Many well-loved products are made of grain. Do you know how grain is processed? There are lots of ways to process and preserve grain. Grain needs to be broken down. It can be processed first to make cooking and digestion easier. Here are 7 interesting facts to know about how grain is processed.
1. It Gets Wet
Grain is cleaned and tempered. After cleaning, water is added to separate kernels. Dry and wet milling are processes that grind grain together to reduce the size of the starch particles. Wet milling uses water to liquefy the grain. Then the grain is moved through rollers that beat it down to a fine powder.
2. It Gets Violent
Extrusion processing is the act of forcing mixed ingredients through a plate with small wholes to blend and break down the grain. Many methods of processing grain use blades and rollers to violently beat down the starch to remove the bran. The endosperm is accessed so that it is easier to use and digest.
3. There are Many Techniques
Lime cooking is a process that involves heating a grain and lime solution and letting it sit overnight. Steam flaking grain is a process of adding moisture and heat gradually to soften the starch. This makes the grain easier to process into food products. The surface area of the grain is increased with steam flaking. Digestibility improves making it ideal for livestock feed.
4. Fermentation is Healthy
Fermentation is an ancient method of processing grain. Fermented grain yields alcohol. Fermenting grain breaks down the outer hulls and makes the grain easier to digest. Though this method of grain processing yields a strong mind-altering substance, it is an ancient and economic way to break down and store grain for later use. Many cultures regularly ingest fermented grains. Grain that has been fermented has various health benefits to gut flora and the digestive system.
5. Processing Grain is Important
Processed grain is healthier and more economic for feeding some livestock. Without processing grain, it is hard for our bodies to break down the proteins. Grain also has disaccharides that are difficult for digestive systems to process alone.
6. Milling Has Not Changed Much
Technology has advanced but the essence of milling remains the same. Grain is cleaned and tempered, and water is added. Roller-mills break down the grain, and the grain is then sifted into various sizes. After purification, the dry flour is stored in large bins. Indigenous people used the same methods on a smaller scale.
7. The Old Ways Work Just Fine
Steaming, frying, and baking are classic and timeless methods of preparing grain for consumption. Indigenous people have been manually processing grains for thousands of years. The traditional methods of collecting and cleaning grain still work just the same. Flour can still be beaten in a mortar and pestle. Hand tools are rarely used these days, but they are just as useful. Ancient methods are still used today on a larger scale to process grains into the products we love.
