On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 892

balls that readily absorb the flavor from a
sauce. Today gluten is widely available and
usedtomakeavarietyofvegetarian“meats.”
Notable Wheat Preparations Whole grains
of wheat, often called wheat berries, are
usually sold with their bran fully intact, and
can take an hour or more to cook unless
presoaked.Farroisnowavailablewithpartof
its bran milled away — similar to partly
milled pigmented rice and wild rice — and
cooksmuchmorequickly,whileretainingthe
strongerflavorandintegrityofseparategrains
providedbythebran.
Wheatgermissometimesaddedtobaked
goodsorotherfoods;itisagoodsourceof
protein(20%byweight),oil(10%),andfiber
(13%).Wheatbranismainlyfiber,withabout
4%oil.Theiroilcontentmakesbothbranand
germsusceptibletodevelopingstaleflavors.
They’rebeststoredintherefrigerator.
Bulgur Bulgur or burghul is an ancient


preparation of wheat — usually durum —
that’s still popular in North Africa and the
Middle East. It’s made by cooking whole
grains in water, drying them so that the
interior becomes glassy and hard, then
moistening them to toughen the outer bran
layer, and finally pounding or milling to
remove the bran and germ and leave the

endosperm in coarse chunks. It’s the wheat
version of parboiled rice (p. 473). The result
is a nutritious form of wheat that keeps
indefinitely and cooks relatively quickly.
Coarse bulgur (to 3.5 mm across) is used
muchasriceorcouscousis,boiledorsteamed
togowithamoistdishormadeintoapilafor
asalad,whilefinebulgur(0.5–2mm)ismade
into falafel (deep-fried balls of bulgur and
fava-bean flour), and various pudding-like
sweets.
Green, or Immature Wheat Green wheat
grains have also been enjoyed for their