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 Say the word "cereal" and most people think of breakfast. In fact, cereals are defined as the edible seeds or grains of the grass family, gramineae and they make up a very important part of our daily diet, not only at breakfast time! About a third of the energy and a third of the protein in a typical British diet come from cereals.
Wheat is by far the biggest cereal crop, but in the UK we also grow rye, oats, barley and maize. They are made into a wide range of products providing us with important sources of energy, carbohydrate, protein and fibre. Cereals also contain micronutrients such as vitamin E, some of the B vitamins, sodium, magnesium and zinc. In the UK all white flour and many breakfast cereals are fortified, contributing significant amounts of calcium and iron to our diet.
 All cereals share some structural similarities and consist of an embryo (or germ) containing the genetic material for a new plant and an endosperm, which is packed with starch grains.
Cereals have been part of man's diet since prehistoric times. They were cultivated by the ancient Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks and Romans before being introduced to Northern Europe. | |
