Grain is theseeds of some special kinds ofgrass. The main types of commercial grain crops arecereals. People grow different kinds of grain asfood. The different kinds of grain are among the most important foods in theworld.
Some kinds of grain are:
87% of all grain grown by farmers around the world ismaize. Grains containcarbohydrates that people can eat. In poorer countries, grains are a large part of the food supply. In richer countries, they are still important as food, but not as important as in poorer countries. Growing grain uses a lot of water. About 1,000tons ofwater is needed to grow one ton of grain.[2]
Many different foods are made from different types of grain. The part of the grain that people can eat is called thegrist, and the part they can not eat is calledchaff. The grist is often ground into a powder calledflour. Flour can be made into breads, cakes, ornoodles.
Different kinds ofbeer are made from barleymalt, wheat, and other grains.
Tortillas are made from a special flour of dried maize (corn) calledmasa.
Later, in the 17th century, another term for maize appears, Indian corn—the word Indian here meaning "native to the Americas." The American word corn in the specific meaning "maize" is simply a shortening of Indian corn.
