In the modern world grain economy, rye is second in importance to other grains, but in some countries and regions the crop plays a vital role. Winter rye varieties are unpretentious and can produce a good harvest where oats or wheat show poor germination and disease. The benefits of grain are in its chemical composition. It is rich in minerals and acids necessary for the body, and products from rye flour Recommended for dietary and diabetic menus.

Biological characteristics of winter rye

In the botanical classification, rye belongs to the cereal family, and the biological name is translated from Latin as rye (lat. - Secale cereale). Within the species there are several wild subspecies and more than 40 cultivated varieties. Plants differ in the color of the grain, the development of the awn, the degree of pubescence of the stem and the length of the ear, the openness and shape of the seeds.

Stem and root system

Rye is an annual or perennial herbaceous plant characterized by bushiness at the base. It has a fibrous root system, which is the strongest and most developed among all cereal crops. Rye roots can reach a depth of 2 m in length, and under favorable soil and climatic conditions, one plant, taking into account four orders of branching, can have up to 15 million roots. The roots consist of nodal secondary and embryonic primary roots and absorb nutrients well.

The stem of a cereal is a hollow straw that consists of 4-7 knees or internodes. They are connected to each other by noticeable nodes. The thickness of the lower internodes is about 6-7 mm, the upper ones - 2-4 mm. Breeding forms of rye do not exceed 150 cm in height, while wild ones can reach 180 cm or more. The color of the leaves and stem is green, and sometimes appears bluish due to the waxy coating. During the ripening process, the color changes to gray-green, gray-yellow and golden yellow.

Ear and inflorescence of rye

Biologists classify the plant's inflorescence as a complex spike of an unfinished type, since it lacks an apical spikelet. The spike consists of two- or three-flowered spikelets, which are attached to the stem. The grain or fruit of the cereal has an oblong, less often oval, shape, slightly compressed from the sides. The upper edge of the grain can be either bare or pubescent. The length of the ear depends on the variety and ranges from 8 to 17 cm. The weight of the grains also depends on the variety:

• Large-grain varieties have a weight of 100 seeds over 38 g;
• Above average size - from 30 to 38 g;
• Medium grain varieties have seeds weighing from 20 to 30 g;
• Small grains - less than 20 g.

Rye is pollinated by the wind and is a cross-pollinated plant.

Some breeding varieties are classified as self-pollinating. They were bred for cultivation in areas with risky agriculture for a guaranteed harvest even in unfavorable summers.

Features of rye

Winter rye differs from other grain crops in its frost resistance and less demanding environmental conditions. Seeds germinate well already at a soil temperature of 6-8°C, and if the soil is well moistened - at 1-2.5°C. For the development and growth of winter varieties, the optimal temperature is 7-11°C. If in winter the fields are well covered with snow, then the shoots are not afraid of frosts down to -30-35°C.

Rye is a drought-resistant plant; the longest period of moisture consumption is the active growth phase. For winter varieties, it is important to have a sufficient amount of moisture in the soil in the fall, otherwise in winter they will go away with weak bushing. Excess water will lead to freezing of part of the crops.

Of the minerals for a good harvest, the plant needs potassium and phosphorus. Nitrogen also plays an important role in plant formation, but its excess reduces resistance to frost and increases the risk of mold development.

Winter rye is not as demanding on the soil as spring rye and bears fruit on any type of soil. However, it produces a good harvest on fertile soil with sufficient aeration and a light mechanical composition.

What is the difference between rye and wheat

Visually, these two crops differ already at the shoot stage: in wheat, the root is divided into 3 roots, and in rye - into 4. Before the ears ripen, the crops also have different leaf colors: in wheat they are bright green, and in rye cereals they are bluish-green . The structure of the ears also differs: in rye it is a two-row simple ear, and in wheat it is a complex one.

In cultural terms, winter rye has less species diversity, but greater benefits. It is rich in vitamins, minerals, amino acids and enzymes. Dietary foods are made from rye grain and it does not cause allergies.

In agrotechnical terms, rye is less demanding on environmental conditions. This makes it possible to grow spring varieties even in Yakutia, under short summer conditions. The cereal produces a stable harvest on acidic, sandy, and poor soils. While wheat often freezes during frosts and needs constant soil moisture, rye can easily tolerate both drought and frost.

What is the difference between rye and barley

A rye sprout has 4 roots, and a barley sprout has from 5 to 9. The leaves of the plants have horns at the base. In rye they are devoid of cilia and short, in barley they are long, shaped like a crescent. The rye ear has a pair of flowers on each ledge of the main stem, and there are 3 of them on the barley ledges.

Another difference is that the glumes of rye have a pronounced groove and are narrow. In barley they are much wider, have a linear shape and without a groove.

Winter rye varieties

There are more than 50 winter cereal varieties in the State Register of the Russian Federation. Common ones include:

• Crown;
• Haze;
• Blizzard;
• Talovskaya 29 and 33;
• Volkhova.

New and increasingly popular varieties:

• Bylina;
• Slavia;
• Valdai;
• Tatiana;
• Radon;
• Rushnik;
• Snezhana.

There are also valuable varieties. The first of them is the Tatarstan Relay Race. This is a mid-late variety, the growing season of which is about 340 days. The variety is medium-sized (plant height from 110 to 125 cm), but has a strong stem. The seeds are large: the average weight of 1000 pieces is 38 g. The grain is characterized by high baking qualities and a high content of amino acids, lysine and easily digestible protein. Rye of this variety is recommended for the manufacture of products for baby and dietary food. The variety is resistant to lodging and many diseases. Main growing regions: Tatarstan, Central Black Earth regions, Volga region.

Another valuable variety is Tatar. It also belongs to the medium-late and medium-grown varieties. Rye is resistant to lodging and many diseases. The importance of this species is winter hardiness and frost resistance, which makes it suitable for cultivation in regions with long and cold winters and poor soil. The cereal is also recommended as an insurance variety.

The Saratovsky 7 variety occupies an important place in grain production. This is a mid-season rye with a growing season of about 330 days. The plant is distinguished by drought and frost resistance, and resistance to lodging. The advantage of the crop is the uniform height of the plant, which allows you to harvest the field with maximum efficiency. The grain is large: 1000 seeds weigh about 40-42 g. In terms of baking quality, it is classified as class 1.

One of the best mid-season winter varieties is Bezenchuksky 87. High frost resistance allows over 98% of seedlings to be preserved until spring. The plant is tall - up to 130 cm, but is resistant to lodging and has high potential productivity. The grain belongs to class 1 and has a weight of 1000 seeds of about 37-39 g. The variety is recommended for cultivation in the Urals, in the Volga-Vyatka region, in the Middle Volga region and in the central regions of the country.

Conditions for growing winter rye

Predecessors

The main predecessors of winter varieties are oat-lupine mixtures, potatoes early ripening varieties, flax, perennial grasses and corn, which is grown for silage. In the forest-steppe zone, cereals are planted after winter varieties of wheat. Sometimes spring rye is also a predecessor. Winter rye also grows well after annual grasses and perennial legumes.

It is best to avoid the use of other grain precursors.

Pre-sowing work

If grain is planted after wheat, then it is necessary to carry out stubble peeling and plowing. The depth of plowing depends on the region and ranges from 16 (chernozem regions) to 20 (steppe and forest-steppe regions) cm. Processing takes place in half-fallow. After collecting the predecessors, the field is processed twice with plowshares or disk ploughs. When growing rye, fields are cultivated two or three times, and each subsequent one is reduced by 2-3 cm. Plowing must be carried out 3-4 weeks before the start of sowing.

To protect seedlings from diseases they carry out pre-treatment seeds with chemicals. The drug TMTD is used to prevent root rot and stem smut, and foundationazol is used to prevent snow mold. Winter rye varieties are sown earlier than winter wheat. The crop begins to bush in the fall. Sowing dates depend on the region and weather conditions; they are usually more extended. In the non-chernozem zone, sowing work is carried out from August 5 to 25, in the central regions and south-eastern regions - from August 10 to September 1, in the south of the country - from September 20 to October 15.

