WHEAT

ORIGIN AND USE

43. WHEAT, owing to the fact that it is grown in all parts of the world and forms the basis for a large amount of the food of most people, is a very important grain. It was probably a native grass of Asia Minor and Egypt, for in these countries it first received cultivation. From the land of its origin, the use of wheat spread over all the world, but it was not introduced into America until after the discovery of this country by Columbus. Now, however, the United States raises more wheat than any other one country, and nearly one-fourth of all that is raised in the world.

Wheat is universally used for bread, because it contains a large amount of the kind of protein that lends a rubbery consistency to dough and thus makes possible the incorporation of the gas or air required to make bread light. The use of wheat, however, is by no means restricted to bread, for, as is well known, many cereal foods are prepared from this grain.

44. In its simplest food form, wheat is prepared by merely removing the coarse bran from the outside of the wheat grain and leaving the grain whole. This is called hulled, or whole, wheat, and requires soaking or long, slow cooking in order that all its starch granules may be reached and softened sufficiently to make it palatable. The other preparations are made by crushing or grinding the grains from which some of the bran and germ has been removed. Besides flour, which, as has been implied, is not considered as a cereal in the sense used in this Section, these preparations include wheat grits, such foods as cream of wheat and farina, and many ready-to-eat cereals. In the preparation of wheat grits, much of the bran is allowed to remain, but neither cream of wheat nor farina contains cellulose in any appreciable quantity. As the addition of bran, however, serves to give these foods bulk, a much more ideal breakfast cereal will result if, before cooking, equal portions of the cereal and the bran are mixed. In preparing ready-to-eat wheat cereals for the market, the manufacturers subject the grains to such elaborate methods of cooking, rolling, and toasting that these foods require but very little additional attention before serving. The only wheat products that demand further attention at this time, therefore, are those which must be cooked before they can be served and eaten.

RECIPES FOR WHEAT AND WHEAT PRODUCTS

45. HULLED WHEAT.--Inasmuch as hulled, or whole, wheat requires very little preparation for the market, it is a comparatively cheap food. It is used almost exclusively as a breakfast cereal, but serves as a good substitute for hominy or rice. Although, as has been mentioned, it requires long cooking, its preparation for the table is so simple that the cooking need not necessarily increase its cost materially. One of the advantages of this food is that it never becomes so soft that it does not require thorough mastication.

HULLED WHEAT

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Sufficient to Serve Four

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Look the wheat over carefully and remove any foreign matter. Then add the water and soak 8 to 10 hours, or overnight. Add the salt, cook directly over the flame for 1/2 hour, and then finish cooking in a double boiler for 3 to 4 hours. Serve with cream or milk and sugar.

46. WHEAT GRITS.--The cereal known as wheat grits is made commercially by crushing the wheat grains and allowing a considerable proportion of the wheat bran to remain. Grits may be used as a breakfast cereal, when they should be served hot with cream or milk and sugar; they also make an excellent luncheon dish if they are served with either butter or gravy. The fact that this cereal contains bran makes it an excellent one to use in cases where a food with bulk is desired. The accompanying recipe is for a plain cereal; however, an excellent variation may be had by adding 1/2 cupful of well-cleaned raisins 1/2 hour before serving.

WHEAT GRITS

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Sufficient to Serve Four

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Add the salt to the boiling water, sift the wheat grits through the fingers into the rapidly boiling water, and stir rapidly to prevent the formation of lumps. Cook for a few minutes until the grits thicken, and then place in a double boiler and cook 2 to 4 hours.

47. CREAM OF WHEAT.--In the manufacture of cream of wheat, not only is all the bran removed, as has been stated, but the wheat is made fine and granular. This wheat preparation, therefore, does not require so much cooking to make it palatable as do some of the other cereals; still, cooking it a comparatively long time tends to improve its flavor. When made according to the following recipe it is a very good breakfast dish:

CREAM OF WHEAT

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Sufficient to Serve Six

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Add the salt to the boiling water, and when it bubbles sift in the cream of wheat through the fingers, stirring rapidly to prevent the formation of lumps. Cook over the flame for a few minutes until it thickens; then place it in a double boiler and cook for 1 to 2 hours. Serve hot with cream or milk and sugar.

