Wheat... Touching You Daily

Wheat Facts:

• Wheat is a member of the grass family.
• More than 17,000 years ago, people gathered the seeds, rubbed off the husks and ate the kernels raw, parched or simmered.
• Wheat is grown on more land area worldwide than any other crop and is third to rice and corn in total world production.
• More foods are made with wheat than any other cereal grain.
• Because wheat is such a versatile crop, it is being harvested somewhere in the world every month of the year.
• One bushel weighs 60 pounds and contains approximately one million individual kernels.
• There are two types of wheat planted in the U.S. Winter wheat – planted in September and harvested the following summer and Spring wheat – planted in April or May and harvested in August or September

Wheat Flours

All-Purpose Flour

Flour made from finely ground endosperm of the wheat kernel separated from the bran and germ during the milling process. It can be made from hard wheat or a combination of soft and hard wheat.

Enriched All-Purpose Flour

Iron and B-vitamins are added in amounts equal to or exceeding that of whole wheat flour.

Bleached Enriched All-Purpose Flour

Treated with chlorine to mature flour, condition the gluten and improve the baking quality. The chlorine evaporates and does not destroy the nutrients but reduces the risk of spoilage or contamination.

Unbleached Enriched All-Purpose Flour

Bleached by oxygen in the air during the aging process and is off-white in color. Nutritionally, bleached and unbleached are the same.

Whole-Wheat Flour

A coarse-textured flour ground from the entire kernel which contains the bran, germ, and endosperm. Baked products made from whole wheat flour tend to be heavier and denser than those made from white flour.

Wheat Kernel

The wheat kernel is the seed from which the plant grows. Each tiny seed contains three distinct parts that are separated during the milling process to produce flour.

Germ – 2.5% of the kernel weight

• Embryo of the seed
• Separated from white flour
• Included in whole wheat flour
• Available separately

Endosperm – 83% of the kernel weight

• Source of white flour

Bran – 14.5% of the kernel weight

• Included in whole wheat flour
• Available separately
• Separated from white flour

Wheat Production

TOP COUNTIES – Winter Wheat (5 year average)

TOP STATES – Winter Wheat (5 year average)

Wheat By-Products

Food By-Products:

• Bread
• Rolls
• Pie Crust
• Crackers
• Puddings
• Cookies
• Pastries
• Biscuits
• Macaroni
• Pizza
• Cake
• Doughnut
• Muffins
• Baby Food
• Spaghetti
• Pancakes
• Waffles
• Noodles
• Cereal
• Ice Cream Cones

Non-Food By-Products:

• Paste
• Oil
• Wallboard
• Concrete
• Gluten
• Trash bags
• Soap
• Cat litter
• Pet Foods