Wheat belongs to the wild grasses Triticeae family. The history of wheat cultivation goes back as much as 9-10 thousand years ago, and the original varieties of wheat appeared about 75 thousand years ago. Today, nearly 100,000 varieties of wheat can be distinguished. The most popular are red (winter and spring), white and durum wheat. What are the nutritional values of wheat and how many calories does it have?
Contents:
- World wheat production
- Wheat - varieties
- Wheat - nutritional value and calories
- Nutritional value of bread wheat, emmer and einkorn [TABLE]
- Ancient wheat varieties versus modern varieties
- History of wheat cultivation
Wheatcomes from the Middle East. However, it is a grain capable of growing in very different climatic conditions, so as people moved, wheat began to spread and is the most abundant grain in the world. Wheat crops are harvested in various places around the world each month of the year, depending on the prevailing climatic conditions. It is a very popular grain from which many products are made. It is ground into flour, from which you can bake bread and cakes, and also make pasta, pancakes, noodles, etc.
World wheat production
Wheat crops are the largest acreage crops of any cereal in the world. Together with rice and maize, wheat is able to feed 10 billion people. This grain is the staple food in many countries, and it ensures survival for the poorest.
Wheat production increases from year to year as crops become more and more efficient. World wheat production has increased threefold since 1955, and has increased by 2.3% annually since 1951. Due to the continual increase in the world's population, the demand for wheat is steadily increasing.
This grain is one of the staple foods of people all over the world. However, wheat is not only a raw material for flour (and therefore for all kinds of bread, pasta, cookies, noodles, crackers, biscuits and much more).
It must not be forgotten that about 16% of the world's wheat production is used for animal feed, and that wheat is also used to make ethanol and even packaging.
World annual wheat production isover 700 million tons. The largest producers of this grain are China, the United States, Romania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Russia, Canada, Germany and France.
Wheat - varieties
There are currently around 100,000 varieties of wheat that fall into 6 classes:
- hard red winter,
- hard red spring,
- soft winter red,
- durum (pasta),
- hard white,
- soft white.
Hard wheat grades contain more protein (including gluten) than soft wheat, which is why they are used to make bread and other types of bread, pasta and pizza dough.
Soft wheat is used to make cookies, cakes, Asian noodles, crackers, etc.
White grades are more desirable because white wheat varieties are lighter in color and devoid of the bitter aftertaste that is found in red wheat.
All wheat varieties currently grown in the world are derived from these 14 species:
- 14 chromosomes
- Triticum aegilopoides (wild einkorn)
- T. monococcum (einkorn=einkorn)
- 28 chromosomes
- Tritcum dicoccoides (wild emmer)
- T. dicoccum (emmer=emmer)
- T. durum (macaroni wheat, first obtained in the 1st century BC)
- T. persicum (Persian wheat, no commercial significance at present)
- T. turgidum (rough wheat, no commercial importance at present)
- T. polonicum (Polish wheat, no commercial significance at present)
- T. timopheevi (no colloquial name, grown only in small areas of Georgia)
- 42 chromosomes (the first 3 species are real bread wheat, which accounts for about 90% of modern wheat)
- Triticum aestivum (common wheat)
- T. sphaerococcum
- T. compactum
- T. spelta (spelta; grows in Georgia, is of great importance in Central Europe)
- T. waving (grown only in small areas of Georgia)
In common use are terms such as ancient (ancient) wheat varieties, traditional and modern (bread) varieties. Ancient wheat is the one that grew wild, and then it was cultivated in the Neolithic times.
It includes einkorn (einkorn), emmer (emmer) and kamut (khorosan). Traditional wheat varieties were obtained until around 1950, but they are not commercially significant at present. Modern varieties were obtained from crossing traditional and ancient varieties, as well as other grasses and with the use of genetic engineering methodswheat - mainly the Triticum aestivum variety.
Wheat - nutritional value and calories
100 grams of dry wheat grains provide about 320 kcal. The protein content of ancient wheat varieties is much higher than that of common wheat, ranging from 18 to 26%, while modern wheat contains 10-15% of protein.
Gluten (or, in fact, glutenin and gliadin, which form gluten during the production of dough) is the most technologically important protein in wheat. In both ancient and modern wheat, gluten constitutes 70 - 75% of the total protein, which means that in ancient varieties it is even more than in common wheat.
The power of gluten (W) is, however, completely different. In ancient varieties, gluten is much weaker. Its power is stated to be 100, while in modern wheat it is 300.
The creation of successive crosses of wheat throughout history led to the production of grains richer in starch. Modern wheat is richer in total carbohydrates than its ancestors, and therefore also in starch and fiber. However, it contains less minerals and vitamins.
The results of studies on the content of polyphenols, phenolic acids and other bioactive compounds are contradictory. Some sources indicate a much higher content of these substances in ancient wheat varieties, others very much comparable to modern wheat.
The review studies emphasize that climate and soil have a huge impact on the content of bioactive compounds. So it is difficult to compare individual trials.