48. CREAM OF WHEAT WITH DATES.--Dates added to cream of wheat supply to a great extent the cellulose and mineral salts that are taken out when the bran is removed in the manufacture of this cereal. They likewise give to it a flavor that is very satisfactory, especially when added in the manner here explained.

CREAM OF WHEAT WITH DATES

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Sufficient to Serve Six

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Cook the cream of wheat in the manner directed in Art. 47. Wash the dates in hot water, cut them lengthwise with a sharp knife, and remove the seeds. Cut each date into four pieces and add them to the cream of wheat 10 minutes before serving, stirring them into the cereal just enough to distribute them evenly. Serve hot with cream or milk and sugar.

49. FARINA.--The wheat preparation called farina is very much the same as cream of wheat, being manufactured in practically the same manner. It is a good breakfast cereal when properly cooked, but it does not contain sufficient cellulose to put it in the class of bulky foods. However, as has been pointed out, this bulk may be supplied by mixing with it, before cooking, an equal amount of bran. In such a case, of course, more water will be needed and the cooking process will have to be prolonged. Plain farina should be prepared according to the recipe here given, but, as in preparing cream of wheat, dates may be added to impart flavor if desired.

FARINA

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Sufficient to Serve Six

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Add the salt to the boiling water, and as the water bubbles rapidly sift the farina into it slowly through the fingers, stirring rapidly to prevent the formation of lumps. Then place it in a double boiler and allow it cook for 2 to 4 hours. Serve hot with cream or milk and sugar.

50. GRAHAM MUSH WITH DATES.--Graham flour is a wheat product that is high in food value, because in its manufacture no part of the wheat grain is removed. While the use of this flour as a breakfast cereal is not generally known, it can be made into a very appetizing and nutritious dish, especially if such fruit as dates is mixed with it.

GRAHAM MUSH WITH DATES

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Sufficient to Serve Six

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Moisten the graham flour carefully with 1 cupful of the cold water. When perfectly smooth, add it to the remainder of the water, to which the salt has been added, and boil rapidly, allowing the mixture to cook until it thickens. Then place it in a double boiler and cook 1 to 2 hours. Wash the dates, remove the stones, and cut each into four pieces. Add these to the mush 10 minutes before serving. Serve hot with cream or milk and sugar.

51. LEFT-OVER WHEAT CEREALS.--Numerous ways have been devised for utilizing wheat cereals that are left over, so that no waste need result from what is not eaten at the meal for which a cereal is cooked. For instance, left-over hulled wheat can be used in soup in the same way as barley and rice, and plain cream of wheat and farina can be molded, sliced, and sautéd like corn-meal mush and served with sirup. The molded cereal can also be cut into 2-inch cubes and served with any fruit juice that is thickened slightly with corn starch. Besides utilizing left-over wheat cereals in the ways mentioned, it is possible to make them into custards and soufflés, as is shown in the two accompanying recipes, in which cream of wheat may be used in the same manner as farina.

FARINA CUSTARD

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Sufficient to Serve Six

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Stir the farina and milk together until they are perfectly smooth; then add the eggs, beaten slightly, the sugar, and the nutmeg. Bake in a moderately hot oven until firm and serve hot or cold with any sauce desired.

FARINA SOUFFLÉ

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Sufficient to Serve Six

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Stir the farina smooth with the milk, add the salt, paprika, grated cheese, and egg yolks, which should first be beaten. Then beat the egg whites stiff and fold them into the mixture. Pour all into a buttered baking dish, place this in a large pan filled with enough hot water to reach almost to the top of the baking dish, and bake in a moderately hot oven until the mixture in the dish is firm in the center. Serve at once upon taking from the oven.