Sowing rules

Typically, the row or narrow-row method is used for sowing. The effectiveness of the methods is explained by the uniform distribution of seeds over the sown area. The seed sowing rate depends on the region and is:

• For the Central Black Earth strip - 5-6 million/ha;
• For the Non-Chernozem strip - 6-7 million/ha;
• For the Volga region - 4.5-6.5 million/ha;
• For the regions of Siberia and the Urals - 6-7.5 million/ha.

The seeding rate increases by 15-20% if the crop is sown in occupied fallows. When cross-seeding, the rate also increases by 12-15%.

A distinctive feature of winter rye varieties from other crops is the location of the tillering node near the soil surface. Therefore, seeds should not be planted deep. The maximum sowing depth is 5 cm. With well-moistened soil, the seeds are planted:

• To a depth of 2 to 3 cm if the soil is heavy;
• To a depth of 3 to 4 cm if the soil is average;
• To a depth of 5 cm in light soil.

At late sowing dates, the seeding depth is reduced by 0.5-1 cm, otherwise the seeds will not have time to germinate and produce a sufficiently strong bush before hibernation.

Shoot care

The main purpose of caring for seedlings in the autumn is rooting of crops, tillering and general hardening. After sowing, if the soil layer is not sufficiently moist, it is better to roll it. It will improve the contact of seeds with the soil and create necessary conditions for uniform shoots. During the autumn growing season, it is important to harden: hardened and developed plants resist frost, humidity, snow cover and disease well. The process involves the application of phosphorus-potassium fertilizers. The mineral mixture is applied during the main tillage.

In winter, the task of caring for shoots is to combat freezing. The main activity of winter work is snow retention. It is necessary in regions with insufficient snow cover and in winters with little snow. This technique protects plants and creates the necessary supply of moisture in the soil. Another important condition for wintering is regrowth. Observing plants by growing samples makes it possible to understand the needs of cereals in early spring after awakening.

With the onset of spring, it is necessary to drain excess water accumulated in the lowlands. Stagnant water and waterlogging of the soil will lead to rapid death of winter crops. Retention of melt water is usually practiced in the southern regions, where the lack of moisture has been relevant since mid-spring. Based on the physical ripeness of the soil, the first harrowing is carried out. It destroys the crust, saturates the soil with oxygen, removes mold from the surface and destroys weeds. Timely harrowing increases yield by 2-5%. Additionally, crops are treated with drugs against weeds and smut.

In summer, the main task of plant care is to combat diseases and pests. Despite the cereal's resistance to many diseases, rye can be affected by the fall armyworm. In the tillering phase, it is necessary to treat young plants with preparations against root rot, and chlormequat chloride is used against lodging. Rye is treated with this product in the booting phase at a plant height of about 30 cm. The use of the drug slows down growth by 15-20%, which allows better tissue development, thickens the walls and increases the strength of the stem.

To avoid grain shedding, winter rye harvesting begins in the middle of the period of waxy ripeness. Permanent rye is susceptible to lodging and Fusarium blight. The optimal density of rye is from 300 stems per square meter, with a stubble height of about 20 cm. The thickness of the windrow at high humidity is 17-19 cm, at medium humidity - from 18 to 22 cm, at low humidity - about 25 cm. Compressed rye ripens in windrows in dry weather from 2 to 7 days. Unharvested rye can remain in the fields for a maximum of 1-2 days.

Useful properties of rye grain

Not only flour is made from rye grains, but also flakes, bran, kvass, strong alcoholic drinks. Made from flour different varieties breads, crispbreads, desserts, pastries and various sweets. All these products are distinguished by their low calorie content and rich vitamin and mineral composition.

Rye is much healthier than wheat or oats. Its protein contains many amino acids and some gluten. Rye contains a large amount of fiber, which improves intestinal function and hemicellulose.

Of the vitamins, 100 g of grains contains:

• Vitamin A - 1 mcg;
• Beta-Carotene - 0.007 mcg;
• Thiamine - 0.316 mg;
• Riboflavin - 0.250 mg;
• Choline - 30.5 mg;
• Pantheonic acid - 1.5 mg;
• Pyridoxine - 0.3 mg;
• Folates - 38 mcg;
• Tocopherol - 0.9 mg;
• Phylloquinone - 6 mcg;
• Betaine - 150 mg.

Macroelements are represented by calcium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus and sodium. Microelements - iron, copper, selenium, manganese and zinc. Of the essential amino acids, grain contains:

• Valin;
• Histidine;
• Arginine;
• Leucine;
• Lysine;
• Threonine;
• Tryptophan;
• Methionine;
• Phenylalanine.

The non-essential amino acids in the product are aspartic and glutamic acid, alanine, serine, glycine, tyrosine and proline. The grain contains Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids, saturated fatty acids - palmitic, stearic and myristic, monounsaturated fatty acids - palmitoleic, gadoleic and oleic, and polyunsaturated fatty acids - linolenic and linoleic.

What are the benefits of grain

Rye grain is an excellent natural antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-allergenic agent. Rye products strengthen the immune system, improve blood circulation and the functioning of the intestines and cardiovascular system. Regular consumption of rye bread or crispbread, bran or flakes is a prevention oncological diseases.

Another beneficial property of rye grains is to cleanse the body of toxins. They also help in the treatment of respiratory diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, and eczema. Rye improves metabolic processes in tissues, the functioning of the lymphatic, endocrine, and nervous systems.

Rye flour products are prescribed during recovery after serious illnesses, operations, and childbirth. For diseases of the thyroid gland and heart disease, rye bread and bran must be included in the menu. A decoction of rye bran helps with atherosclerosis, diarrhea, tuberculosis and hypertension.

The benefits of sprouted grains

Nutritionists value sprouted rye for its rich vitamin composition. The concentration of minerals and nutrients in sprouted grain is several times higher than in dry grain. Regular use of the product increases emotional and physical endurance, increases activity, strengthens muscle and bone tissue, improves coordination of movements, memory, and concentration. Rye sprouts are recommended for diabetes, atherosclerosis, diseases of the gallbladder and gastrointestinal tract, diseases of the organs of vision. Sprouted rye is also included in the diet menu.

How to germinate rye

For germination, grain from the previous harvest and not treated with chemicals is selected. The seeds are washed several times with warm running water and placed on a tray covered with a damp cloth. The top of the grains is covered with another piece of cloth and filled with water. The liquid should cover the seeds by 1-2 mm. Every day the seeds need to be washed and the water in the tray changed - otherwise oxidation and the development of mold or drying out cannot be avoided. The first shoots appear after 2-4 days. Before use, it is advisable to rinse the rye sprouts with cold water to eliminate the unpleasant odor.

Industrial use of winter rye varieties

Rye is a universal crop, and its main purpose is food. Rye bread is distinguished by its aroma and taste, nutritional value and benefits. However, rye grain is used not only for making bread and other products. Part of the grain is grown for livestock needs. The cereal contains some anti-nutritional components that make it difficult to feed it in pure form. Feed rye is processed by flattening, canning, extrusion or fermentation, which allows it to be added to concentrates in volumes of up to 70%.

Rye is the first to produce an abundant green mass that can be fed to livestock and poultry, put into haylage and used to make early silage or highly nutritious grass meal.

Also, starch raw materials, alcohol and environmentally friendly biofuel are obtained from rye grain. In its production, not only the grain itself is used, but also its waste and chopped rye straw.

Growing rye for green manure

The advantage of rye as a green manure over other plants is that it saturates the soil with potassium. The powerful root system loosens the soil well, which improves moisture permeability and protects the soil from erosion. Among the useful properties, one can also note the rapid growth of cultural mass, unpretentiousness, resistance to frost, and good bushiness. Rye suppresses most weeds and can be grown in any soil.