Nutritional value of bread wheat, emmer and einkorn [TABLE]
| Nutrient | Bread wheat | Emmer | Einkorn |
| Protein [g / 100g] |
14,2 | 19,3 | 18 - 20 |
| Fat [g / 100g] |
2,1 |
2,8 | 4,2 |
| Starch [g / 100g] |
67.8 |
64 | 60.8 |
| Ash [g / 100g] |
2,0 |
2,9 | 3,3 |
| Phosphorus [mg / 100g] | 396 |
350 | 415 |
| Potassium [mg / 100g] |
432 |
420 | 390 |
| Manganese [mg / 100g] |
3.8 |
472 | 4,4 |
| Iron [mg / 100g] | 4.6 | 2.9 - 5.1 | 4.7 |
| Zinc [mg / 100g] | 3,3 | 1,3 - 3,4 | 5,5 |
| Copper [mg / 100g] | 0.4 | No data | 0.64 |
| Selenium [μg / 100g] | 70.7 | 3.3 - 23.8 | 27.9 |
| Thiamine [mg / 100g] | 0,37 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Riboflavin [mg / 100g] | 0.071 | 0,2 | 0.45 |
| Niacin [mg / 100g] | 0.087 | 6,8 | 3,1 |
| Pyridoxine [mg / 100g] | 0.22 | No data | 0.49 |
| Total fiber [% of dry matter] | 14.96 | 9,2 | 10.8 |
| Insoluble fiber [% dry matter] | 11,3 | No data | 6,9 |
| Soluble fiber [% dry weight] | 1,7 | No data | 1,7 |
| Β-glucan [% DM] | 0.72 | 0,36 | 0,39 |
Ancient wheat varieties versus modern varieties
The first differences between ancient and modern wheat varieties are visible to the naked eye. Common wheat grains are much larger and the grain is smaller (approx. 50 cm instead of 150 - 180 cm in ancient varieties). Ancient wheat varieties differ from modern wheat varieties in terms of their genome.
The oldest wheat, or einkorn, has a single genome marked as A and is a diploid (in every cell, apart from gametes, there are two copies of the genome, written as AA). The einkorn genome is made up of 14 chromosomes. Emmer and the varieties of wheat produced in the 18th and 19th centuries are tetraploids. They have 28 chromosomes and two genomes - AABB.
On the other hand, modern bread wheat is hexaploid, it has 42 chromosomes and three genomes - AABBDD. Hexaploids do not exist in nature, they were created through human intervention. Ancient and modern wheat varieties have similar nutritional value.
Emmer and einkorn contain even more gluten than bread wheat, but it is gluten with a completely different structure, much weaker, easier to digest and less toxic. It is also known that hexaploid wheat is much more dangerous for people suffering from celiac disease.
The D genome present in it is mainly responsible for the toxicity of wheat towards patients with celiac disease. However, even wheat diploids and tetraploids contain proteins that are harmful to them, so they cannot be included in the diet for celiac disease.
There are not many studies to date comparing the he alth effects of eating bread wheat and ancient varieties. However, the available literature shows that replacing bread wheat with old wheat does not only have no effectpro-inflammatory, but may even exhibit anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. However, this issue certainly requires an in-depth look.
History of wheat cultivation
Wheat belongs to the wild grasses Triticeae family. The oldest varieties of wheat, i.e. einkorn and emmer, grew in western Asia and northern Africa at least 75,000 years ago. The cultivation of wheat by the first sedentary people dates back to 9-10 thousand years ago.
Since then, man has started selecting, selecting for the next sowing seeds with the best parameters - the largest, non-crumbling, easier to hull. Thus began the process of gradual improvement of grain - adjusting it to human needs.
A breakthrough in the diversification and the emergence of new wheat varieties were the nineteenth-century discoveries of Grzegorz Mendel, which gave rise to genetics. Until the beginning of the 21st century, new wheat varieties were obtained by crossing two varieties of wheat or wheat and other grass that showed the desired characteristics (disease resistance, parasite resistance, cold, grain size, stem height, etc.) and observing the characteristics of the hybrid.
Modern methods of genetic engineering allowed for the inclusion in the genome of a variety of specific genes responsible for the desired characteristics, e.g. protein content or resistance to mold.
All wheat varieties that are grown today are derived from wild einkorn wheat (Triticum monococcum), the genetic material of which is recorded on 14 chromosomes. Crossing einkorn wheat with another 14-chromosomal grass produces wheat varieties with 28 chromosomes.
The only wild wheat with 28 chromosomes is wild emmer (Triticum dicoccoides). Wild emmer grows in northern Israel, western Jordan, Lebanon, southern Turkey, western Iran, northern Iraq and northwestern Syria. There is also a cultivated emmer (Triticum dicoccum).
Durum wheat from which pasta and couscous are made was obtained by crossing Emmer. The modern varieties of wheat that are grown today have 42 chromosomes. They were all human received. They are hybrids of wheat varieties with 28 chromosomes with wild wheat 14-chromosomes or with other species of grasses.
Contemporary bread wheat varieties were produced by crossing an emmer with a spiked goat. This grass is the source of the unique glutenin genes that enable the formation of gluten and the baking of bread as we know it today.
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Aleksandra Żyłowska-Mharrab, dietician Food technologist, dietitian, educator. A graduate of Biotechnology at the Gdańsk University of Technology and Nutritional Services at the Maritime University. A supporter of simple, he althy cuisine and conscious choices in everyday nutrition. My main interests include building permanent changes in eating habits and individually composing a diet according to the body's needs. Because the same thing is not he althy for everyone! I believe that nutritional education is very important, both for children and adults. I focus my activities on spreading knowledge about nutrition, analyze new research results, and make my own conclusions. I adhere to the principle that a diet is a lifestyle, not strict adherence to meals on a sheet of paper. There is always room for delicious pleasures in he althy and conscious eating.
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