Grasses of which the seeds are used as human food.
Class of starch-rich staple foods which include rice and wheat. Coarse cereals like JOWAR, BAJRA, maize and R.4GI are sometimes called millets.
Any grass-like plant bearing an edible seed. The important cereals are wheat, oats, barley, maize, rice and millet. Along with these are usually included tapioca (derived from the cassava plant), sago (derived from the pith of the sago palm) and arrowroot (derived from the root of a West Indian plant), all of which consist almost entirely of starch. Semolina, farola and macaroni are preparations of wheat.
Any grain or edible seed of the grass family which may be used as food; e.g. wheat, rice, oats, barley, rye, maize, and millet. Collectively known as corn in the UK, although in the USA corn is specifically maize.
The word cereal originated in the early nineteenth century as the name of any grain whose seeds are eaten by people. Wheat and rice are therefore cereal grains, while canola and flax are not. Later on, the meaning of cereal narrowed: by the end of the nineteenth century it referred to prepared breakfast foods made from grain and flavoured with sugar, and by the 1960s it referred to breakfast foods made from sugar and flavoured with grain. The word cereal derives from Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, which may in turn derive from the same ultimate source as creare, a Latin word meaning to create. The Greek counterpart to Ceres was the goddess Demeter, whose name, meaning earth-mother, is the source of the Russian personal name Dmitry.
A grass of which seeds are used for human consumption.
An edible seed or grain, containing approximately 70% to 80% carbohydrate by weight and 8% to 15% protein. Many cereals also provide significant dietary fiber. Common cereals include barley, oats, rice, and wheat.
Cereals, which are grasses grown for their edible grains, have a global distribution and can even thrive in the Arctic Circle. Due to their affordability and high nutritional value, including protein, certain vitamins, minerals, and energy, cereals are typically considered a staple food by many populations.