Of the eight grains, or cereals,
used as food, oats and corn contain the most fat, or heat-producing
material. The oil of corn, because of its lack of flavor, is frequently
used in the manufacture of salad oil, cooking oil, and pastry fat. The
fat that occurs in cereals becomes rancid if they are not carefully
stored. In the making of white flour, the germ of the wheat is removed,
and since most of the fat is taken out with the germ, white flour keeps
much better than graham flour, from which the germ is not abstracted in
the milling process.
9. CARBOHYDRATE IN CEREALS.--The food substance found in the greatest
proportion in cereals is carbohydrate in the form of starch. Cereals
contain many times more starch than any of the other food substances,
rice, which is fully three-fourths starch, containing the most, and
oats, which are less than one-half starch, the least. Starch is
distributed throughout the grain in tiny granules visible only under the
microscope, each being surrounded by a covering of material that is
almost indigestible. In the various grains, these tiny granules differ
from one another in appearance, but not to any great extent in general
structure, nutritive value, or digestibility, provided they are cooked
thoroughly. The large amount of carbohydrate, or starch, in cereals
explains why they are not hard to digest, for, as is well known, starch
is more easily digested than either protein or fat.
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