After rye green manure the following grow and bear fruit well:

• Potato;
• Cucumbers;
• Tomatoes;
• Zucchini;
• Pumpkins;
• Cabbage;
• Bell pepper;
• Legumes.

Also, after the crop, you can sow fodder grains, plant any flowers, and lawn grass.

Winter rye is planted on green manure, depending on the region, from mid-August to the end of September. After harvesting, plowing is carried out (if necessary, fertilizers are applied under plowing), the soil is given a few days of rest and the seeds are sown. It is better to choose a fine-grained variety - they are less demanding on the soil and their seeding rate is also lower. Per hundred square meters you will need about 2 kg of seeds with a planting depth of about 3-4 cm.

Active growth and development of plants begins after the snow melts. By the time of collection, the green mass reaches a volume of 200-400 kg. The greens are cut, chopped and plowed into the soil. After this, the main crop is planted. Rye can be trimmed several times during the season before the bud formation phase begins, and the optimal height for pruning is 30-35 cm.

Interesting facts about rye culture

Rye is the record holder among herbaceous plants for the length of the root system. Under good conditions and nutritious soil, the total length of the plant's roots can reach 500-600 km, occupying a large area (up to 250 sq.m). The weight of roots per hectare reaches 6000 kg. In nature, wild rye species can reach a height of 3 m.

Rye bread was an important part of the life of the Slavs. Rye was also used to feed livestock, roofs were covered with straw, mattresses were stuffed, and stoves were heated. Among the Slavic peoples, rye was associated with vitality and love of life, resistance to the forces of evil and the community of worldly life.

The origin of the word “rye” has several versions. According to one of them, the modern word became a derivative of the Old Russian “rye”, which is similar to the verb “to give birth”. For this reason, farmers still use the expression “the harvest is born” today. According to another version, the word “rye” comes from “rye”, which means sunny, bright, and has common roots with the name of the sun god in the beliefs of the Slavs (Yarilo).

Rye is the only grain crop that is cultivated in all climatic regions.

It is grown both in Yakutia, with cold and short summers, and in Colombia, with a hot and humid climate. It is also classified as a plant that quickly loses its germination capacity: after 3-4 years, rye seeds lose their ability to germinate by more than 70%.

Winter rye is grown in many regions of Russia. It is sown where wheat or oats will not produce a good harvest or will die from unfavorable conditions. The benefits of cereal are enormous: the grain is rich in a number of essential acids, vitamins, enzymes, micro- and macroelements. Rye is used not only for Food Industry, it is a valuable forage crop, an effective green manure and a valuable raw material for the production of biofuel.

The founder of modern cultural rye is a weedy field rye (Secale segetale) of South-West Asia (most likely the north-western part of Iran, the north-eastern part of Turkey and southern Transcaucasia), which has infested local wheat and barley crops since time immemorial.

Cultivated rye evolved from field weeds as a result of the latter's competition with wheat when they grew together in the extreme conditions of the mountain regime. Perhaps field rye, being a weed, accompanied the crops of wheat and, to a lesser extent, barley from the very moment these plants were introduced into cultivation; in any case, the first finds of rye are found only as an admixture in wheat and barley grains. But historical and archaeological data indicate that rye appeared much later than wheat - only in the Bronze Age, which for most countries of Europe, Asia Minor and Asia Minor covers 2 thousand BC. e. Finds of rye grains were also noted on monuments of the Scythian period (IX–III centuries BC).

The movement of rye from the centers of ancient agriculture to the territory of present-day Russia and Western Europe occurred, according to scientists, through the Caucasus. With the advancement of integrated farming and agriculture as its integral part further and further north, the advantages of rye as a more winter-hardy, more hardy and unpretentious plant were discovered more and more clearly. Man moved wheat crops to the north, contaminated with weedy rye, but the wheat fell out in harsh conditions, and the rye brought harvests. The northern farmer relied on natural selection. Rye, put forward not so much by artificial as by natural selection, serves as an example of the origin of a cultivated plant from a companion weed.

Why did rye, accompanying wheat in the crops, gain an advantage over it in the north? Rye, like wheat, is a plant of southern origin, but over a number of millennia it has become much more frost-resistant than wheat. The fact is that wheat is a self-pollinating plant, it self-fertilizes, and the frost resistance genes that arose in individual plants could not be combined into blocks of such genes during reproduction; Rye is a cross-pollinated plant and, due to cross-pollination, can form blocks of frost-resistant genes.

As for the beginning of the cultivation of rye itself, the time of its introduction into culture, in the forest belt of Eastern Europe, according to archaeological data, it dates back to the early Iron Age (900 BC - beginning of AD). At this time here They grew four types of wheat, barley, millet, rye, oats, beans, peas, field peas, flax and hemp. Moreover, the most common crops were soft wheat, barley and millet; rye and oats were grown in very small quantities. The above composition of crops suggests that until the turn of our era, only spring farming was carried out here and, most likely, almost exclusively on cuttings. [text from the website of the Kizhi Museum-Reserve: http://site]

The earliest written evidence of the cultivation of rye in Europe is found in chronicles of the 1st century. n. e., and the first information about the cultivation of this crop in Ancient Rus' is in the chronicles of 1056–1115. It is obvious that rye was known in Rus' earlier, but more ancient significant written monuments have not survived to this day (with the exception of birch bark letters with short messages).

For example, in Zaonezhye, on the islands of Kizhi and Volkostrov, the beginning of shifting agriculture and the cultivation of rye, barley, oats and wheat took place around 900, as established by paleobotanical research.

Over time, the ratio of crops grown in the forest belt of Rus' changed greatly. The land use system developed, the climate changed, becoming colder and wetter. For 1 thousand. e. in agriculture, the role of rye and oats has increased significantly: rye becomes the main bread of the population, oats are already a common find in Russian settlements, along with wheat and barley. By the 13th century. millet crops are significantly reduced. All these changes indicate the formation and development of two-field and three-field farming systems with the obligatory allocation of winter, spring and fallow fields. In addition, the predominance of the pair “winter rye - spring crops” and the presence of an admixture of seeds of characteristic field weeds also indicate a transition in the southern part of the forest belt from a slash-and-burn system to a fallow system.

In the north of the forest belt, winter rye was usually sown both in clearings and in fields, until the twentieth century; there, the predominance of rye over wheat, in our opinion, was due to the established severity of the climate. Winter rye was also intended to insure spring crops (mainly oats) that were more susceptible to negative natural influences; We can also talk about mutual insurance in a pair of winter and spring crops: often in a year of poor harvest, spring crops will give birth well and vice versa - that is, the farmer is still not left without bread. In the event of the death of winter crops (usually damping off or freezing), he has the opportunity in the spring to replant the devastated winter field with spring crops.

The predominance of rye over barley, it seems, was reflected in the formed taste preferences northern population: they clearly preferred rye bread to barley. In addition, peasant Rus' fasted, and fast days constituted more than half of the Orthodox year; people, in whose diet Lenten food occupied so much time and place, apparently chose rye bread for a reason. As scientists established, already in the twentieth century, “the content of complete proteins, high calorie content, as well as the presence of vitamins (A and B) make rye bread especially valuable when the body does not receive an insufficient amount of meat products.”

In the very north of the agricultural zone, rye replaced barley, which, as a spring cereal with the shortest growing season, is capable of ripening even at the polar border of agriculture, where rye cannot withstand harsh climatic conditions.

