Difference between barley and wheat.

Barley and wheat are closely related types of cereals and are equally in demand. What is the specificity of each of them?

Facts about barley

This type of cereal forms an independent genus of plants. It has been cultivated by man since ancient times. The most common agricultural type of the crop in question is common barley. The rest of the plant species in question, as a rule, are found only in the wild.

Barley - the basis of pearl barley, barley groats. It is often used as a feed grain - its value as a source of nutrition for animals is due to the presence of complete protein and a fairly large percentage of starch in the composition.

Growing ears of barley in the bud structure have folded leaves. The ears on the ears of the grain are short. Spikelets of barley belong to the category of one-flowered, they are collected in bunches of about 3, sometimes - 2 pieces in a long ear. The scales on the spikelets are thin.

According to the biological classification, barley belongs to:

• to the class of monocotyledonous plants;
• to the order of cereal plants;
• to the family of cereals.

Forms barley, as we noted at the beginning of the article, a separate genus of plants.

The grains of the considered agricultural crop contain a large amount of carbohydrates, various types of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. The protein contained in the corresponding cereal contains many amino acids and is characterized by rapid assimilation by the human body.

In barley, there is enough potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, chromium, zinc, iodine - all the trace elements that modern man needs. The cereal in question contains vitamins B, PP, E, A. Actually, it is not surprising why pearl barley and barley porridge are considered extremely useful.

Facts about wheat

Wheat is, like barley, a separate genus of cereals. It is the main grain for the production of flour, from which bread, other types of baked goods, pasta are prepared. Some wheat varieties are used as feed grains.

Wheat ears have a height of 30-150 cm. They are characterized by straight stems, tongues about 0.5-3 mm long. Wheat leaves are usually flat, 3 to 20 mm wide.

From the point of view of biological classification, wheat belongs:

• to the class of monocotyledonous crops;
• to the order of cereals;
• to the family of cereals.

Like barley, wheat forms a separate genus of plants.

Wheat as a food product is beneficial in terms of the availability of fiber, which improves digestion. Of course, it, like barley, contains a wide range of various vitamins and minerals. Wheat contains a large amount of pectin, ascorbic acid, fructose.

Comparison

The main difference between barley and wheat from the point of view of biological classification is that these cereals belong to different types of crops. In appearance, the first type of grain differs from the second in many cases by longer awns ("antennae"). But, it should be noted that in some soft wheat varieties, they are just as long. In this case, you need to pay attention to the direction of the awns. In barley, they are rarely directed to the side - mostly only upward. Wheat awns can also look around.

Barley and wheat also differ in the area of ​​use.

The first type of cereal is usually not deeply processed. Barley and barley porridge contain whole or coarsely ground barley grains. Wheat, in turn, is most often ground into flour, which can then be used in a variety of ways. But, of course, there are also wheat cereals, in which there are poorly processed grains of the corresponding cereal. There is also barley flour - but in its pure form it is used quite rarely and is used, as a rule, as an additive to wheat.

In barley, according to researchers, a slightly lower percentage of starch than in wheat (although this substance is present in the corresponding cereal, as we noted above, in sufficient quantities). In addition, wheat contains more carbohydrates.

But in general, both cultures in question are extremely useful. Their regular use allows you to improve the metabolism in the body, the work of the cardiovascular, nervous system. The presence of nutrients and useful microelements in both varieties of cereals contributes to the formation of a positive tone of the body, the appearance of a person's strength to solve the set daily tasks.

Having determined what is the difference between barley and wheat, we reflect the conclusions in the table.

Table