Germ of wheat

Wheat is known to have been cultivated in Europe and Asia as far back as 9,000 years ago. Wheat grains contain three parts: the germ, the kernel or endosperm or floury endosperm and envelopes and integuments forming the bran.

The germ is like a little tiny wheat embryo in the center of the grain. It plays a role in the reproduction and production of new wheat. Wheat germ is part of a wheat kernel and is responsible for helping the plant reproduce and spawn new wheat.

The germ is the healthiest part of the wheat berry. Even though it’s quite small, only about 3% of the wheat berry, it has a growing reputation as a nutritional powerhouse and breakout health-boosting superhero. The germ is rich in oil and proteins.

Wheat germ contains a variety of minerals that help human body perform different functions. Zinc, manganese, phosphorus, and magnesium are all packed inside the germ.

Wheat also contains other bioactive compounds such as vitamins, antioxidants, phytosterols, plant-based protein, wheat germ agglutinin, and oxalate.

Wheat germ comes in many forms, such as extracted oil, raw, and toasted. Wheat germ is added to some granolas, cereals, and cornbread, and it’s also available raw. It is a popular topping for fruit pies, yogurt, ice cream, and hot or cold cereal.
Germ of wheat

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Wheat protein

Cereals are a major source of dietary proteins for humans. Wheat is an important and usually healthy staple food for human and animal nutrition. It provides about 20% of the daily required amount of protein when consumed with 100 to 150 g of wheat flour.

Plant protein composition is determined by nutrient availability for the plant during growth until plant harvest. In addition, the nutrient use efficiency is important in order to hinder nutrient leakage in seas and lakes and due to the decreased cost of fertilizer for the farmer. Wheat protein content is an important consideration for all end products (uses of wheat) from bread baking to noodles, paste, cakes, and biscuits.

According to Dr. Thomas Burr Osborne (1907), US scientist, wheat protein can be classified based on solubility and functionality. Proteins were divided into three major types: simple, conjugated and derived.

The proteins present in plant tissues were “simple” and comprised of four major types:
~ albumins (soluble in water and dilute buffers)
~ globulins (soluble in salt solutions)
~ prolamins (soluble in 70 - 90% ethanol)
~ glutelins (soluble in dilute acid or alkali)

Albumins and globulins of wheat endosperm represent 20% to 25% of total grain proteins. They are soluble proteins, mainly enzymes and proteins involved in cell functions. Nutritionally, the albumins and globulins (non-glutens) have a very good amino acid balance.

Albumins in wheat are important as nutrients containing high content of essential amino acids such as lysine, tryptophan, methionine, and also asparagine, glutamine, arginine, and proline in comparison to storage proteins-glutenins and gliadins.

Prolamins are the major storage protein in cereals except for rice and oats, where glutelins and globulins are the major proteins. Prolamins are assigned trivial names according to the species of origin, such as gliadin (wheat), hordein (barley), zein (maize), secalin (rye) or avenin (oat).

Gliadin and glutenin together represent about 80% of the total proteins in flour and are present in approximately equal amounts. They tend to be rich in asparagine, glutamine, arginine or proline but very low in nutritionally important amino acids lysine, tryptophan and methionine.
Wheat protein

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Classes of wheat common in North America

Five principle classes of wheat are commonly grown in North America:
Hard Red Winter 
This wheat is grown in large quantities. It has moderately high protein content and used for bread. Hard Red Winter Wheat mostly grown in the central and southern Great plain.

Soft Red Winter Wheat 
Used for cakes and pastries. This wheat grows in the eastern and southeastern states of United States.

Hard Red Spring Wheat 
This wheat has the highest protein content of North American wheat and is used for manufacturing bread. It grows mainly in northern Great Plains.

White Wheat 
This wheat is suitable for pastry flour. It grows in New York, Michigan and the Pacific Coast states.

Durum wheat  
Grow in North Dakota and other northern Plains states.  This is the hardest of the five wheat classes. It is for spaghetti
Classes of wheat common in North America

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Hard Red Spring Wheat

Three market classes of wheat are typically grown: hard red winter wheat, hard red spring wheat and durum wheat.

Hard red spring wheat is grown principally in North and South Dakota, Montana, Minnesota and the Prairie Provinces of Canada, where the winters are too severe to grow winter wheat.

It may be grown in other areas to replace winter wheat that has failed due to winter killing, drought or other causes.

The principle hard red spring wheat districts have a fairly deep black soil and dry, hot summers, both important factors in the production of a high grade wheat suitable for milling as bread flour.

Hard red spring wheat is divided into three subclasses according to its content of dark, hard, and vitreous kernels. These subclasses are:

*Dark northern spring wheat – hard red spring wheat with 745% or more of dark, hard and vitreous kernels
*Northern spring wheat- hard red spring wheat with 25% or more but less 75% dark, hard and vitreous kernels
*Red spring wheat – hard red spring wheat with less 25% of dark, hard and vitreous kernels.

Overall, hard red spring accounts for about 20% of the total wheat acreage in the United States. This class of wheat is typically used for making pan, hearth bread and rolls.

The highest quality breads are made from hard red spring wheat. This due to it has highest amount of gluten of the commonly grown wheats.
Hard Red Spring Wheat

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Durum Wheats

Compared to bread wheat, Triticum durum, is far less grown and it has a lower resistant to cold, long winter but is better adapted to drought conditions.

The beginning of the durum wheat industry in United States was made in 1898, when Mark Alfred Carleton, Cerealist of the department went to Russia in search of drought resistant cereals for the dry lands.

Durum wheat production is concentrated in North Dakota, with smaller amounts in Montana and South Dakota and still smaller amounts in Arizona and California.

It is riskier to grow than non-durum wheats and durum wheat traditionally has commanded a higher price. 

Durum wheat cannot be used to produce flour for bread making; rather it is milled to supply semolina for making macaroni, spaghetti, noodles, etc.

Protein content and gluten composition are generally considered to be main factors affecting dough properties and cooking quality of durum wheat pasta.

Durum wheat is divided into three subclasses,:
*Hard amber durum wheat, which has 75% or more of hard, vitreous kernels of amber color
*Amber durum wheat, which has 60 - 75% of hard, vitreous kernels of amber color
*Durum wheat, which has less than 60% of hard, vitreous kernels of amber color
Durum Wheats

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