By the end of the nineteenth century. rye in the forest belt of Russia acquired even greater importance: from 30 to 60% of the total sown area was allocated for it, while wheat occupied less than 1%. In the Olonets province, the ratio of the areas sown with grain in 1881 was as follows: 44.53% of the sown land was occupied by rye, 41.97% by oats, 13.18% by barley, 0.32% by wheat, buckwheat was sown on only 24 dessiatines (1 dessiatine is equal to 1.0925 hectares). In the Velikogubskaya volost (which included Kizhi villages), crops were sown at the beginning of the 20th century. were in the following ratio: rye - 50.2%, oats - 45.5%, barley - 4.3% of the total crop area. As you can see, the share of barley here is even less than the average for the province; the rest of the crops were apparently sown in small quantities. Rye was the bread of men; oats were mainly used to feed horses. [text from the website of the Kizhi Museum-Reserve: http://site]

In the middle of the twentieth century. the most common grain crops in the forest belt were still rye, oats and barley. This is a brief history of the appearance of rye in Eurasia and its existence in Russia, mainly in its forest part. The current position of rye in the world agriculture the following: in 2000, at the turn of 2 and 3 thousand, in terms of sown areas and gross grain harvest, winter rye took 6–7 place among grain crops, inferior to wheat, rice, barley, corn, millet and oats, and provided only 1 –1.2% of world grain production. Russia remained and remains the largest “rye power” in the world; in 2000 it produced 26.5% of the world's gross rye grain harvest. At the same time, here, as throughout the world, there is a tendency to annually reduce the sown area allocated to rye.

But the situation in the “rye business” in Russia cannot be called cloudless: the downward trend at the turn of the century turned into a catastrophic decline - from 1981 to 2010. Our area under rye has decreased by 81.9%! The decline stopped only in 2012, when there was a slight, but still increase in the sown area. If earlier Russia could rely on the significant size of its winter wedge, then in modern conditions it has lost this factor of food security. In recent years, there has been a reduction in the production and consumption of rye bread...

As you can see, rye was and is grown in many countries on different continents of the Earth. But only non-black earth Russia of the past, from about the 13th century. to the middle of the twentieth century, can rightfully be called the undivided “kingdom of rye.” So, in the 70s of the nineteenth century. rye was the leading crop in 40 of the 50 provinces of European Russia; moreover, it was cultivated mainly for domestic consumption and was the main cereal of the country. It is interesting that the capital of this “kingdom of black bread” in the 19th century. was Moscow, because in the Moscow province, as of 1881, less wheat was sown than in any other province of European Russia - only 12 acres, accounting for 0.003% of the total sown area, while rye there occupied 55.6% of crops! In this sense, Moscow was truly the people's capital.

The domains of the light-golden queen of the fields in Russia stretched from the Baltic to the Pacific Ocean; from Voronezh and Lipetsk, located approximately at latitude 52 degrees, to 69 degrees north latitude in Europe; well, in Siberia they occupied the vast majority of forested arable land, rising north to 64 degrees latitude along the Lena, Vilyuya and Aldan rivers with their tributaries.

Yes, now many, many of our fields are overgrown with weeds and even forest - the gold leaf queen has given up her centuries-old positions. You need to have a fair amount of imagination to imagine your native lands as they were back in the first third of the 20th century. It takes a lot of effort to learn and understand correctly in order for our ancient “rye culture,” which was once and largely unknown even to older Russians, to be resurrected in the soul.

The author came to understand the concept of “rye culture” or even “rye civilization” by living his life on northern soil and growing bread in the exhibition fields of the Kizhi Museum-Reserve, talking with northern farmers, learning from books [text from the website of the Kizhi Museum-Reserve: http://site]

about the past of the Russian North, finally remembering his grandfather Kuzma Nikitich and his work on the land. Grandfather's house in the Tver province was surrounded on all sides by fields, and each field for us, grandchildren, was like a sea, and most of all among them there were seas of Mother Rye. The seas of rye hid the birds, the hares and foxes, us, and even the cows, if the shepherds didn’t notice - she was tall, boundless...

In fact, if they talk about the “wheat culture” of Ancient Egypt and other ancient civilizations - the “maize culture” of the Mayan tribes, the “barley culture” of the peoples of the British Isles, the “rice culture” of China and Japan - then the cultures of the majority of the agricultural peoples of European Russia can be unite with the word “rye” - both by the similarity of the role of rye in them, and by the similarity of the economic, ideological and behavioral ways of northern farmers. It seems to me that “rye culture” can be understood as common to them, supranational.

Rye bread made from flour coarse with natural sourdough (on “sour” – in Zaonezhsky) was for the Russian people not only a food product, but also a permanent powerful preventative against obesity, heart, nervous and cancer diseases. Natural rye bread, being the basis of a healthy diet, has protected offspring, and, consequently, public health since ancient times.

It is interesting that the ideas about mother rye of the faithful sons of the Russian “rye kingdom” are directly opposite to the opinions about her of the peoples of the more southern “wheat crops”, who considered rye a malicious weed in the crops of their “queen” - wheat, and rye flour - a harmful impurity in wheat flour . Indicative in this regard is the opinion of the famous Roman writer Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD), who wrote about the rye grown at the foot of the Alps, the following: “This is the worst bread and is eaten only when hungry. This plant is productive... remarkable for its heaviness. Spelled (an ancient type of wheat) is added to it to soften its bitterness, but even in this form the stomach has difficulty tolerating it. It grows on any soil and serves as a fertilizer itself.” [text from the website of the Kizhi Museum-Reserve: http://site]

The names of rye in Persian, Arabic, Afghan, Sart and Turkish indicate that the farmer of South-West Asia has known this plant since ancient times only as a weed in wheat and barley crops. In Persian, rye is called “dzhou-dar”, or “chow-dar” - “grass that contaminates barley”; rye is also called in Turkestan, India, Arabia and Asia Minor. In Afghanistan it is called “gandum-dar” - “grass that infests wheat.” Since ancient times, southern farmers have struggled with rye, strongly preferring wheat to it, even when rye was superior to wheat in yield. It was customary for them to treat rye bread with disdain; In general, this attitude of southerners toward rye continues to this day.

Currently, Western countries and those following in their wake - the USA, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand - consume almost exclusively wheat bread, and Western European countries are also striving to get closer to them in this regard. We can say that the dominance of wheat bread is now one of the signs of globalization in the Western style, it affects even the original “rice states”. But still, in the West there are reasonable forces opposing the dictates of commercial civilization: for example, in Germany, Poland and the Scandinavian countries, rye products are included in the group of healthy and dietary nutrition; in Finland, the state is implementing the “Rye” program, aimed at improving the health of the country’s population.

But we will continue our detailed story about our favorite black bread and mother rye. What is it like, rye, which united many northern peoples and played such a significant role in their fate? Let's now look at this wonderful cultivated plant with our eyes, armed with the knowledge of paleobotany, systematics and other plant sciences.

So, where did mother rye come from? The origin of the plant of the rye genus dates back to the middle and upper Tertiary periods of the Cenozoic era, i.e. it appeared approximately 55.8–23.03 million years ago. At this time, cereals arose on earth, to which rye belongs. According to the accepted taxonomy of plants, our field rye belongs to the family Poaceae (cereals), the tribe (tribe) Hordeae (barley), the genus Secale (rye), and has the specific name Secale cereale (rye), given by the founder of plant taxonomy, Carl Linnaeus. In fact, already in the twentieth century. it was found that rye (Secale cereale) originated from field rye (Secale segetale) and is actually its subspecies; but it is impossible to change the species name in favor of field rye, since Secale cereale is a memorial Linnaean species. [text from the website of the Kizhi Museum-Reserve: http://site]

Within the type of rye, at the end of the 19th century, Körnike identified 5 varieties; later V.D. Kobylyansky also identified five subspecies. N.I. Vavilov, having done a lot of work, established 18 varieties of cultivated rye; at the same time, V.I. and V.F. Antropov described 40 of its varieties. Note that, as a rule, several forms of rye are always found on one field, for example, forms with light yellow, green and brown grain; plants also usually differ in the degree of development of awns (pointed processes of spikelet scales), the degree of pubescence of the stem, the length of the ears, the openness of the grains and other characteristics.

