In article ,
says...

In article ,
Michael Bell writes:
| We all know what a "fruit" or a "vegetable" are. They are plant
| products which are soft and wet and have limited storage life. They
| die, then they rot, and who wants to eat rotten fruit and vegetables?

Many people. We are, after all, scavengers. Look up "bletting",
and ask yourself what wine and cider are.

And biologists and botanists use those words differently :-)

| But what is a "grain"? It seems to me that a grain is a plant product
| which is hard and dry and has indefinite storage life. It may die, but
| you can hardly tell, it can still be eaten.

That is one meaning, yes.

| Is this correct? Wheat is stored, as strategic food reserve, if not
| actually as a commercial operation, for many years. Are the wheat
| seeds dead when take out and milled? And does it make any difference
| to the flour?

Partially. No. Not much.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Grain stored dry can survive a surprisingly long time, some grain from an
Egyptian tomb germinated after 2000 years or more!
Grain has different nutritional values depending on its freshness, rice
is particularly prone to losing value when dried and stored. and people
living off stored rice can become malnourished even when they appear to
have plenty to eat.
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea