Rye

Rye (Secale cereale) is a grass grown extensively as a grain and forage crop. It is a member of

the wheat tribe and is closely related to barley and wheat. Rye grain is used to make flour, feed,

beer, some whiskies and most vodkas. It can also be eaten whole, either as boiled rye berries, or

by being rolled, similar to rolled oats.

The early history of rye is unclear. The wild ancestor of rye has not been identified with

certainty, but is one of a number of species that grow wild in central and eastern Turkey, and

adjacent areas. Domesticated rye occurs in small quantities at a number of Neolithic sites in

Turkey, such as PPNB Can Hasan III, but is otherwise virtually absent from the archaeological

record until the Bronze Age of central Europe, c. 1800-1500 BC. It is possible that rye travelled

west from Turkey as a minor admixture in wheat, and was only later cultivated in its own right.

Since the middle ages, rye has been widely cultivated in Central and Eastern Europe and is

the main bread cereal in most areas east of the French-German border and north of Hungary.

Claims of much earlier cultivation of rye, at the Epipalaeolithic site of Tell Abu Hureyra

in the Euphrates valley of northern Syria, remain controversial. Critics point to inconsistencies

in the radiocarbon dates, and identifications based solely on grain, rather than on chaff.

Rye, alone or overseeded, is planted as a livestock forage or harvested for hay. It is

highly tolerant of soil acidity and is more tolerant of dry and cool conditions than wheat, though

not as tolerant of cold as barley. In Turkey, rye is often grown as an admixture in wheat crops. It

is appreciated for the flavour it brings to bread, as well as its ability to compensate for wheat's

reduced yields in hard years.

The flame moth, rustic shoulder-knot and turnip moth are among the species of Lepidoptera

whose larvae feed on rye.

Rye is highly susceptible to the ergot fungus. Consumption of ergot-infected rye by humans

and animals results in a serious medical condition known as ergotism. Ergotism can cause both

physical and mental harm, including convulsions, abortions, necrosis of digits, and hallucinations.

Historically, damp northern countries that have depended on rye as a staple crop were subject to

periodic epidemics of this condition.

Rye bread is a widely eaten food in the Northern Europe. It is often colored deep brown with

sugar syrup, since naturally it is gray.

Some non-food uses of rye include rye whisky and use in alternative medicine of rye extract,

a liquid extracted from rye and similar to that extracted from Wheatgrass. Its benefits are said to

include a strengthened immune System, increased energy levels and relief from allergies, but there

is no clinical evidence for its efficacy.

Check out the following recipes that are tagged "Rye":
Beer Rye Bread, Rye Yeast Bread, Pumpernickel Bagels, Rye Bread And Sausage, Amaranth Rye Sticks, Best Honey Wheat Bread Kh, Best Ever French Bread, Black Bread, Caraway Rye, Corn Rye, Crockpot Boston Brown Bread, Crusty Rye Bread, Dad's Saxon Yeast, Dark Bread, Dark Pumpernickel Bread, Dark Pumpernickel Bread, Deli Corn Rye, Delicatessen Rye Bread (Kh), Dr. Benjamin's Rye Bread Starter Abm, Finnish Rye Bread, Finnish Sour Rye Bread, German Leaven, German Pumpernickel Bread, German Rye Beer Bread, Hearty Pumpernickel Loaves, Malted Rye Bread Abm, Mennonite Bread, New York-Florida Rye, Oat Bran Russian Black Bread, Old Greek Bread, Onion Rye, Onion Rye Bread, Peasant Bread, Pecan Whole Wheat Bread, Polish Corn Bread, Pumpernickel Bread, Pumpernickel Bread (Ee), The Basic Bagel, Roggenbrot(Rye Bread), Roggenbrot (rye Bread), Roggenbrot (Rye Bread), Russian Black Bread, Russian Black Bread2, Rye Bread, Russian Black Bread(Ceideburg), Rye Beer Bread, Rye Bread, Salt-Crusted Currant Pecan Rye Bread, Salt Sticks, Scandinavian Rye