The main region of origin of the genus Secale, as already indicated, is considered to be Transcaucasia with adjacent Northwestern Iran and Asia Minor. Most of the installed wild species, preserved here to this day. [text from the website of the Kizhi Museum-Reserve: http://site]

Rye is an annual, less often biennial or perennial herbaceous plant, usually bushy at the base, having a fibrous (in appearance similar to an “inverted bush”) root system, and this system is the most powerful among all cereals. The roots of our rye penetrate up to 2 m deep and spread widely to the sides. Under the most favorable growing conditions, one rye plant can form 14 million roots (taking into account four orders of branching) with a total length of 600 km and a total surface area of ​​225 square meters. m! Some sources claim that in terms of the total length of the roots of one plant, rye is superior among all herbaceous plants in the world, and they include it in the list of record holders of the plant world with a result of more than 619 km. The weight of the roots of winter rye per 1 hectare (10,000 sq. m) is 5900 kg, while, for example, that of winter wheat is 3900 kg. It is not surprising that with such a great support in the ground, rye sometimes reaches a three-meter ground height.

Why do we talk in such detail and colorfully about the root system of rye? Because Mother Rye - tall, stately, golden, firmly standing on her native land, her roots firmly and inextricably rooted in her, has become a symbol of Russia, its vitality, beauty and kindness; played a significant role not only in the economic and everyday life of the population, but also in the formation of its aesthetic and even ethical preferences and ideals. Actually, just like in the world, she is a good mother for good children. And the basis of her appearance and beauty are amazing rye roots.

The rye stem is a hollow straw consisting of 3–7 internodes, “knees,” connected by nodes. The color of the stem and leaves of growing rye is green, with a bluish tint due to a waxy coating. As it matures, the bluish-green color of the field changes successively to gray-green, yellowish-gray and finally becomes light gold. Scientists call a rye ear an inflorescence “a complex ear of an unfinished type” (it does not have an apical spikelet). The spike consists of two-flowered (less often three-flowered) spikelets attached to the spike shaft one above the other. Each fruiting stem forms one ear. Ripe ears of our Kizhi rye are whitish or straw-yellow in color. [text from the website of the Kizhi Museum-Reserve: http://site]

The fruit of rye is an oblong or oval-shaped grain, laterally compressed, with a longitudinal groove running along the entire body, and fluffy or bare at the top.

Rye is wind pollinated and is mainly a cross-pollinated plant (although in the north of Russia and in the Republic of Buryatia self-pollinating forms of rye have developed, guaranteeing grain production in unfavorable weather during flowering); Like all wind-pollinated plants, during flowering it releases a very large amount of pollen (up to 60 thousand pollen grains in one flower), so that in calm, dry weather a real pollen cloud hovers over the rye fields. Rye usually cannot self-pollinate (self-pollinating plants make up no more than 6% of the total) and, thinned out in a lean year, rye, deprived of fertilization by pollen of neighboring plants, suffers from through-grain (ears with half-empty spikelets appear) or complete infertility.

In Russia, almost exclusively winter forms of seed rye have always been grown (and currently winter rye makes up 99.8% of rye crops in the Russian Federation); spring rye - yaritsa - has long been cultivated only in certain areas, for example in Ukraine, on light soils of the Non-Black Earth Region, in Altai and in the Minusinsk Basin, as well as in those areas of Eastern Siberia and Transbaikalia where winter rye freezes out. And winter, as you know, are the forms of cereals that do not spike in the summer when sown in the spring, i.e., they require a whole year to fully develop. [text from the website of the Kizhi Museum-Reserve: http://site]

With a thoughtful consideration of rye - its life cycle and growth characteristics - it seems to me that we can learn for ourselves, following our great-grandfathers, the following life lessons and guidelines.

Rye is a cereal grain plant, Secale cereale, from the cereal family. Other names are rye, rye, rye, zhito, ozimina, ozim. There is also spring rye, egg rye, American rye, Assyrian rye, and Egyptian rye.

Rye is a very aggressive crop: it does not allow anyone into the area it occupies, only blue-eyed cornflowers take advantage of its location.

Rye is a sister to wheat, but much healthier. Rye contains a larger amount of essential amino acids (compared to wheat), which is very important for humans, especially for patients with diabetes. Rye flour contains 5 times more fructose than wheat flour, which is necessary for the normal functioning of the body. Products made from rye flour contain a sufficient amount of fiber and hemicellulose, which play a certain role in human nutrition - they enhance intestinal motility, promote the growth of beneficial microflora and strengthen the immune system.

The benefits of rye and rye bread

With the onset of winter, when the human body begins to lack vitamins, bakers advise including traditional rye bread in the diet. According to surveys, rye bread has become less common on our menu. Meanwhile, it is worth recalling the benefits of rye bread, which has long been considered a product that increases health. It contains many useful substances, necessary for a person: amino acids, mineral salts, vitamins B, PP, E, iron, micro- and macroelements, fiber.

Rye sprouts are the embodiment of the strength and power of nature, the will to live. They carry energy, nutrition, health, healing. Rye sprouts are a source of high-quality vegetable proteins and a wide range of vitamins and antioxidants. They are an excellent source of B vitamins, folic acid, many macro- and microelements.

Rye bran and the green mass of the plant itself are useful for diabetes mellitus and thyroid dysfunction. Bran decoction helps with pulmonary tuberculosis.

Eating rye bread helps lower blood cholesterol, improves metabolism, heart function, removes toxins, and helps prevent several dozen diseases, including cancer. In addition, rye bread has less energy value, so you don't have to worry about your figure.

The consumption rate of rye flour (as a percentage of all cereals) is about 30. Rye flour has numerous beneficial properties. It contains the amino acid necessary for our body - lysine, fiber, manganese, zinc, 30% more iron than wheat flour, 1.5-2 times more magnesium and potassium. Rye bread is baked without yeast and with thick sourdough.

In Germany and Poland, rye bread is considered a dietary product. It is useful for people suffering from anemia and diabetes. But due to high acidity (7-12 degrees), which protects against mold and destructive processes, rye bread is not recommended for people with high intestinal acidity, suffering from peptic ulcers. Bread, which is 100% rye, is really too heavy for daily consumption. The best option is rye 80-85% and wheat 15-25%. Varieties of rye bread: from seeded flour, from peeled flour, zhitny, simple, custard, Moscow and others.

Rye bread is also healthy because it contains quite a lot of fibrous substances. Alimentary fiber- These are the body’s “janitors” that promote digestion and have a beneficial effect on the condition of teeth and gums.

The fiber contained in rye bread gives you a feeling of fullness, although it contains few calories. The daily intake of dietary fiber for humans is about 20-30 grams. This amount can be obtained from 6-8 slices of rye bread. The same amount of rye bread covers the human need for minerals by 60-80% and the daily human need for vitamins by 30-50%.

Rye bread is our heart's friend as it helps balance cholesterol levels in the body, thus reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases. The minerals contained in rye bread stimulate brain activity and strengthen muscles.

Rye in Russia

Rye is a native Russian cereal, the historical basis of the Russian diet. “Mother rye, nurse rye” - that’s what the ancestors said. From time immemorial, Russian people ate rye bread, which was both to their taste and affordable. At the beginning of the 20th century, consumption of products made from rye flour was more than sixty percent. Today this figure is much lower - about 10-13%. But Russia is still one of the five largest producers of rye. Buyers of Russian rye are Bulgaria, Germany, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Finland, and Estonia. In Ukraine, rye bread is gradually becoming an elite product, while Belarus sells only rye flour (a product with a higher added value).

