Editing Chaff (section)

==Grain chaff==
[[Image:Usdaeinkorn1 Triticum monococcum.jpg|thumbnail|Spikelets of a hulled wheat, [[Einkorn wheat|einkorn]]]]In [[Poaceae|grass]]es (including [[cereal|cereals]] such as [[rice]], [[barley]], [[oat|oats]], and [[wheat]]), the ripe seed is surrounded by thin, dry, scaly [[bracts]] (called [[glume|glumes]], [[Lemma (botany)|lemmas]], and [[palea (botany)|paleas]]), forming a dry [[husk]] (or hull) around the grain. Once it is removed, it is often referred to as chaff.

In wild cereals and in the primitive domesticated [[einkorn]],<ref name=Potts>Potts, D. T. (1996) ''Mesopotamia Civilization: The Material Foundations'' [[Cornell University Press]]. p. 62. {{ISBN|0-8014-3339-8}}.</ref> [[emmer]]<ref>Nevo, Eviatar & A. B. Korol & A. Beiles & T. Fahima. (2002) ''Evolution of Wild Emmer and Wheat Improvement: Population Genetics, Genetic Resources, and Genome...''. Springer. p. 8. {{ISBN|3-540-41750-8}}.</ref> and [[spelt]]<ref>Vaughan, J. G. & P. A. Judd. (2003) ''The Oxford Book of Health Foods''. [[Oxford University Press]]. p. 35. {{ISBN|0-19-850459-4}}.</ref> wheats, the husks enclose each seed tightly. Before the grain can be used, the husks must be removed.

The process of loosening the chaff from the grain so as to remove it is called "[[threshing]]" before "[[drying]]" – traditionally done by milling or pounding, making it finer like "[[flour]]". Separating remaining loose chaff from the grain is called "[[winnowing]]" – traditionally done by repeatedly tossing the grain up into a light wind, which gradually blows the lighter chaff away. This method typically uses a broad, plate-shaped basket or similar receptacle to hold and collect the winnowed grain as it falls back down.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What Is Chaff: Learn How To Winnow Seeds From Chaff |url=https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/grains/general-grains/chaff-and-winnowing-information.htm |access-date=2022-10-07 |website=Gardening Know How |date=7 September 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

Domesticated grains such as [[durum wheat|durum]] and [[common wheat]] have been bred to have chaff that is easily removed. These varieties are known as "free-threshing" or "naked".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cereals & Grains Association |url=https://www.cerealsgrains.org/Pages/default.aspx |access-date=2024-07-11 |website=www.cerealsgrains.org |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Tzarfati |first1=Raanan |last2=Saranga |first2=Yehoshua |last3=Barak |first3=Vered |last4=Gopher |first4=Avi |last5=Korol |first5=Abraham B. |last6=Abbo |first6=Shahal |date=September 2013 |title=Threshing efficiency as an incentive for rapid domestication of emmer wheat |journal=Annals of Botany |volume=112 |issue=5 |pages=829–837 |doi=10.1093/aob/mct148 |issn=0305-7364 |pmc=3747801 |pmid=23884398}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Watanabe |first=N. |date=2017-08-04 |title=Breeding opportunities for early, free-threshing and semi-dwarf Triticum monococcum L. |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-017-1987-0 |journal=Euphytica |language=en |volume=213 |issue=8 |pages=201 |doi=10.1007/s10681-017-1987-0 |bibcode=2017Euphy.213..201W |issn=1573-5060|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Chaff should not be confused with [[bran]], which is a finer, scaly material that is part of the grain itself.