Grain vs Wheat
Wheat is a type of grain. Therefore, there are some similarities as well as differences between the characteristics of these two groups. This article intends to discuss the characteristics and differences of the two, the grain and wheat.
Grain
The meaning of grain is coarse particle. There are several types of grains. They are cereal grains, pulses or grain legumes, and oil seeds. Some examples for grains are wheat, maize, rice, barley, green gram, black gram, chickpea and pea nuts. Grain, also is referred to a unit of measurement of mass. During the ancient era, mass of a cereal seed (wheat) is considered as one unit. Grain is the fruit or the edible part of cereal or legume. The whole grain is enriched with several vitamins, minerals, and proteins. The parts of a whole grain are bran, endosperm, and germ. After the removal of bran, it is called refined grain, which is enriched with carbohydrates. The carbohydrate is responsible for energy in food. Therefore, grain plays a vital role in human food. Most of the grain species are diploids, which contain two sets of chromosomes.
Wheat
Wheat belongs to the family Graminae (Poaceae). There are different types of wheat, and cultivars include wild wheat, einkorn wheat, and common wheat. Scientific name of common wheat is Triticum aesativum. This is a hexaploid, which contains six sets of chromosome. Generally they are called cereals. Wheat is the third most popular cereal in the world. Wheat is among the earliest cultivated crops by human beings. Mainly, wheat is used to produce wheat flour, which is a staple food in many city based societies. The whole grain of wheat contains vitamins, proteins, starch, mineral, and fiber. The refined wheat grain contains mainly starch.
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What is the difference between Grain and Wheat? • The word grain has two different meanings. One is “a type of coarse particles”, and the other meaning is “a unit of measurement of the mass”. • Wheat is a type of grain, which belongs to the family Graminae (Poaceae). Diversity of the grain is comparatively higher than wheat. • There are several groups of grains including cereals, legumes, and oil seeds. Some examples for them are wheat, barley, rice, maize, chickpea, peanuts, green gram, black gram etc. • Parts of a grain are bran, endosperm, and germ. • Most of the grain species are diploids, and most of the wheat types are polyploid; including tetraploids and hexaploids. • Wheat flour is the staple food in many city based societies.
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