isn't a grain a seed?

[AmyB]

I thought the grain of the plant was the seed, but I bought some samo seeds today, and I was told that it was a seed, not a grain, so it is appropriate for fasting in India. Samo or moriya is a millet that grows in India.

[Kathleen in VA]

I just went to Wikipedia and this is what it says at the beginning of the article on grain:

 

Cereal crops or grains are mostly grasses cultivated for their edible grains or fruitseeds (i.e., botanically a type of fruit called a caryopsis).

 

Clear as mud? Btw, I clicked on caryopsis and am still trying to remember what my name is now ;).

[Spy Car]

Btw, I clicked on caryopsis and am still trying to remember what my name is now ;).

 

LOL :D

[AmyB]

It was on Yahoo answers:

 

 

 

What is the difference between a "grain" and a "seed"?

 

Some "grain-like seeds" are used as grains like Quinoa, Amaranth, Buchwheat and Millet. Wheat, spelt and oats are clear-cut grains. Sesame and pumpkin seeds are, well, "seeds". But these all sprout if you put them in water. What is the technical difference between a grain and a seed? By biological standards and culinary standards.

 

• Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

Technically, a grain is a fruit with a single seed fused, while a seed is an ovule (think 'egg') with an embryo enclosed within.

 

In the case of wheat, the flour we derive is mainly the ground up fruit part of the grain, the wheatgerm being the seed part fused within the grain.

 

In the case of, for instance, the Millet, the ovule part of the seed is so 'meaty', comparatively speaking, it has properties reminiscent of the fruit part of grains, and in culinary terms we therefore treat them similarly to a grain.

 

In seeds like peas and pea-likes, parts of the seed's embryo, the food starage ones that allow the embryonic plant to push up to reach the surface when planted and germinated, are, when the seeds (peas) are dried, so mealy in their properties, we can grind them up to produce 'flour' (like chickpea gram flour, for instance), i.e. a substance that, in culinary terms, reminds us of the properties of grain flour and so we treat them as though they were actually ground up grains.

 

Hope this helps.

[Spy Car]

Thanks for clearing that up Amy! :001_smile:

 

Bill