Wheat - Food For Man Wheat has been around in it's various forms for many thousand years. It's been found in the pyramids of Egypt and other burial chambers in other parts of the world as well. During Roman times, huge freighters sailed from Alexandria to all parts of the Mediterranean. After the fall of the Roman Empire, ships of this size wouldn't be seen again for over a thousand years. Wheat is mentioned throughout the Bible and has been a food of man throughout recorded history. There are three basic parts to a kernel of wheat: Bran, or outer covering, made up of layers rich in many vitamins and minerals as well as high-quality protein. Germ, or embryo, from which springs new life. The wheat germ is one of the 8 richest known sources of B and E vitamins and contains protein, fat and mineral matter. The germ and bran contain organic phosphates, which provide brain and nerve food. Calcium for bone and teeth is also supplied from these parts of the kernel. Endosperm, the inner part of the wheat kernel, where cellulose, starch and gluten are abundant, but very little vitamin and mineral substance is present. White flour is made principally from the endosperm. In white flour, about one-half of the fat is lost. The fat from a wheat kernel has a high food value, since it also contains unsaturated fatty acids. It is clear that consumption of the balanced, complete kernel is necessary in order to receive the full value from wheat, especially "trace elements" so essential to human nutrition. On the trace elements there is still much to be learned. Taken from Wheat For Man, Bookcraft, SLC, UT page 5. copyright 1975 (Out of print) Known Minerals and Vitamins in a Wheat Kernel How good of a food is wheat, anyway? Wheat for man - what makes this such a great food? Looking at a nutritional analysis, wheat has much of what we need to keep healthy, especially if it's been sprouted. Wheat sprouts containing 2900 calories produce 100% of the 50 essential nutrients except for the following which contain a RDA/DRV of only... Fat 19% salt 10% Vitamin A 0% Ascorbic Acid 63% Vit B12 0% Potassium 70% Calcium 50% Linolenic acid(18:3/n3) 19% Adding... 3 glasses of milk A cup of spinach or some other dark green leafy vegetable 2 1/2 tablespoons of flax seed 3 tablespoons of oil A pinch of salt ...will fill all the deficiencies not found in wheat and give you a diet that could keep you alive for a long, long time. Naturally, you'd want a more varied diet than this if at all possible, but this is just an example of what a great food wheat really is and why it's often called 'the staff of life' and the core food for food storage. Variability In Protein Content Of Wheat Within A Year Source of Variation Range in Protein Content (in percentage protein units) Kernels within a head 6% Heads from 1 plant 2% Plants within one row (18 feet) 3% Rows within one apparently uniform field 6% Farms delivering to one elevator point 5% Farms within a crop district 6% Farms within a province (of Canada) 8% Farms within Western Canada 11% Information compliments of Agricore Canada You can see from the above table that all wheat is blended with wheat kernels of different protein levels. Individual kernels within the same sample could have a protein difference of as much as 10% from the other kernels around it. The protein level is the average of all kernels within a given sample. Want to make a million bucks??? Make a machine that will efficiently sort wheat by the protein content of each kernel.

Rain VS Drought In the summer of 2000, Southern Alberta saw one of it's driest years on record. Sadly, the farmers even started planting with relatively dry ground. With little rain the ever drying earth was soon parched. By harvest, they had only received about 1/2 inch of rain. These pictures show a contrast between a field that had irrigation and plenty of water compared to a drought stricken dry farm with no irrigation. A little water makes all the difference in the world. The field on the left was irrigated. The field on the right was 'dry farmed.' This photo shows a head of wheat from the irrigated field. It's large and full, containing 35 kernels of wheat. Not only are there more kernels in the irrigated heads but each plant can have up to 3 heads. By contrast, this head of wheat comes from the drought stricken field. Notice how much smaller it is. This head only contained 15 kernels of wheat. Each plant only produced one head and a few didn't produce any. The wheat on the left came from the wheat head on the irrigated field. It's kernels are high in protein and bulging with starch. Full of nutrition, this is a great crop of wheat. By contrast, the kernels on the right from the distressed head are small and shrunken. Drought stricken wheat is usually very high in protein but the inferior kernels contain little starch. Not even graded for human consumption, this wheat will be used for animal feed.

Testing Wheat Through various machines several tests can be done on wheat to test it's quality. These tests include moisture content, protein, germination, gluten content and various fungicidal toxins. Most of these machines or meters are small in size and are operated by dropping the wheat down through them. It's not always relative, but protein content and gluten content generally follow each other. So it's not generally necessary to require a gluten test if you know what the protein content is. Protein levels of 13% and above should make good bread. The following information about the various Classes of U.S. Wheat is from "The Wheat Grower", Sep-Oct 1994, as sponsored by the Chicago Board of Grain. There are 6 Basic U.S. Classes of Wheat Wheat is the principal U.S. cereal grain for export and domestic consumption. In terms of value, wheat is the fourth leading U.S. field crop and our leading export crop. Wheat has two distinct growing seasons. Winter wheat, which normally accounts for 70 to 80 percent of U.S. production, is sown in the fall and harvested in the spring or summer. Spring wheat is planted in the spring and harvested in late summer or early fall. There are SEVERAL HUNDRED VARIETIES of wheat produced in the United States, all of which fall into one of six recognized classes... Where each class of wheat is grown depends largely upon rainfall, temperature, soil conditions and tradition. Generally speaking, wheat is more often grown in arid regions where soil quality is poor. Wheat classes are determined not only by the time of year they are planted and harvested, but also by their hardness, color and the shape of their kernels. Each class of wheat has its own similar family characteristics, especially as related to milling and baking or other food use. Hard Red Winter Wheat The dominant class in U.S. exports and the largest class produced each year. Produced in the Great Plains states, a large interior area extending from the Mississippi River west to the Rocky Mountains and from Canada to Mexico. Wide range of protein content, good milling and baking characteristics. Used to produce bread, rolls and, to a lesser extent, sweet goods and all-purpose flour. Major foreign buyers include Russia, China, Japan, Morocco and Poland. Hard Red Spring Wheat Contains the highest percentage of protein, making it an excellent bread wheat with superior milling and baking characteristics. Majority of crop is grown in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota. Exported largely to Central America, Japan, the Philippines and Russia. Soft Red Winter Wheat Grown primarily east of the Mississippi River. High yielding, but relatively low protein. Used for flat breads, cakes, pastries, and crackers. Largest customers are China, Egypt and Morocco. Durum Wheat The hardest of all U.S. wheat and consistently the class with the lowest export volume, accounting for less than 5 percent of all U.S. wheat exports. Grown in the same northern states as Hard Red Spring, although 70 to 80 percent of the U.S. annual production comes from North Dakota. Used to make semolina flour for pasta production. The largest importer is Algeria. Hard White Wheat The newest class of wheat to be grown in the United States. Closely related to red wheats (except for color genes), this wheat has a milder, sweeter flavor, equal fiber and similar milling and baking properties. Used mainly in yeast breads, hard rolls, bulgur, tortillas and oriental noodles. Used primarily in domestic markets, although it is exported in limited quantities. Soft White Wheat Used in much the same way as Soft Red Winter (for bakery products other than bread). Grown mainly in the Pacific Northwest and to a lesser extent in California, Michigan, Wisconsin and New York. Low protein, but high yielding. Produces flour for baking cakes, crackers, cookies, pastries, quick breads, muffins and snack foods. Exported to Far East Asian region.