Editing Cereal germ (section)

{{short description|Reproductive part of a grass seed}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
[[File:Weat kernel.gif|right|200x200px|Detailed illustration of the different parts constituting a wheat kernel.]]
The '''germ''' of a [[cereal|cereal grain]] is the part that develops into a plant;<ref>{{cite book
  | last = Black
  | first = Michael J.
  |author2=Shishir |author3=Peter Hunter
  | title = The Encyclopedia of Seeds – Science, Technology and Uses
  | publisher = [[CAB International]]
  | date = September 11, 2001
  | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=aE414KuXu4gC&pg=PA143
  | quote = The embryo is that part of the seed that germinates and grows into the vegatative plant. In cereal grains, embryos (germs)...
  | access-date = 9 July 2009
  | isbn = 9780851997230}}</ref>  
it is the [[Seed#Embryo_2|seed embryo]].<ref>{{cite book
  | last = Ellis
  | first = Carleton
  |author2=Annie Louise Macleod
  | title = Vital Factors of Foods – Vitamins and Nutrients
  | publisher = D. Van Nostrand Company
  | year = 1922
  | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=MDZKAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA78
  | quote = ...the germ or embryo of the grain...
  | access-date = 9 July 2009}}</ref> Along with [[bran]], germ is often a [[by-product]] of the [[Mill (grinding)|milling]]<ref>{{cite book
  | last = Hui
  | first = Yiu H.
  |author2=Ramesh C. Chandan|author3=Stephanie Clark|author4=Nanna Cross|author5=Joannie C. Dobbs|author6=William J. Hurst|author7=Erika B. Smith|author8=Leo M. Nollet|author9=Eyal Shimoni|author10=Nirmal Sinha
  | title = Handbook of Food Products Manufacturing: Principles, Bakery, Beverages, Cereals, Cheese, Confectionary, Fats, Fruits, and Functional Foods
  | publisher = [[Wiley-Interscience]]
  | date = 27 April 2007
  | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=mnh6aoI8iF8C&pg=PA374
  | isbn = 978-0-470-12524-3
  | quote = There are two methods that are used for the dry-milling process: milling without removal of the cereal germ, the oldest method, and milling with removal of the cereal germ, the method most used today to ensure a better preservation.
  | access-date = 9 July 2009}}</ref> that produces refined grain products. [[Cereal grain]]s and their components, such as [[wheat germ oil]],<ref>{{cite book
  | last = Keville
  | first =  Kathi
  |author2=Mindy Green
  | title = Aromatherapy
  | publisher = The Crossing Press
  | date = 16 December 2008
  | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=G7wd8N_jNJcC&pg=PA46
  | isbn = 978-1-58091-189-4
  | quote = Table: Vegetable Oil Stability [includes wheat germ]
  | access-date = 9 July 2009}}</ref> [[rice bran oil]], and [[maize]] bran,<ref>{{cite book
  | last = Stellman
  | first =  Jeanne Mager
  | title = Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety
  | publisher = [[United Nations]] [[International Labour Office]]
  | year = 1998
  | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=nDhpLa1rl44C&pg=PT179
  | isbn = 92-2-109816-8
  | quote = In addition, some maize and rice bran are used to make vegetable oil.
  | access-date = 9 July 2009}}</ref> may be used as a source from which [[vegetable oil]] is extracted, or used directly as a food ingredient. The germ is retained as an integral part of [[whole grain|whole-grain]] foods.<ref>{{cite book
  | last = Wittenberg
  | first = Margaret M.
  | title = New Good Food: Essential Ingredients for Cooking and Eating Well
  | publisher = [[Ten Speed Press]]
  | date = 1 November 2007
  | url = https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781580087506
  | url-access = registration
  | page = [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781580087506/page/69 69]
  | isbn = 978-1-58008-750-6
  | quote = Whole-grain flours are typically stone-ground or hammer-milled. Refined flours, from grains stripped of their bran and germ, must be milled with rollers.
  | access-date = 9 July 2009}}</ref> 
Non-whole grain methods of milling are intended to isolate the [[endosperm]], which is ground into flour, with removal of both the husk (bran) and the germ. Removal of bran produces a flour with a white rather than a brown color and eliminates fiber. The germ is rich in [[polyunsaturated fat]]s (which have a tendency to oxidize and become rancid on storage) and so germ removal improves the storage qualities of flour.<ref>{{cite book
  | last = McGee
  | first = Harold
  | title = On Food and Cooking: the science and lore of the kitchen
  | publisher = Scriber
  | year = 2004
  | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=mQgklAEACAAJ
  | isbn = 0684800012
 }}</ref>