Difference Between Wheat and Rye

Wheat vs Rye

For just a second, close your eyes and imagine the contents of your kitchen cupboards. There will probably be pasta, cereal, bread, crackers, cookies, and maybe some snacks like Chex Mix or some pastries. These foods form a large part of what we eat on a daily basis. These foods are also all made from cereal grains. Corn, rice, wheat, barley, oats, rye, and sorghum are some of the cereal grains that are grown worldwide. Corn, for example, is very easy to distinguish from other grains, but the differences are much more subtle between similar grains such as wheat and rye.

Definition of Wheat and Rye
Wheat ‘“ is a cereal grass that is often processed into flour and used for baking.
Rye ‘“ is also a cereal grass that can be used for baking, making whiskey, or as animal fodder.
Because wheat and rye are both members of the family Poaceae, they are naturally quite similar.

Taste of Wheat and Rye
Wheat ‘“ has somewhat of a neutral, or slightly nutty flavor. It generally takes on the characteristics of whatever is being added to it, for example sugar or salt.
Rye ‘“ has a very distinctive, sour flavor. Many people find this strong taste unappealing, especially since there is very little that one can do to make rye sweeter.

Appearance of Wheat and Rye
Wheat ‘“ grows on the end of a long cellulose stalk. The edible part is a small cluster of grains that grows in a layered fashion. Once ground, wheat flour is a very pale brown color and it maintains that coloration when cooked unless other ingredients have been added.
Rye ‘“ looks very similar to wheat when it is growing in a field. However, it is produces a much darker colored flour and bakes into dark brown loaves of bread.

Popularity of Wheat and Rye
Wheat ‘“ enjoys almost a worldwide popularity. It is grown in any climate that is suitable to its cultivation, which means that you can find it on six of the seven continents and in all but the coldest or most sultry climates. Data for 2007, puts worldwide wheat output at 725 million metric tons.
Rye ‘“ is much less popular than wheat, probably owning to is distinctive flavoring. Though able to grow in essentially the same climate as wheat, it is primarily produced in Eastern Europe and Russia, where it is considered to be part of the cultural cuisine. In 2005, only 13.3 million metric tons of rye was produced, and much of that went to making whiskey.

Summary:
1.Wheat and rye are both cereal grains.
2.Wheat has a neutral flavor and is used in most baking endeavors, whereas rye has a distinctive sour flavor and therefore has limited baking applications.
3.Wheat produces light brown flour, whereas rye flour is quite dark.
4.Wheat is much more popular than rye, is grown over most of the world, and outstrips rye’s annual output by a factor of 50.

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