A cereal is any grasscultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruitcalled a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Cereal grainsare grown in greater quantities and provide more food energy worldwide than anyother type of crop; they are therefore staple crops. Oats, barley, and somefood products made from cereal grains. Itis a common breakfast meal. Cereals are used for both human and animal food andas an industrial raw material. The kindof cereal eaten for breakfast is called breakfast cereal. Wheat, rice, corn(maize), rye, oats, barley, sorghum, and some of the millets are commoncereals.
Cereal processing iscomplex. The principal procedure is milling—that is, the grinding of the grainso that it can be easily cooked and rendered into an attractive foodstuff.Cereals usually are not eaten raw, but different kinds of milling (dry and wet)are employed, depending on the cereal itself and on the eating customs of theconsumer.