Quadrotriticale

[Tyrod]

My daughter took me to Chili's for lunch on my birthday in January. I wasn't terribly hungry so I was perusing the the burger items. Prominently displayed in middle of the burger portion of the menu was a banner proudly proclaiming Chili's only uses potato bread. I don't especially care for potato bread. Similarly, I noticed wifey was buying potato bread for home use. I asked the wife why she was buying potato bread and I got the response, "eveybody like it". We often feed an extended family for dinner. I pressed her further and she tells me wheat bread isn't good for you. I don't eat much bread anyway. I've known for years that white bread isn't good for a person. I like whole grain breads. But this news kinda took me back. Humans have been eating wheat products since the beginning of recorded civilization. So, I began researching wheat on the interwebs. What I found was that wheat has been so modified and genetically manipulated that it can hardly be called wheat. In fact, I contend it shouldn't be called wheat. Perhaps the name in the title of this thread. Which, incidentally is a reference to the fan voted most favorite episode of a 60's TV show. Can you remember or guess the TV show?

 

[Watchdog]

Probably Star Trek and its "The Trouble with Tribbles" episode.

But why anyone should care about any of this, other than it maybe being an answer to a question in Trivial Pursuit, is beyond me.

 

[chaparrito]

OP, I'd suggest reading the book Wheat Belly. The author is a cardiologist who did extensive study of the history of wheat. You're right, it isn't what it used to be and modern wheat is metabolized much differently than older varieties.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

Buckwheat in its whole grain form is very similar to what the Ancient Egyptians grew, except for the dark color. Wheat found in some tombs was still able to germinate and the most ancient variety has been low production for over 20 years!

The major wheat grown in the U.S. today, (Number 2 Hard Red Wheat) is from Northern Asia originally and is in the Triticale family. The wheat in "The Trouble With Tribbles" is called Quadrotriticaly. Ensign Chekov claimed it was from Russia, and he was basically correct!

As a teenager I had a Giant Tribble in my room, but everyone thought it was a large beanbag chair!

Ivan

 

[Salty RI]

I was watching a show on PBS a while back about diets they said wheat and multi grain breads were no better for you than white bread, they said they only bread to eat was rye, I like two slices of rye as long as it has corned beef in between.

 

[johngalt]

One problem with whole grain breads is they usually have extra gluten. The doc thinks the gluten additives in modern bread has caused an increase in celiac disease. Celiac is much more common in Europe, where high gluten bread is much more common. Celiac rates have been going up here in the US since bread manufacturing has changed to include more gluten.

 

[Krell1]

I'm 71 years old and have enjoyed food my entire life and intend to keep doing so. I don't really care about what's said about good and bad about the foods I eat. I find the so-called "healthy" alternatives just don't make it. Maybe I won't live to my target age of 100 but I'll enjoy all the delicious food along the journey.

 

[H Richard]

At 76, with Arthritis, and multiple "aging" aches and pains, I'm not sure that eating healthy to gain that "extra" 10 or so years of life is really worth it. Man manipulating nature might be the destruction of us all one of these days.

 

[Bekeart]

Potato Breads - not all have potatoes in them.

Potato Breads - not all have potatoes in them.
Some recipes for "potato bread" only use water that potatoes have been cooked in for the potato.

Potato bread - Wikipedia

Potato bread is a form of bread in which potato flour or potato replaces a portion of the regular wheat flour. ...
The ratio of potato to wheat flour varies significantly from recipe to recipe, with some recipes having a majority of potato, and others having a majority of wheat flour. Some recipes call for mashed potatoes, with others calling for dehydrated potato flakes. It is available as a commercial product in many countries, with similar variations in ingredients, cooking method, and other variables.

Lewis Brothers Bakeries makes Indiana Spud Potato Bread
Ingredient list at https://www.walmart.com/ip/Indiana-Spud-Potato-Bread-Bread-567-G/10318688#about-item

Partial list of Ingredients: Unbleached Enriched Wheat Flour, Water, Sugar, Yeast, Potato Flour, White Rye Flour, Wheat Gluten, Contains 2% Or Less of The Following:

Conclusion NOT many potatoes in their Potato Bread.
Willing to bet that there are more raisins in Raisin Bread than potatoes in Potato Bread.

Bekeart.

PS: Anybody remember SPUD-NUTS ?

 

[Salty RI]

Give me a loaf of soft white bread any day.

 

[UncleEd]

This thread is a Wonder-ment.

 

[Absalom]

One problem with whole grain breads is they usually have extra gluten. The doc thinks the gluten additives in modern bread has caused an increase in celiac disease. Celiac is much more common in Europe, where high gluten bread is much more common. Celiac rates have been going up here in the US since bread manufacturing has changed to include more gluten.

Sorry, but that's not how it works. If your doctor thinks that, find another one.

