On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 877

Beans are most commonly sprouted, but many of our food seeds can be sprouted to advantage Sprouted wheat and barley, for example, develop a sweetness as their enzymes begin to break down stored starch into sugars for the embryonic plant Sprouts have a nutritional value midway between that of the dry seed, which they just were, and a leafy green vegetable, which they’re on the way to becoming Sprouts are higher in vitamin C and lower in calories than most seeds, and higher than most vegetables in protein (5% versus about 2%) and in the B vitamins and iron Cooking Seeds Seeds are the driest and hardest ingredients that cooks deal with Most require both moisture and heat to make them edible Most, but not all: the nuts are generally edible and nutritious fresh out of the shell or after a brief application of dry heat, thanks to their relatively tender cell walls and the cells’ content of liquid oil rather than solid starch But dry grains and legumes are hard and starchy Hot water softens them by dissolving the strengthening carbohydrates from their cell walls, and moving into the cells to gelate the starch granules and either dissolve or moisten the storage proteins This makes the seed more nutritious by exposing its nutrients to our digestive enzymes There are a few simple facts to remember about cooking grains and legumes in water The outer bran layer or seed coat is designed to control the passage of soil moisture into the embryo and storage tissues during germination It also slows the passage of cooking water Seeds that have been milled free of their coats or into small pieces cook much faster than whole seeds Heat penetrates seeds faster than water ...application of dry heat, thanks to their relatively tender cell walls and the cells’ content of liquid oil rather than solid starch But dry grains and legumes are hard and starchy Hot water softens them by dissolving... Hot water softens them by dissolving the strengthening carbohydrates from their cell walls, and moving into the cells to gelate the starch granules and either dissolve or moisten the storage proteins This makes the seed more nutritious by exposing its nutrients... to our digestive enzymes There are a few simple facts to remember about cooking grains and legumes in water The outer bran layer or seed coat is designed to control the passage of soil moisture into the embryo and storage