Wheat

Wheat (Triticum spp.) is a cereal grain that is the most important staple food for humans. There are approximately 21,500 acres of wheat grown on PEI annually.

History

Wheat and peas were the two principle grain crops of the French settlers in the 1700's. Early production was used on farm or sold for flour production. In recent times, wheat production has been mainly as a rotation crop with potatoes and sold as milling or feed wheat.

Preparation/Consumption

Wheat grain is a staple food used to make flour for leavened, flat and steamed breads, biscuits, cookies, cakes, breakfast cereal, pasta, noodles, couscous and for fermentation to make beer, other alcoholic beverages, or biofuel. Wheat is planted to a limited extent as a forage crop for livestock, and its straw can be used as a bioproduct. The whole grain can be milled to leave just the endosperm for white flour. The by-products of this are bran and germ. The whole grain is a concentrated source of vitamins, minerals, and protein, while the refined grain is mostly starch.