Neither the geographical, the historical, nor the biological origin of wheat is known. The evidence as exists seems to point to Mesopotamia as the original home of wheat, although there is a belief that the plant once grew wild in the Euphrates and the Tigris valleys and spread from these regions to the rest of the world.
The most ancient languages mentions of man notably in the earliest Swiss lake dwellings is proof of its antiquity. We also have evidence that wheat was cultivated in China 3,000 years B.C., and that it was the chief crop in ancient Egypt and Palestine.
Wheat is the most important of the cereals. It can grow in almost any kind of soil and in any climate. Thus, it is one of the most widely grown crops in the world.
The grain of wheat is a seed. It may by regarded as consisting of three parts: the germ or embryo which produces the new plant; the starchy endosperm, which provides the food for the new plant when the embryo first starts to grow; the various outer coverings constituting the bran of the grain. The protein of wheat which is contained in the endosperm is called gluten from its glue-like tendency to hold starch particles together.
Different varieties of wheat grown under diverge conditions of soil, climate and pedigree1 vary greatly in appearance and characteristics. In appearance, wheat may be red or white according to the colour of the bran or outer skin of the grain; in characteristics it may be hard or soft, “strong” or “weak”. Strong wheats give the best bread-making flour, weak wheats – the biscuit and self-rising flour.
Wheat may be divided into two classes, winter wheat and spring wheat. Spring wheats grown in suitable climate are usually strong, whereas winter wheats are usually weak.
1 – родословная
Text № 9 «RYE»
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Rye, as a distant bread cereal, is of relatively recent origin. While it can be traced back to the early Middle Ages, it does not seem to have gained any real importance until about the thirteenth century. There is evidence that rye originally appeared as a contaminating cereal in wheat and that in some areas it became dominant because of its less demanding requirements with regard to soil, fertilization and climate.
It is light and bulky1 and is largely consumed in the country where grown. Rye is the only cereal besides wheat which contains a protein of such nature as to make it desirable for bread-making purposes.
The general structure of rye is similar to that of wheat. It contains 71 per cent of starch and sugar, but the proteins of rye are of different composition from those of wheat. Rye gluten is more sticky than that of wheat and the resulting bread is darker and less porous.
It is apparent that ryes of different origin will demonstrate varying properties, and that the baking methods must be adjusted to those properties. Rye varieties are not as numerous as are wheat varieties, and their characteristics are influenced to a greater degree by origin and climate than by variety.
Geographically, the same trend may be traced for rye as for wheat, namely, that countries with a hot and dry climate will produce ryes which are dry, high in protein, and frequently with a low amylase content.
The chief use of rye is as flour. The malted2 and fermented rye is a common source of alcoholic liquors.
1 – объемистый
2 – соложеный
Text № 10 «MAIZE»
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