The term wheat refers to various plants from the sweet grass family. Cultivated is usually soft wheat.
What you should know about wheat
Wheat provides some micronutrients such as calcium or magnesium. The grain also contains a lot of energy in the form of carbohydrates. As a result, it satiates quite quickly. Common wheat is the most commonly cultivated cereal in Germany. The plant is also known as bread wheat or seed wheat. Common wheat can be grown as a winter or summer cereal. The annual herbaceous plant reaches a growth height of between 40 and 100 centimeters. In rare cases, however, wheat can reach a height of one and a half meters. The stalk of the plant is hollow inside and has a very thin wall. The small leaf blades are hairy at first, but later become rough. Without the awns, the spikey inflorescence is between 6 and 19 centimeters long. The spikes are narrow and stand densely. The small spikelets have three to five flowers. Awns up to 15 centimeters long sit on some lemmas. Wheat prefers a warm and relatively dry climate. It can also be grown in cooler, moist areas, but does not yield as well there. Cultivation usually takes place in the lowlands or in low mountain ranges up to a maximum altitude of 900 meters. Wheat was one of the first cereals to be cultivated by man. It probably originated from a cross between the ancient grain emmer and goat grass. Historical findings show that wheat was already cultivated around 9000 years ago. The center of cultivation at that time was probably in Iran, Iraq, Syria and Saudi Arabia. Wheat then came to Europe around 5000 BC. In ancient times, it was first cultivated in the Mediterranean region by the Romans. It was not until the 11th century AD that wheat was also cultivated in Central Europe. Today, wheat is the second most widely grown cereal in the world after corn. The largest producers of soft wheat are China, India and the USA. In Germany, around 26 million tons of common wheat are harvested annually. Durum wheat is grown relatively little, at 38,000 tons per year. The harvested grains of wheat are processed into flour in mills. For this purpose, the wheat is first crushed in a so-called roller mill. It is then sifted. The entire process is called passage. It can take 15 passes to achieve the desired flour consistency. Soft wheat is later used primarily to make white breads. Cakes or cookies also usually contain wheat flour. Durum wheat is mainly processed into pasta.
Significance for health
For thousands of years, wheat has been an indispensable staple food. But in recent years, the grain has increasingly fallen into disrepute. Wheat is hard to digest, makes addicted and stupid. Most of these theses are not scientifically tenable. The disease patterns that are really directly related to wheat are rather rare. Wheat provides some micronutrients such as calcium or magnesium. The grain also contains a lot of energy in the form of carbohydrates. Thus, it saturates quite quickly. Wheat contains a lot of vitamin E. Especially the wheat germ oil is rich in vitamin E. No other oil contains so much vitamin E. Wheat germ oil is very suitable for external care. It protects against free radicals and stimulates new cell formation in the skin. It can reduce stretch marks and make scars more supple. Due to its protective and regenerating effect, wheat germ oil can also be used for the care of flaky and dry scalp. Taken internally, wheat germ oil also has numerous benefits. It has an antioxidant effect and can positively influence cholesterol levels due to its health-promoting fat composition. Thus, cardiovascular diseases can be prevented.
Ingredients and nutritional values
| Nutritional information |
Amount per 100 gram |
| Calories 339 | Fat content 2.5 g |
| Cholesterol 0 mg |
Sodium 2 mg |
| Potassium 431 mg | Carbohydrates 71 g |
| Protein 14 g |
Magnesium 144 mg |
Wheat is 70 percent carbohydrate. It contains 12 percent protein, 2 percent fat and 12 percent water. Wheat is 2 percent minerals and about 2 percent fiber. Wheat contains magnesium, potassium, calcium and phosphorus. In addition, the grain has a high content of B vitamins.Vitamin E is also contained. Oil can also be extracted from the wheat germ. Due to the rather low oil yield, wheat germ oil is one of the expensive oils. It contains 19 percent saturated fatty acids. However, the majority consists of polyunsaturated fatty acids. In addition, vitamins A, B, D, E and K are contained in this oil.
Intolerances and allergies
Currently, an estimated 0.5 percent of the population is affected by the gluten intolerance celiac disease. However, the German Celiac Society suspects that the number of unreported cases is significantly higher. Celiac disease is a condition that has the characteristics of an allergy and an autoimmune disease. When eating foods containing gluten, those affected react with inflammation of the small intestine. Wheat contains a lot of gluten. As a result, the cells of the mucosa of the small intestine are damaged or even completely destroyed. As a result, the absorption of nutrients is impaired. Patients lose weight despite a normal diet. Other possible symptoms are diarrhea, vomiting, loss of appetite, depression or fatigue. Presumably, untreated celiac disease is also associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer. Diagnosis of celiac disease is made by detecting antibodies in blood serum or by intestinal biopsy. Wheat allergy also involves a reaction to wheat. People who are sensitive to wheat do not have an allergic reaction to the grain, but they still show symptoms when they eat it. Diarrhea, flatulence, fatigue and general complaints occur. Amylase trypsin inhibitors (ATI) are believed to be responsible for all the symptoms. Due to the breeding of high-performance wheat, the content of ATI in wheat has increased. Accordingly, more and more people are reacting with wheat intolerance. The number of people suffering from celiac disease is also steadily increasing.
Shopping and kitchen tips
Wheat is also available in grain form, but most of it is sold as flour. Different types of flour are distinguished depending on the degree of extraction. Type 405 is an extraction flour. It is the typical white household flour used for finer baked goods. Type 1600, on the other hand, is a flour used, for example, for dark mixed breads. The degree of milling here is 98 percent. There are also different quality grades of common wheat: Elite Wheat, Quality Wheat, Bread Wheat and Other Wheat. Products are also available in stores that are not perceived as wheat products at first glance. For example, couscous or bulgur are made from wheat.
Preparation tips
The light-colored wheat flour is good for making cakes, pastries, ciabatta, marshmallows or baguettes. Due to the high gluten content, most baked goods succeed very well with wheat flour. Type 550 wheat flour is less processed and has a better handle. It absorbs less liquid during baking and thus stabilizes the dough. This flour is used for strudel doughs and yeast pastries. The higher the type designation, the darker the color and the stronger the flavor. Unlike white flour, the wheat flours of types 812, 1050 and 1600 are not suitable for all types of baked goods. While bread turns out well with the dark flours, cakes and cookies do not turn out as well.
