On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 880

elastic paste that could be filled with tiny bubbles and baked into tender raised breads Around the same time, the inhabitants of tropical and semitropical Asia domesticated rice, with its special ability to grow in wet, hot growing conditions Somewhat later in warm central and South America arose maize, or corn, whose plants and kernels dwarf those of the other cereals Grain Structure and Composition The edible portion of the cereal plant, commonly called the grain or kernel, is technically a complete fruit whose ovaryderived layer is very thin and dry Three of the cereals — barley, oats, and rice — bear fruits that are covered by small, tough, leaf-like structures that fuse to form the husk or hull Bread and durum wheats, rye, and maize bear naked fruits and don’t have to be husked before milling All the grains have the same basic structure The fruit tissue consists of a layer of epidermis and several thin inner layers, including the ovary wall; altogether, it’s only a few cells thick Just underneath the seed coat is the aleurone layer, only one to four cells thick and yet containing oil, minerals, protein, vitamins, enzymes, and flavor out of proportion to its size The aleurone layer is the outer layer and only living part of the endosperm; the rest is a mass of dead cells that stores most of the carbohydrates and protein, and that takes up most of the grain’s volume Abutting onto the endosperm from one side is the scutellum, a single modified leaf that absorbs, digests, and conducts food from the endosperm to the embryo, or “germ,” which is at the base of the fruit, and which is also well endowed with oil, enzymes, and flavor The endosperm (from the Greek: “within ... The aleurone layer is the outer layer and only living part of the endosperm; the rest is a mass of dead cells that stores most of the carbohydrates and protein, and that takes up most of the grain’s volume... Just underneath the seed coat is the aleurone layer, only one to four cells thick and yet containing oil, minerals, protein, vitamins, enzymes, and flavor out of proportion to its size The aleurone layer is... Abutting onto the endosperm from one side is the scutellum, a single modified leaf that absorbs, digests, and conducts food from the endosperm to the embryo, or “germ,” which is at the base of the fruit, and which is