On Tue, 21 Sep 1999, Hans Kylberg wrote:

> At 16:23 1999-09-21 -0400, Todd wrote:
> >"Green" wheat
> >kernels are also edible raw, after you roll them in your palms to
> >get rid of the husks.
>
> But are not the nutrtious parts hidden in cellulose, wich means
> You can "eat" the grains, but they will just pass through an come
> out the other end unchanged (wich must also be the idea with
> "edible" seeds generally)? You can eat sawdust as well.
> Yuo must use some technology to also benefit from the grains.

I don't think this is the case.  The husk *is* the cellulose
sheath around the seed.  The idea is to let that fall away so
that what is left in your hands is just the bare kernel.  This is
digestible, although I can't say I enjoyed the flavor much.  It
was vaguely nutty but mostly bland and chewy.

It is very hard to say whether this would have amounted to a
significant part of any paleolithic diet; I am inclined to think
not.  I've only tried this with wheat; I have no idea whether
other grains would work better or worse.

Todd Moody
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