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 CHAPTER VI

CEREALS

Cereals (cultivated grasses) rank first among vegetable foods; being of hardy growth and easy cultivation, they are more widely diffused over the globe than any of the flowering plants. They include wheat, oats, rye, barley, maize (Indian corn), and rice; some authorities place buckwheat among them. Wheat probably is the most largely consumed; next to wheat, comes rice.

TABLE SHOWING COMPOSITION

Proteid Fat  Starch  Mineral  Water matter Oatmeal              15.6    7.3   68.0    1.9       7.2 Corn meal             8.9    2.2   75.1    0.9      12.9 Wheat flour (spring) 11.8    1.1   75.0    0.5      11.6 Entire wheat flour   14.2    1.9   70.6    1.2      12.1 Graham flour         13.7    2.2   70.3    2.0      11.8 Pearl barley          9.3    1.0   77.6    1.3      10.8 Rye meal              7.1    0.9   78.5    0.8      12.7 Rice                  7.8    0.4   79.4    0.4      12.4 Buckwheat flour       6.1    1.0   77.2    1.4      14.3 Macaroni             11.7    1.6   72.9    3.0      10.8

Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.

Macaroni, spaghetti, and vermicelli are made from wheaten flour, rich in gluten, moistened to a stiff dough with water, and forced through small apertures in an iron plate by means of a screw press. Various Italian pastes are made from the same mixture. Macaroni is manufactured to some extent in this country, but the best comes from Italy, Lagana and Pejero, being the favorite brand. When macaroni is colored, it is done by the use of saffron, not by eggs, as is generally supposed. The only egg macaroni is manufactured in strips, and comes from Minneapolis.