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Barley |
Barley is a cereal grain. It is used as pearled barley in soups and whole or kibbled in bread and breakfast cereals. |
Beans |
Beans belong to the legume family and like peas we can eat the internal seeds and the whole pod. They can be bought fresh, frozen, canned or dried.
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Bran |
Bran is the outer layer of the grain. Bran is very nutritious and an excellent source of fibre in the diet.
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Breads |
Bread is available in a wide range of varieties in Australia: traditional white, mixed grain and wholemeal plus multicultural breads like pide, bagels, flatbreads, foccaccia, lavash.
All breads are nutritious. Wholemeal varieties are higher in fibre than white because they contain more bran and germ.
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Carbohydrates |
Carbohydrates are the main energy source for the body. Starch and sugars are both forms of carbohydrates. |
Cereal grains |
Examples of cereal grains are wheat, barley, oats, rye, rice, and corn. Some grains are used in Australia, but about 80% of our wheat is exported. Cereal grains are used for production of grain products (bread, breakfast cereals etc) for human consumption and stock feed.
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Chickpeas |
Chickpeas are a type of legume. They are the main ingredient of many Middle Eastern foods such as falafel and hummus.
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Crop yield |
The amount of grain or legume harvested from a planting. |
Dahl |
Dahl is an Indian dish made from lentils. |
Dietary fibre |
Dietary fibre is part of the plant cell wall that is resistant to the digestive enzymes. It is essential for maintaining a healthy digestive system. Foods from animals, such as meat, milk, egg do not contain fibre.
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Core food groups |
The basic food groups are:
- breads, cereals, rice, pasta and noodles
- vegetables and legumes
- fruit
- milk, yoghurt and cheese
- meat, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts and legumes. |
Grain products |
These products are made from one or more of the wide variety of grains. They are nutritious and usually low in fat. Grains are low in fat, but extra fat is sometimes added during food processing. There are a wide variety of grain products available on the market. Examples are bread, breakfast cereal, pasta, noodles, porridge, crispbreads and biscuits.
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Grains |
Grains are seeds of cereal plants such as wheat, rice, corn (maize), oats, rye and barley.
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Harvesting (grain) |
Collecting or picking the grain from the ripened plants and separation of the grain from the chaff. This is done with the use of a machine called a header.
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Healthy diet |
A diet that includes a variety of nutritious foods each day from across the five food groups.
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Australian Guide to Healthy Eating |
The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating is a visual representation of the proportions of each food group that make up a healthy daily diet.
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Healthy Eating Pyramid |
The Healthy Eating Pyramid is a visual representation of the relative quantities of food that should be eaten daily for good health.
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Legumes |
Pulses are plants that have pods with rows of edible seeds inside. The edible seeds are called legumes. |
Lentils |
Lentils are a very small, flat legume, shaped like a lens. Lentils are the main ingredient in dahl. Lentils are one of the oldest food crops grown. |
Maize/corn |
Maize (also known as corn) is the common name for a cereal grass widely grown for food and livestock fodder. It is found in tortillas, breakfast cereals, popcorn and corn chips. Maize/corn is the second largest cereal grain crop in the world. It is a staple food in Mexico. |
Milling |
The purpose of milling is to separate the bran coating and the germ (embryo or sprouting section of the grain) from the endosperm as efficiently as possible and then to grind the endosperm into flour ensuring consistently cleaner flours. The GoGrains web site provides a link to the composition of a wheat grain diagram. |
Muesli |
Muesli is made from a mixture of cereal grains, usually wheat or oats, with fruit and nuts added. It is usually eaten as a breakfast food but can be cooked as a food bar to become a snack food. |
Nutrients |
Essential nutrients required for good health are water, carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals. These are found in foods from the five core food groups. |
Nutrition |
Nutrition is about food and how it affects our health. It includes how the body digests food and uses the nourishment. Different people and different age groups need different foods. |
Oats |
Oats are a cereal grain that can be made into hot breakfast porridge or muesli. Oats can also be added to cakes and biscuits. |
Peas |
Peas are small seeds of plants in the legume family. They are usually fresh or dried. The main types are the green or garden pea, snap pea and snow pea.
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Protein |
Protein is a nutrient that is necessary for the growth, maintenance and repair of body tissues. |
Pulses |
Pulses (also called legumes) are leguminous plants and include kidney beans, soy beans, chickpeas, navy beans (baked beans) and peas.
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Rice |
Rice has similar nutritive value to other grains, being high in carbohydrates and low in fat, but it is lower in protein than wheat or oats. It is the staple food of many Asian countries. It is usually eaten steamed but can also be used to make rice noodles, rice cakes, rice flour and rice bran. Australian rice yields are amongst the highest in the world. |
Rye |
Rye is a cereal grain that is used to make a dark bread called pumpernickel. Cracked and flaked rye can also be used in breakfast cereals. Rye is the only cereal, apart from wheat, that can be successfully baked into bread (because it contains gluten).
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Sorghum |
Sorghum is Australia's third largest grain crop, in terms of production (after wheat and barley). Most is used for animal feed. In countries like Africa where sorghum is a staple it is usually ground into flour and made into porridge. |
Sowing |
The planting of seeds for later harvesting and production. |
Soy beans |
Soy beans are a legume and used to make a wide variety of soy products including soy sauce and tofu. They are considered a complete protein and are eaten by many vegetarians. |
Staple |
A staple food is one that is eaten as part of the daily diet. Different countries have different staple foods, e.g. Japan has rice, Mexico has corn, Middle Eastern countries have chickpeas.
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Starch |
Starch is the major carbohydrate component of foods such as cereal grains, root vegetables and legumes. |
Storage |
Grain is stored prior to transporting to mills or to export centres. Different types of storage facilities are used. These include long sheds, squat circular bins, vertical storage that consists of blocks of individual cells (silos) and temporary bunker storage with steel, earth walls or concrete walls. |
Tofu |
Tofu or bean curd is made from soy milk. It is white and soft with bland flavour allowing it to absorb the flavours of other foods cooked with it. |
Tortillas |
A tortilla is the national bread of Mexico. They are a flat bread made from corn that is ground, mixed into a dough, shaped into flat disks and cooked on a griddle. |
Wheat |
Wheat is Australia's largest crop. It is used to make products such as bread, rolls, pasta, pitas, cakes, biscuits and breakfast cereals. It is a source of protein, low in fat and rich in carbohydrates (mainly starch). It is an excellent source of dietary fibre. It is the most important cereal for Australia. |
Wheat flour |
Flour is produced by milling wheat. In Australia, the largest use of flour is for bread making. Other uses include pasta, noodles, pies, pastries, pizza, cakes, cereals, biscuits, batters, crumbs and some breakfast cereals.
Wheat flour is also used for noodles, steamed bread (mantou), roti chanai and Chinese dumplings.
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Wheat products |
Wheat products are usually made from wheat that has been milled (flour), flaked, ground or puffed. The largest use of flour in Australia is for bread making. Different varieties of flour are used for making pasta, noodles, pies, pizzas, cakes, pastries, biscuits, batters, crumbs and some breakfast cereals.
Gluten is a component of wheat flour and is important for dough making.
Wheat starch is used mainly as cornflour.
Wheat bran is the outer layers of the wheat grain. It can be added to baked products or made into breakfast cereals.
Wheat germ is the embryo of the wheat grain. It is often sprinkled on fruit dishes or added to breads, cakes and pastries.
Semolina is the coarsely milled inner endosperm milled from hard wheats. |
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