did the use of soy. The Buddhist monks became well known for their abilities to produce delicious meals with soy protein.
During the 17th century the Europeans became aware of the soybean via their travels east, but for almost a century all they did was import soy sauce. There is no record of European countries growing soybeans until the 18th century.
Making its Way to America How soy got to the West is still somewhat uncertain. Some theorize that European traders brought the beans from Asia. Others believe the Chinese immigrants brought beans when they settled here. Even Benjamin Franklin is given some credit for the introduction because he sent seeds from London to a friend in America in 1770. It could have been a combination of all these things. But little by little and then more and more, farmers were growing soybeans on American soil.
In 1904, George Washington Carver discovered that the soybean contained large quantities of oil and protein. In 1909, soy-based infant formulas were introduced. In 1919, the American Soybean Association was formed.
Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, known for his corn flakes cereal from Battle Creek, Michigan, is also credited for giving Americans their first soymilk and meat substitutes made from soy. Dr. Kellogg was strongly influenced by Ellen White, founder of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, whose membership is largely vegetarian.
Today, America is a world supplier for soybeans. The number of scientific studies conducted on soy is constantly growing. As the research continues so will the knowledge of the vast health benefits of this staple food, the soybean.
Dee Overly is an artist who discovered the health benefits of soy milk and now sells a Soymilk Maker
One of the staples of a survivalist or prepper is beans. Beans are a durable food that can last a long time in your food storage and on top of that they are healthy for you. The term bean is a common name for a product that is used not only for human consumption but also as animal feed.
The beans should be harvested from the plant just as the pods begin to ripen and the fruit is in a dry and tender state. In fact, these beans can generally be eaten either raw or cooked. When they termed the word bean it was originally meant to mean the seeds of the "broad bean" plant however, it was later expanded and now includes members of the other bean related flora as well. Common meaning now applies to chickpeas, kidney beans, lentils, peas, and soybeans.
Beans have a long history of being cultivated by mankind. Broad beans have been reported as being harvested for thousands of years in locations such as Afghanistan or in the Himalayan foothills. Upon opening tombs from ancient Egyptian times beans have been found deposited with the dead. For the last six thousand years the common bean has been successfully cultivated in both North and South America. They have even been traced to several archaeological cave sites around Peru, placing the date approximately in the second millennium BC.
A unique planting system developed by the tribes of North America. They would grow maize, beans, and squash together in an unusual manner that originated from Mexico. The tribes would plant the corn in a checkerboard fashion across the field. They would use from one to four stalks in each spot. Next they would plant the beans around the base of the corn stalks at which time as they matured they would vine up the stalks. The cornstalks would serve as a sort of trellis for the beans while the beans themselves provided the necessary nitrogen to encourage corn growth.
The squash would next be planted between the various patches of corn. The corn would provide some means of shade for the squash from the hot sun by using the corn stalks as a shield. In addition, it acted as an animal deterrent with its coarse vines and stiff leaves. Such an environment made it extremely difficult for animals such as deer to wander through the crops. We could learn much from these early Native Americans in regards to planting efficiently.
Health wise some raw beans particularly the red kidney beans contain harmful toxins that are only destroyed when the bean is cooked. Most recommendations say to cook the bean for no less then ten minutes. It has been reported that undercooking the kidney bean could in fact be more toxic then eating the product raw. I realize that many people always like to cook their beans in a slow cooker however due to the lower temperatures generated by these types of cooking appliances the dangerous toxins may not necessarily be destroyed. Below I have listed the best way to prepare the beans that you have stored in your emergency food supply.
Start out by soaking your beans overnight in water. Even though the following day they may not necessarily appear to be any softer research has shown that they do in fact cook quicker after being soak. Once your beans have begun cooking never add cold water to them but instead use hot only. Never add any salt to your beans until the final half hour of their preparation.
Since beans in general are very bland you will discover that most cultures that make use of beans as a staple frequently are big on seasonings. It would behoove us all to follow this simple rule in order to improve the taste of our prepared beans.
Various spices and seasonings such as Bay leaves, chili powder, cumin, garlic, onion powder and Italian seasoning does wonders to improve the flavor of plain beans. Additional enhancements can be provided by the Addition of maple syrup, sugar or tomato sauce.
When we are in the wild as a result of an emergency and we are using our final reserves of fuel for cooking conservation becomes critical. In that case it would be best to cook the beans on a wood stove or to use a Dutch-oven or fireplace. If you prepare your beans by the use of propane you will be consuming several hours of this vital resource to prepare one meal of beans.
Dried beans can readily be ground into a type of flour and easily substituted in part of a bread recipe at the rate of 1 cup of bean flour to 1 cup normal flour. Another great use of your pinto beans is as a substitute in a sweet pinto bean pie. This pie is made exactly as you would your favorite pecan pie recipe with the exception of using pinto beans in place of pecans. Although it may not sound as appetizing as you would expect when served to guests they frequently return for seconds.
Pinto beans are a great substitute for hamburger. When used in any recipe that normally would call for hamburger you will find that you have a similar texture and taste according to the spices you use. How about trying a Bean based Sheppard's Pie? Maybe add some cheese or pasta to your beans. Top it off with a sauce of some sort and you have a tasty meal. Don't knock it until you actually try it on the table.
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