A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached husk, hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legumes. After being harvested, dry grains are more durable than other staple foods, such as starchy fruits (plantain (cooking), plantains, breadfruit, etc.) and tubers (sweet potatoes, cassava, and more). This durability has made grains well suited to industrial agriculture, since they can be mechanically harvested, transported by rail or ship, stored for long periods in silos, and mill (grinding), milled for flour or expeller pressing, pressed for Seed oil, oil. Thus, the grain market is a major global commodity market that includes crops such as maize, rice, soybeans, wheat and other grains.

Grains and cereal

Grains and cereal are synonymous with caryopsis, caryopses, the fruits of the grass family. In agronomy and commerce, seeds or fruits from other plant families are called grains if they resemble caryopses. For example, amaranth is sold as "Amaranth grain, grain amaranth", and amaranth products may be described as "whole grains". The pre-Hispanic civilizations of the Andes had grain-based food systems, but at higher elevations none of the grains was a cereal. All three grains native to the Andes (kaniwa, kiwicha, and quinoa) are broad-leafed plants rather than grasses such as corn, rice, and wheat.

Classification

Cereal grains

A cereal is any Poaceae, grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, cereal germ, germ, and bran. The term may also refer to the resulting grain itself (specifically "cereal grain"). Cereal grain crops are grown in greater quantities and provide more food energy worldwide than any other type of crop and are therefore staple food, staple crops. Edible grains from other plant families, such as buckwheat, quinoa and Salvia hispanica, chia, are referred to as pseudocereals. In their natural, unprocessed, ''whole grain'' form, cereals are a rich source of vitamins, Dietary mineral, minerals, carbohydrates, fats, oils, and protein (nutrient), protein. When processed by the removal of the bran and germ the remaining endosperm is mostly carbohydrate. In some Developing country, developing countries, grain in the form of rice, wheat, millet, or maize constitutes a majority of daily sustenance. In Developed country, developed countries, cereal consumption is moderate and varied but still substantial, primarily in the form of refined and processed grains.

Warm-season cereals

*finger millet *fonio *foxtail millet *Echinochloa esculenta, Japanese millet *Job's tears *kodo millet *maize (corn) *millet *pearl millet *proso millet *sorghum

Cool-season cereals

*barley *oats *rice *rye *spelt *teff *triticale *wheat *wild rice

Pseudocereal grains

Starchy grains from broadleaf (dicot) plant families: *amaranth (Amaranthaceae, Amaranth family) also called kiwicha *buckwheat (Polygonaceae, Smartweed family) *Salvia hispanica, chia (Lamiaceae, Mint family) *quinoa (Amaranthaceae, Amaranth family, formerly classified as Chenopodiaceae, Goosefoot family) *kañiwa

Pulses

Pulse (legume), Pulses or grain legumes, members of the Fabaceae, pea family, have a higher protein content than most other plant foods, at around 20%, while soybeans have as much as 35%. As is the case with all other whole plant foods, pulses also contain carbohydrates and fat. Common pulses include: *chickpeas *common beans *common peas (garden peas) *fava beans *lentils *lima beans *lupins *mung beans *peanuts *pigeon peas *runner beans *soybeans

Oilseeds

Oilseed grains are grown primarily for the extraction of their vegetable oil, edible oil. Vegetable oils provide dietary energy and some essential fatty acids. They are also used as fuel and lubricants.

Mustard family

*Brassica nigra, black mustard *Brassica juncea, India mustard *Brassica napus, rapeseed (including canola)

Aster family

*safflower *sunflower seed

Other families

*flax seed (Linaceae, Flax family) *Hemp, hemp seed (Cannabaceae, Hemp family) *poppy seed (Papaveraceae, Poppy family)

Historical importance

Because grains are small, hard and dry, they can be stored, measured, and transported more readily than can other kinds of food crops such as fresh fruits, roots and tubers. The development of grain agriculture allowed excess food to be produced and stored easily which could have led to the creation of the first temporary settlements and the division of society into classes.

Trade

Occupational safety and health

Those who handle grain at grain facilities may encounter numerous Grain facility occupational exposure, occupational hazards and exposures. Risks include grain entrapment, where workers are submerged in the grain and unable to remove themselves; Dust explosion, explosions caused by fine particles of grain dust, and Falling (accident), falls.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grain Edible nuts and seeds Crops Staple foods Grains, Food ingredients Types of food