The New Complete Book of Food

 The New Complete Book of Food

does not. Triticale flour is milled from triticale grain, a rye/wheat hybrid. It has more protein

and less gluten than all-purpose wheat flour.

The Most Nutritious Way to Serve This Food

With beans or a “complete” protein food (meat, fish, poultry, eggs, milk, cheese) to provide

the essential amino acid lysine, in which wheat and rye flours are deficient.

Diets That May Restrict or Exclude This Food

Low-calcium diet (whole grain and self-rising flours)

Low-fiber diet (whole wheat flours)

Low-gluten diet (all wheat and rye flour)

Sucrose-free diet

Buying This Food

Look for: Tightly sealed bags or boxes. Flours in torn packages or in open bins are exposed

to air and to insect contamination.

Avoid: Stained packages—the liquid that stained the package may have seeped through

into the flour.

Storing This Food

Store all flours in air- and moistureproof canisters. Whole wheat flours, which contain the

germ and bran of the wheat and are higher in fat than white flours, may become rancid if

exposed to air; they should be used within a week after you open the package. If you plan to

hold the flour for longer than that, store it in the freezer, tightly wrapped to protect it against

air and moisture. You do not have to thaw the flour when you are ready to use it; just measure

it out and add it directly to the other ingredients.

Put a bay leaf in the flour canister to help protect against insect infections. Bay leaves

are natural insect repellents.

Preparing This Food

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What Happens When You Cook This Food

Protein reactions. The wheat kernel contains several proteins, including gliadin and glute-

nin. When you mix flour with water, gliadin and glutenin clump together in a sticky mass.