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Grains & pseudocereals

Rice, oats, wheat, quinoa, bread, pasta, flour and other grain foods: nutrition, processing, storage and cooking.

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Quinnoa currently groups 93 articles under Grains & pseudocereals.

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Grains & pseudocereals · Comparisons

Oat Fiber: What It Is and Why It Is Not the Same as Oat Bran or Oat Flour

The oat fiber listed in high-fiber foods is commonly oat-hull fiber rather than oat flour or bran. FDA describes oat hull fiber as isolated from the outer hull removed from the edible oat groat and generally containing at least about 85% nondigestible carbohydrate, mostly insoluble cellulose and hemicellulose. This makes it very different from bran or flour, which still contain substantial starch, protein, and beta-glucan.

4 min read
Grains & pseudocereals · Food safety

Rice Syrup: What It Is, How It Is Made, and What to Know About Arsenic

Rice syrup is a sweetener made by breaking down rice starch with enzymes and concentrating the soluble sugars produced. It commonly contains maltose, glucose, and short glucose chains, with little or no fructose depending on processing. The best-known safety question is arsenic: rice can accumulate more inorganic arsenic than many other grains, and some can carry into rice-derived ingredients, although concentrations vary widely among raw materials and products.

5 min read
Grains & pseudocereals · Health & everyday consumption

Oat Beta-Glucan: What It Is, How Much You Need, and Why It Is Linked to Cholesterol

Oat beta-glucan is a soluble fiber that forms viscous solutions in the gut. That viscosity helps explain its well-studied relationship with modest reductions in LDL cholesterol. Meta-analyses of randomized trials commonly use at least 3 g/day and find significant decreases in LDL and total cholesterol. The amount of oats needed to provide 3 g varies because beta-glucan concentration differs among products.

4 min read
Grains & pseudocereals · Cooking & food science

Polenta: What It Is, What It Is Made From, and How It Differs From Cornmeal

Polenta is a preparation: a thick porridge made by cooking ground grain in water. Today the word usually means medium- or coarse-ground yellow or white corn. A package labeled “polenta” may therefore be ordinary cornmeal milled to a useful particle size for the dish. The meaningful differences are usually grind size, whether germ and bran remain, and whether the product was precooked.

4 min read
Grains & pseudocereals · Nutrition & composition

Microwave Rice: What It Is, How It Stays Shelf-Stable, and Whether It Is as Nutritious

Microwave rice is not raw rice cooked from scratch in 90 seconds. It is usually already hydrated and cooked before packaging. Shelf-stable versions receive thermal processing in a sealed package to achieve commercial stability, while refrigerated versions use a different preservation system. The microwave simply reheats the rice. Nutrition depends mostly on rice type and added ingredients rather than the use of microwave energy.

4 min read
Grains & pseudocereals · Nutrition & composition

Legume Pasta vs. Wheat Pasta: Protein, Fiber, and Texture

Legume pasta usually contains more protein and fiber than traditional durum-wheat pasta because it starts with lentil, chickpea, pea, or bean flour. Without the same gluten network that traps starch in wheat pasta, however, 100% legume noodles can be more fragile, less elastic, and more prone to cooking losses. The actual difference depends on whether the product is all legume or a blend.

4 min read