After the grains are
harvested, the first step in their preparation consists in thrashing,
which removes the husks from the outside. In some countries, thrashing
is done entirely by hand, but usually it is accomplished by machinery of
a simple or a more elaborate kind. Occasionally no further treatment is
applied, the whole grains being used as food, but generally they receive
further preparation. Sometimes they are crushed coarsely with or without
the bran covering, and in this form they are known as _grits._ At other
times they are ground finer and called _meal,_ and still finer and
called _flour,_ being used mostly in these two forms for the making of
various kinds of breads. Then, again, grains are rolled and crushed, as,
for example, _cracked wheat_ and _rolled oats._
Various elaborate means have been devised by which cereals are prepared
in unusual ways for the purpose of varying the diet. Sometimes they are
used alone, but often certain other materials are used in their
preparation for the market. For example, the popular flake cereals, such
as corn flakes, are cooked with salt and sometimes with sugar and then
rolled thin. Some of the cereals are thoroughly cooked, while others are
malted and toasted, but the treatment to which they are subjected is
generally given to them to improve their flavor and to aid in the work
of digestion.
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