Compared to wheat, rye is more resistant to frost and drought, it is less susceptible to diseases and is not afraid of pests. Accordingly, rye always produces more stable yields. In addition, rye protein contains significantly more essential amino acids for the human body than wheat protein. Rye grains contain much less gluten (gluten) than the “queen of the fields”.

Wallpaper (unrefined) rye flour is the number one dietary product for Russian people, given that historically Russia is a “rye power”, and our main grain, to which our body is most genetically adapted, is, of course, rye. The luminary of medical science A.I. Kuptsov wrote: “The monotonous diet of black rye bread of the Russian poor population never led to vitamin deficiencies, and this indicates that rye bread belongs to the category of food that best meets the needs of human body».

Rye allowed the Russians to create a unique culture of their own sweets (which every advanced civilization needs), based on pies, pancakes and gingerbread. In the production of the latter, rye was absolutely indispensable and, of course, without rye it was impossible to imagine the preparation of the main Russian non-alcoholic drink - kvass, which was “needed like air.”

It’s as if nature itself gave the man of the northern latitudes a culture that, through a piece of rye bread, provides the human body with everything necessary for normal life support. At one time, the area of ​​winter rye in Russia reached 28 million hectares; Russia was considered the “rye kingdom.” Despite the fact that rye was gradually replaced by wheat in the first half of the 20th century (Stalin, as a southerner, did not understand the enormous importance of this cereal for Russia), it remains the most valuable grain crop, which has many healing properties for the human body.

Dietary properties of rye and its use

Rye grain is widely used for the production of bread, kvass, animal feed, alcohol, rye malt and other products.

In the old days in Rus' it was believed that rye grain increased vitality, improves health and improves mood. Modern science It has been proven that rye actually has restorative properties and normalizes metabolism.

Due to its mild laxative effect, rye bread is useful for constipation. Scientists believe that eating rye bread is of some importance for the prevention of heart disease.

Rye flour contains linoleic and other fatty acids necessary for cardiac function.

In folk medicine, flowers and ears of rye were used to prepare infusions and decoctions used for respiratory diseases.

A decoction of rye bran is drunk as an expectorant and emollient for chronic tracheitis and bronchitis.

Rye bread soaked in hot milk applied to abscesses accelerates their ripening. Emollient poultices are made from warm rye dough.

Proverbs and sayings about rye

The rye threshes on the butt, but the grain does not drop
Mother rye feeds all fools entirely, and wheat is optional
Rye says: sow me into ashes, but in time; oats says: trample me in the mud, so I will be a prince
He loves rye: at least for an hour, but in the sand (and in the ashes), and oats - even in water, but at the right time
Rye - even to ashes, but just right, and if oats are in the mud, so will the prince
This rye is in the ash, and the wheat is in the water (just right)
I don’t bow to the rich man: I milk my own rye
The one who gave birth to rye is the best one
Don't worry about the rye: just hold the bag
When the rye, then the measure
If the blueberries are ripe, then the rye is also ripe.
The field is red with rye, and speech is a lie
Apparently the trouble is that there is quinoa in the rye
It’s not a problem that there’s quinoa in the rye, but it’s a disaster that there’s neither rye nor quinoa
Lots of rye, but all quinoa
Bad years, if there is quinoa in the rye
We sowed rye and mowed quinoa

Russian writers about rye

Rye is good these days. The hare ran through the rusty fields. Yesterday a fugitive soldier was spotted laughing. (M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin)

At first it was pleasant to drive: a warm, dim day, a well-trodden road, there were many flowers and larks in the fields; a sweet breeze blew from the grain, from the low bluish rye, stretching as far as the eye could see, carrying flower dust along their shoals, in places it smoked, and in the distance it was even foggy. (I.A. Bunin, “Grammar of Love”, 1915) Rye adapts to any conditions and produces a good harvest, both in Siberia and Colombia, where it is 45 degrees in the shade.

Mikhail Zabylin in the book “Russian people. Book 1. Holidays, rituals and customs in Rus'” notes that “Russians ate mainly rye bread, not excluding rich and powerful people. Sometimes barley was mixed with rye flour, but this was not a permanent rule, since barley was not grown much in Russia. Wheat flour was used for prosphora and rolls, which were a delicacy for the common people on holidays.”

In the 70s, Luxembourg occupied one of the leading places in the world in intestinal oncology. With the start of eating rye bread and bran, according to this indicator, it fell to the end of the list.

Rye is “friendly” with lactic acid bacteria. Rye bread made only with rye flour without adding wheat can only be prepared with fermented milk starter.

Our ancestors said that rye makes the stomach work. And they prepared products from both fermented and unleavened rye dough. Both are tasty and healthy.

Based on materials from open sources.

A little more about rye and its use.

Rye is one of the cereal crops that played an important role in the development of mankind. It is difficult to overestimate its importance, since for centuries rye was the main cereal crop in the diet of peasants. In the twentieth century, the volume of its cultivation decreased somewhat, but products made from rye grains are still popular among followers of a healthy lifestyle.

Historical reference

As historians have found out, rye was first cultivated in Asia more than two thousand years ago. Before this, wild rye was a weed that was extremely unpretentious to both climatic conditions and soil conditions.

Farmers quickly appreciated all the benefits of “cultivated” rye. Firstly, she turned out to be less susceptible to disease. The plant also successfully “killed” any weeds, suppressing their growth. Also, rye turned out to be so undemanding external conditions, which consistently pleased us with a high harvest even in areas where neither , nor . Thus, winter rye calmly withstood frosts down to -30 degrees and heavy winds.

The rapid development of trade relations between countries in the first century BC led to the fact that rye began to be grown in the territory of modern Europe, including Russia.

Since the eleventh century, Rus' managed to win the title of “rye state” and the main exporter of this cereal. Many proverbs and sayings have appeared, which capture the significance of this culture for farmers. “Whoever has rye in his bin will not be overcome by hunger and trembling”, “Mother rye feeds everyone completely”, “Whoever has rye is good”, “If there was rye in the bottom of the barrel, there would be a penny in his pocket” - here only a small part of them.

Which was also called “black”, was the main food of the peasants, since they could afford “white” only on holidays. In addition to bread, pancakes, gingerbreads, and open pies which were filled with porridge and mashed potatoes.

However, the use of rye in cooking was not limited to just baking. The drink, which was made from rye crackers or sprouted and dried grain, has remained incredibly popular for many centuries. It perfectly quenches thirst, helps restore strength and performance, and boasts a wide range of beneficial properties.

Botanical characteristics

Rye is a plant that can be either annual or biennial. It has a fairly powerful root system that can go underground to a depth of two meters. The leaves, fifteen to thirty centimeters long, are flat and broadly linear. Inflorescence - spike.

The size and color of the grains vary. On average, they are 5 to 10 mm long and range in color from white to olive, yellowish-brown and beige.

Today, rye is grown in most European countries, as well as in China, the USA and Canada.

Calorie content and chemical composition

The energy value of rye is 283 kcal per 100 grams of product. The nutrient composition is as follows: 9.9 g, 2.2 g and 55.8 g.

The vitamin composition of the cereal is impressive. Thus, (0.32 mg) helps improve cognitive abilities, maintains muscle tone, normalizes appetite and neutralizes the toxic effects of alcohol and tobacco.

In addition, a drink is prepared from rye, which in its taste resembles coffee. The raw materials for its production are roasted and crushed grains. This “diet” coffee is not addictive, boasts beneficial properties and is approved for use by children.

In addition, another method of culinary use of cereal is very popular among fans of a healthy lifestyle. Rye grains are sprouted and then eaten for breakfast, added to vegetable salads, and sprinkled on soups before serving.

Making sprouted rye salad

To prepare a real vitamin “bomb” you will need the following ingredients: three fresh tomatoes, the same amount of egg yolks, 250 ml of milk, 125 g, a tablespoon, a teaspoon, a quarter teaspoon of ground, the same amount of ground cloves, half a teaspoon each of soda, ground star anise and lemon zest and 500 g of honey.

