Winter wheat is a crop plant that is cultivated from September to December in the Northern Hemisphere. Winter wheat sprouts before freezing occurs, then becomes dormant until the soil warms in the spring. Winter wheat needs a few weeks of cold before being able to flower, however persistent snow cover might be disadvantageous. It is ready to be harvested by early July. Due to the timing of the plant's growth and maturation, winter wheat is valued as a cold crop that can be planted right after the harvest in the fall.
Hard winter wheats have a higher gluten protein content than other wheats. They are used to make flour for yeast breads, or are blended with soft spring wheats to make the all-purpose flour used in a wide variety of baked products. Soft wheat is used for specialty or cake flour. Durum, the hardest wheat, is primarily used for making pasta. Almost all durum wheat grown in North America is spring-planted.
Winter wheat is grown throughout Europe, North America, and in Siberia.
Read more about Winter Wheat: United States, Literature
Famous quotes containing the words winter and/or wheat:
“In winter we lead a more inward life. Our hearts are warm and cheery, like cottages under drifts, whose windows and doors are half concealed, but from whose chimneys the smoke cheerfully ascends.... We enjoy now, not an Oriental, but a Boreal leisure, around warm stoves and fireplaces, and watch the shadow of motes in the sunbeams.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“An editor is someone who separates the wheat from the chaff and then prints the chaff.”
—Adlai Stevenson (1900–1965)