Celiac disease is a genetic autoimmune condition that is not caused by anything you eat. However, a reaction to gluten is a serious effect of the disease. If you don't have the genetic defect (less than one percent of the population do), you can eat all the gluten you want. There is some non-gluten wheat sensitivity that affects less than another percent of the population, more of a food allergy.

All the folks belonging to the other 98% who think they live healthier or feel better if they cut out gluten are suffering from IGS (Imaginary Gluten Syndrome).

However, that's not necessarily a bad thing. We Americans tend to eat wheat (that is, gluten), in the worst possible combinations with the real killers, salt, sugar, and fat. Think pizza dough, hamburger and hot dog buns, pastries, donuts ... So anyone cutting down on that stuff, even for a scientifically nonsensical reason, will inevitably eat healthier and live better .

 

[Rustyt1953]

Give me a loaf of soft white bread any day.

With fried baloney and mayo.

This old glue pot no longer worries about what is in the feedbag.

 

[kthom]

Ain't nuthin' what it used to be. I grew up eating things with wheat flour, sometimes mixed with white flour, and cornmeal that we ground ourselves from corn and wheat that we raised. We bought the white flour, but even it was a much more whole grained and less refined product back in the day. The wheat and corn flour was WHOLE grain, including the germ. This was a far different product from what we get at the grocery story today! Besides being whole grain, the flour was not ground as finely as storebought stuff is. That stuff is like fine powder! Yuck!

We buy Red Mill Polenta or coarse ground corn meal today at the store, as well as whole wheat flour of the same brand. Again, my wife makes somethings from white flour, but not the stuff that is so highly refined and "enriched". Other than cornbread, we don't eat nearly as much bread as we usta. One concession to that is that we do eat flour and corn tortillas quite a bit.

I suppose there are folks who do not get along well with gluten, but I've eaten a ton of it for over 70 years now and if it's had any noticeable negative affect on me, it's that part of me hangs over my belt! Non gluten products, for the most part, are just another way to get more money from consumers who have no gluten intolerance but who have been sold that gluten is bad for you.

It's my firm belief that the old grains and other food products, including meats, were good for us. That was before huge amounts of preservatives began to be included in every thing we eat, before growth stimulating hormones and other products were added to animal and bird feed, and before it all came to be the result of genetic modification. When I was a kid, if something was spoiled, you knew it was time to quit eating it and throw it out. Today, hardly any thing spoils. Things that should not last for more than a week or so without being fully cooked or frozen or properly canned are things we would be much better off without! That's my rant for the day. Thanks for listening!!

 

[rwsmith]

Kirk was the only one......

Probably Star Trek and its "The Trouble with Tribbles" episode.

But why anyone should care about any of this, other than it maybe being an answer to a question in Trivial Pursuit, is beyond me.

Kirk was the only one that couldn't recognize it on sight.

The subtitle should be, "How to make a serious Sci Fi seriesl episode funny without making it corny (or wheaty) and jumping the shark".

Great show.

 

[kwselke]

I eat wheat bread most every day and have not died yet. But, I usually use it toasted as a holder for that fruit in a jar stuff or bacon, lettuce, and tomatoes and touched up with a dab of mayo.

 

[10mmauto]

Probably Star Trek and its "The Trouble with Tribbles" episode.

But why anyone should care about any of this, other than it maybe being an answer to a question in Trivial Pursuit, is beyond me.

O Captain! My Captain!

 

[GaryS]

When I go into a restaurant that has "Gluten free" on the menu, I ask if I can get an extra serving.

That aside, your post is 100% spot on.

Sorry, but that's not how it works. If your doctor thinks that, find another one.

Celiac disease is a genetic autoimmune condition that is not caused by anything you eat. However, a reaction to gluten is a serious effect of the disease. If you don't have the genetic defect (less than one percent of the population do), you can eat all the gluten you want. There is some non-gluten wheat sensitivity that affects less than another percent of the population, more of a food allergy.

All the folks belonging to the other 98% who think they live healthier or feel better if they cut out gluten are suffering from IGS (Imaginary Gluten Syndrome).

However, that's not necessarily a bad thing. We Americans tend to eat wheat (that is, gluten), in the worst possible combinations with the real killers, salt, sugar, and fat. Think pizza dough, hamburger and hot dog buns, pastries, donuts ... So anyone cutting down on that stuff, even for a scientifically nonsensical reason, will inevitably eat healthier and live better .

 

[Watchdog]

Just like vodka made from potatoes, bread made from potatoes is just wrong.

 

[zzzippper]

I have celiac which is an allergy to all grains. If I eat it two hours later on the dot I am painfully spewing from both ends. If I do it long enough it kills the cilia in my small intestine and become anemic. This is not just a health food craze. Scientists have tried to figure out why the occurrence of celiac is on the rise. They found blood samples from a USAF Reserve unit that had been taken in the 60s and frozen. The celiac rate was less than a third of what it is now. The OP is correct, the grains we have now have been so genetically modified that they didn’t exist in the 60s.