cereal, cereal grass (noun)

grass whose starchy grains are used as food: wheat; rice; rye; oats; maize; buckwheat; millet

grain, food grain, cereal (noun)

foodstuff prepared from the starchy grains of cereal grasses

cereal (adj)

a breakfast food prepared from grain

cereal (adj)

made of grain or relating to grain or the plants that produce it

"a cereal beverage"; "cereal grasses"

cereal (Noun)

A type of grass (such as wheat, rice or oats) cultivated for its edible grains.

cereal (Noun)

The grains of such a grass.

cereal (Noun)

Breakfast cereal.

cereal (Noun)

A particular type of breakfast cereal.

Cereal

Cereal is a grass cultivated for the edible components of their grain, composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities and provide more food energy worldwide than any other type of crop; they are therefore staple crops. In their natural form, they are a rich source of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, fats, oils, and protein. However, when refined by the removal of the bran and germ, the remaining endosperm is mostly carbohydrate and lacks the majority of the other nutrients. In some developing nations, grain in the form of rice, wheat, millet, or maize constitutes a majority of daily sustenance. In developed nations, cereal consumption is moderate and varied but still substantial. The word cereal derives from Ceres, the name of the Roman goddess of harvest and agriculture.

Cereal

A cereal is any grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Cereal grain crops are grown in greater quantities and provide more food energy worldwide than any other type of crop and are therefore staple crops. They include wheat, rye, oats, and barley. Edible grains from other plant families, such as buckwheat, quinoa and chia, are referred to as pseudocereals. In their unprocessed whole grain form, cereals are a rich source of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, fats, oils, and protein. When processed by the removal of the bran and germ the remaining endosperm is mostly carbohydrate. In some developing countries, grain in the form of rice, wheat, millet, or maize constitutes a majority of daily sustenance. In developed countries, cereal consumption is moderate and varied but still substantial, primarily in the form of refined and processed grains. Because of this dietary importance, the cereal trade is often at the heart of food trade – with many cereals sold as commodities.