Cereal

About

Cereal is a grass cultivated for the edible components of their fruit seeds in order to make oats, barley, and bread.

Information

Translations: Labības, Javų, De cereale, Žitarica, Ngũ cốc, Zboże, Graansoort, अनाज, Каша, Δημητριακών, حبوب, 시리얼, Obilní, Siryal, 谷类, Žit, Obilný, Cereale, דגני, Spannmål, Житарица, 穀物, Céréale, Frokostblanding, Каша, Viljakasvien, Житни растения

Physical Description

Cereals are usually made from grains, but these days cereal makers are also creating variations for different people. The famous forms are fruit-shaped cereals, numbers or letter-shaped with golden honey flavor.

Tasting Notes

Flavors: grain, fruity, sweet

Food complements: Honey, Sugar, Sweets, Milk

Selecting and Buying

Seasonality: january, february, march, april, may, june, july, august, september, opctober, november, december

Choosing: The most healthful cereals are made with whole grains and not much else. If you're trying to lose weight, control cholesterol or diabetes, or just need a lot of energy, your best bet is a hot cooked cereal of whole grains, such as oatmeal; or barley, brown rice or wheat berries cooked and served like oatmeal. Flavor it with raisins or other dried fruits, cinnamon, and perhaps a handful of nuts such as pinenuts.

If you prefer cold cereal, you need to check the list of ingredients carefully. The FIRST ingredient should be a whole grain. Then scan through the entire list and if you see the words "partially hydrogenated," put the box back on the shelf. We recommend that you avoid foods with partially hydrogenated oils (or "trans fats"), and they still show up in a few cereals (see the list below.)

Once you've eliminated all the brands made with refined grains or partially hydrogenated oils, check for ADDED sugars (you want little or none) and fiber (you want a lot.)

Raisins or other dried fruits will add a lot of grams of sugar to the listing on the nutrition panel; they are not distinguished from added sugars, so you can only estimate the amounts. Check the list of ingredients instead.

The fiber content listed on the nutrition label can be confusing because it's based on serving size, and very light cereals (such as puffed wheat) show little fiber per serving, but an acceptable amount when you adjust for weight. Cereals made from bran (the outer covering removed from whole grains) will have higher fiber content than cereals made from whole grains (which have the germ and starchy parts of the grains as well as the fiber), but they can be hard to digest.

Buying: You can buy cereal from local and super markets

Procuring: N/A