bran

/bræn/

/bræn/

Other forms: brans

The outside layer of a grain like wheat or rice is called bran. If you need some fiber, avoid the chocolate chip muffin and opt for the bran muffin instead.

Most of wheat's nutrients are in its bran and germ, which are parts of an unprocessed cereal grain. When wheat is processed into white flour, the bran is removed. That's too bad since there are B vitamins, protein, iron, and important fatty acids in bran (all of which is stripped away when grain is milled or refined). White rice, for example, is rice with the bran and germ removed, while a grain of brown rice still contains both. In the sixteenth century, bran also meant "dandruff flakes." Yum!

Definitions of bran

1. noun

   broken husks of the seeds of cereal grains that are separated from the flour by sifting
   type of:

   chaff, husk, shuck, stalk, straw, stubble

   material consisting of seed coverings and small pieces of stem or leaves that have been separated from the seeds
2. noun

   food prepared from the husks of cereal grains
   type of:

   fiber, fibre, roughage

   coarse, indigestible plant food low in nutrients; its bulk stimulates intestinal peristalsis