Heat the sugar over medium heat in a thick-walled bowl. When the color changes, add a tablespoon of water and stir until the caramel turns light brown. Pour onto a silicone mat, then let it harden and crush with a hammer.

Bring the honey to a boil and simmer over low heat for a couple of minutes. Mix some of the honey with rye flour, add the remaining honey and beat until white.

Sift the wheat flour. Add spices, lemon zest and soda.

Grind the burnt sugar, add milk, add wheat flour and knead the dough.

Combine the honey mixture with the wheat mixture. Add sour cream. Whisk.

Place the finished dough on a baking sheet that has been previously greased with oil. Bake for half an hour at 180 degrees. When the finished plate has cooled, cut into rectangles.

Cooking rye cookies

You will need the following ingredients: two glasses of rye flour, three tablespoons of sugar, two eggs, two tablespoons of sour cream, 50 g of butter, half a teaspoon of soda.

Mix the eggs with sugar and mix with a wooden spoon, gradually adding melted butter and pre-cooled sour cream. Mix soda with a small amount flour and add to the egg-sour cream mixture. Add the rest of the flour there and knead into a stiff dough.

Roll out the dough into a thin layer. Brush its surface with egg yolk. Using cutters, cut out stars, circles, etc. Bake until done (about 10 minutes) at 180 degrees.

Benefits of sprouted rye

People started talking about the truly miraculous properties of sprouted rye in the second half of the twentieth century. However, final scientific confirmation of the fact that sprouted cereal grains are very beneficial was received only in the period from 2000 to 2006, when clinical studies were conducted.

As it turned out, none of the European cereals are able to compete with sprouted rye in terms of content, as well as proteins and antioxidants. Just 50 g of sprouts per day guarantees protection during the cold season, helps improve the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, and also lose weight.

Due to the fact that during the development period the sprout actively consumes and converts the sugar contained in the grain, the glycemic index ultimately decreases. Therefore, sprouted rye grains can significantly lower blood sugar levels. In addition, as researchers have found, rye sprouts contain twenty-five times more than regular rye bread.

Also, sprouted grains have the ability to significantly reduce the production of phytic acid in the body, which complicates the process of absorption of zinc and iron. They also slow down the formation of raffinose, which causes putrefactive processes in the intestines and provokes the development of dysbiosis.

Sprouted rye is also useful for weight loss. Its calorie content is one and a half times lower than that of ordinary “dry” grains.

How to germinate rye

You can germinate rye without any problems at home. There are several important factors to consider.

First of all, choose for sprouting only grains whose quality you have no doubt about. Be sure to check whether the cereal has not been treated with chemicals. This can be done as follows: rinse the grains and leave them in a bowl of water. After a few minutes, all the grains that have become “acquainted” with the herbicides will float to the surface. Discard them, and spread the remaining grains in a layer no more than a centimeter thick on a cotton cloth in a plate that is not too deep. Cover them with the same cloth on top, then fill them with water at room temperature. The water should not just completely cover the fabric, but be one centimeter higher.

Place the plate in a dark place, the air temperature should not be higher than 24 degrees. The first sprouts will appear in two to three days. Be sure to rinse them before eating them.

Cultivated rye, or sowing rye (lat. Secále cereále) is a one- or biennial (depending on the variety) plant, a nomenclatural species of the genus Rye, belonging to the Cereal family.

It is one of the most common cultivated plants, grown in almost all countries of the Northern and some Southern Hemispheres. There are two main forms of this cereal - winter and spring.

Rye is a typical herbaceous plant with a hollow stem. There are 3-7 internodes along the entire length of the stem. The stem is straight, almost entirely bare (only under the ears there is pubescence), and gray in color.

The height of the stem depends on the growing conditions and ranges from 70-200 cm, but on average 80-100 cm.

The leaves of rye are broad-linear, flat, 15-30 cm long and 1.5-2.5 cm wide. The leaves are covered with hairs on top, especially in conditions of insufficient moisture and on light soils (thanks to the hairs, moisture evaporation from the leaf surface is reduced).

Like many other cereals, rye has a fibrous root system, which on light soils can penetrate to a depth of 1-2 m.

Its popularity among our distant ancestors is due to many factors, including high biological activity, consisting in the rapid absorption of useful substances from poorly soluble compounds (especially potassium and phosphorus) from the soil.

Each seed produces 6-8 shoots, and under favorable conditions the intensity of tillering can reach 50-90 shoots from one seed.

The inflorescence of rye is located at the top of the stem and is a drooping, complex spike. Its length is from 5 to 15 cm, width from 7 to 12 mm. Inside the complex ear there is a strong axis. The spike is considered complex because it consists of flat spikelets that sit on the protrusions of the rod and have the flat side facing it.

The fruit of rye is called a caryopsis; they are elongated or oval in shape, and can be either smooth or wrinkled. The caryopsis is oblong, slightly compressed laterally, and has a deep groove. After ripening, the grain itself falls out of the ear, by this time it has a length of 5-10 mm, a width of 1.5-3.5 mm and a thickness of 1.5-3 mm. In diploid (ordinary) rye, the weight of 1000 seeds is 20-35 g, and in tetraploid (the result of genetic engineering) - 50-55 g.

The color of rye grain can be different: yellow, dark brown, gray. greenish and even white.

Rye is less demanding on growing conditions than wheat: it grows well in wider ranges of soil acidity (it grows well even at pH 5.3) and is not so demanding on their fertility, ripens earlier than wheat, is more winter-hardy (winter rye can withstand, that is, not to die, the temperature at the level of the tillering node is down to minus 19-21 o C). Rye can produce crops where wheat does not germinate at all or grows extremely poorly - on podzolic soils up to the Arctic Circle. It begins to germinate at a soil temperature of only 0.5-2.0 o C and an air temperature of 3-4 o C. The best soils for rye are well-structured gray forest and chernozem soils of light (sandy loam) and medium (light loam) mechanical composition . Rye does not grow well on heavy clays, as well as on swampy soils and salt marshes.

According to some sources, rye pollen is so poisonous that it can even cause febrile diseases.

History of the spread of rye

It is noteworthy that scientists still do not know for sure whether rye is the result of some breeding achievements of our distant ancestors, or whether it still comes from its wild relative. The first hypothesis also believes that rye comes from the species Secale montanum (Mountain Rye), which is found in wild form in southern Europe, South-West and Central Asia.

A number of scientists claimed that during botanical expeditions they encountered entire fields of wild rye, both in the Caucasus-Caspian steppe, as well as in the Crimea (near Feodosia) and not far from Sarepta (now the Volgograd region). Carl Linnaeus also spoke about wild rye, which is found in the Volga region, near Samara. There was also a version that wild rye got there thanks to the Tatar tribes who once lived east of the Volga. No less widespread was the hypothesis that rye originated from a wild relative growing in southern Russia, as well as in North Africa and Central Asia.

But the most reliable version turned out to be that the birthplace of rye is Turkey (Anatolia region). Apparently, our ancestors did not immediately pay attention to this plant and even considered it a weed (the seeds of rye and wheat are very similar and therefore ended up in the seed material together, so rye grew among wheat), however, due to its special resistance to cold, when There was no wheat harvest or it was lost, especially in rainy years, rye acquired independent significance.

It was also established that the ancestor of rye was a perennial crop, and only as a result of selection did annual varieties appear.

The productivity of winter rye is significantly higher than spring rye, but winter rye is not grown in the northern regions due to the high probability of freezing.

On the territory of our country, rye was grown even before the formation of Kievan Rus, and by the 11th century the name “rye state” and the patrimony of this plant had already taken root in Russia. Rye bread was already called “black” bread and was the daily food of peasants. Wheat was grown only in the southern regions of the country; it was delivered to the north only in exchange for other goods or for money, so the northerners could afford to eat wheat bread only on holidays.

In Rus', pancakes and gingerbread were baked from rye flour, and pies from it were traditionally filled with porridge, peas, and, since the time of Peter I, potatoes. The use of rye was not limited to baking. Since ancient times, our ancestors made kvass from it, for the preparation of which they took crackers from rye bread and (or) sprouted or dried rye grain. Kvass perfectly quenched thirst during grueling agricultural work, especially in the hot season; this drink also had many beneficial properties. This is how rye firmly entered the folk epic as an integral element of Russian history and culture.

Today Russia ranks second in the world in rye cultivation (Germany is in first place, Poland is in third, Belarus is fourth).

The main use of rye in the modern world is to make flour from it for subsequent baking of bread and other bakery products. Rye flour is widely used in confectionery production.

The composition and quality of rye flour are different; their properties affect its subsequent use. Flour premium used for baking bread and in confectionery production, and lower grade flour, which is more useful due to the grain shells included in it, is used in dietary nutrition, including for the production of bread, and is also used for the production of kvass. Rye produces about the same malt extract as barley, which is why rye is also used in brewing.

During the years of the USSR, when even such food products as coffee, rye, or rather its fried and crushed grains, were in short supply, they were used to prepare a drink that, in its own way, taste qualities was very similar to natural coffee. This drink turned out to be even healthier than coffee, since it did not contain caffeine, and therefore was not addictive; it has even been shown in baby food.

Adherents of a healthy lifestyle and all kinds of diets began to use rye in another capacity: eating its sprouted grains. They make soup and add them to vegetable salads. But, in my opinion, the most delicious dish are cutlets made from sprouted rye (to prepare them, sprouted rye is passed through a meat grinder, small cakes are formed from the resulting “minced meat” and fried in butter).

Composition of rye cereal (per 100 g)

The nutritional value

Calorie content, kcal	283-338
Proteins, g	9,9-10,3
Fats, g, including:	1,6-2,2
Saturated fatty acids, g	0,197
Monounsaturated fatty acids, g	0,208
Polyunsaturated fatty acids, g	0,767
Omega-3 fatty acids, g	0,108
Omega-6 fatty acids, g	0,659
Carbohydrates, g, including:	55,8-75,9
Mono- and disaccharides (sugars), g	0,98
Dietary fiber, g	15,1
Water, g	10,6
Ash, g	1,57

Macronutrients

Microelements

Vitamins

Vitamin A, RE, mcg	1,0
Beta-carotene, mcg	7,0
Lutein+Zeaxanthin, mcg	210
Vitamin B 1 (thiamine), mcg	316
Vitamin B 2 (riboflavin), mcg	251
Vitamin B 4 (choline), mg	30,4
Vitamin B 5 (pantothenic acid), mg	1,456
Vitamin B 6 (pyridoxine), mcg	294
Vitamin B 9 (folic acid), mcg	38
Vitamin E (tocopherol), mg	0,85
Vitamin K (phylloquinone), mcg	5,9
Vitamin PP (niacin equivalent), mg	4,27
Betaine, mg	146,1

Rye is a dietary food product. Moreover, interestingly, its calorie content is approximately the same as that of many other grains, for example, wheat and rice, which are not considered dietary foods. Why then did rye receive a different “status”? The thing is that rye, in comparison with the mentioned cereals, contains much more useful substances, therefore saturation of the body occurs with less calories entering the body.

Take vitamins, for example. In terms of the content of B vitamins, rye is in the leading position. These vitamins are especially necessary for the normal functioning of the nervous system. By the way, there is a hypothesis that the so-called “Russian character”, “the mysterious Russian soul”, is the result of the lifestyle and diet of the people inhabiting Russia. B vitamins make a person psychologically balanced, stress-resistant, but at the same time capable of decisive action.

In addition, B vitamins are necessary for normal metabolism, digestion, and neutralize the harmful effects of toxins, including drugs and antibiotics, nicotine and alcohol breakdown products. Without vitamin B2, the body cannot absorb iron and also loses the ability to regenerate tissue.

Rye contains a lot of vitamin B 9 - folic acid - which is extremely necessary for pregnant women. A sufficient amount of it in the early stages of pregnancy is the key to normal formation of the neural tube in the embryo. With a lack of folic acid, the likelihood of fetal development pathology increases to 100%.

The analyzed cereal contains a lot of vitamin E - a powerful antioxidant that slows down the aging process by increasing immunity, improving tissue regeneration processes, and vascular tone.

Vitamin K ensures normal blood clotting and also serves as a means of preventing osteoporosis. At the same time, vitamin K prevents calcification of blood vessels - hardening of their walls.

Vitamin PP improves blood microcirculation, has a vasodilating effect, and due to its anticoagulant properties, prevents the formation of blood clots on the walls of blood vessels. The same vitamin reduces the content of “bad” cholesterol in the bloodstream.

There is a huge amount in rye mineral elements. Of particular note is the high potassium content, which, together with sodium, ensures water and electrolyte balance in the body. The trouble is that modern civilized people consume a lot of sodium (salt) in their food, and against this background a lack of potassium occurs, an imbalance. Eating rye products partly helps solve this problem. Potassium promotes excretion from the body excess liquid, thereby relieving swelling and relieving the heart and kidneys.

Rye is rich in phosphorus, which promotes cognitive activity, provides muscles with energy, is necessary for healthy teeth and bones, and plays an important role in protein synthesis.

So, rye is especially useful for the following diseases:

• decreased immunity;
• obesity;
• anemia;
• high physical and neuropsychic stress;
• diseases of the cardiovascular system (hypertension, atherosclerosis) and kidneys;
• diabetes;
• constipation, lazy intestines.

Use of rye in medicine

The healing properties of rye were known to our distant ancestors. Doctors used this plant to treat the most various ailments, and not only rye grain was used. Here are some recipes for the medical use of rye:

Pneumonia and bronchitis

1. You need to make an infusion of rye, which has anti-inflammatory and expectorant properties. To do this, chop 100 g of freshly picked ears of rye (you can finely chop them with a knife), pour them into a thermos and pour 0.5 l boiling water. Leave for at least 2 hours. Drink 1/2 cup 4 times a day.

2. Mix equal amounts of chicory powder, crushed almonds, grains of oats, barley and rye. Pour one heaped tablespoon of the mixture into a pot, add a glass of cold water and brew like coffee. Take the resulting drink in the evening before bed. The decoction has a calming effect and will help you sleep through the night without attacks of suffocating cough.

Wounds and burns

Rye leaves are crushed and poured with melted pork fat. Next, this mixture is placed on low heat and cooked until the leaves lose their green color. After this, the mass is removed from the heat, cooled and used as an ointment, applying it to damaged areas of the skin.

Avitaminosis

One tablespoon of rye bran is poured into 250 ml of boiling water, put on fire and simmered for another minute, then filtered. Take 1/2 cup 3 times a day half an hour before meals. The course lasts for 30 days. If necessary, after a two-week break it can be repeated.

Diarrhea

Pour two tablespoons of rye bran into 400 ml of boiling water, put on medium heat and cook for 5 minutes, then wrap the resulting mixture for one hour, then strain. Use the resulting decoction in small sips throughout the day.

Pour two tablespoons of rye grains into a glass of milk, put on fire and after boiling, boil for 10 minutes, then cool the broth. Take every morning for a week.

Allergy

Rye has an antihistamine effect, which means it can be used in the fight against allergies. To do this, 250 g of rye bran must be poured with 1 liter of warm water in proportion. Then leave for 4 hours, filter and add to the bath.

Edema

Two tablespoons of crushed rye leaves are poured into a glass of boiling water and left for half an hour, then filtered. The infusion is taken 1/2 cup 3 times a day half an hour before meals.

Diabetes

Take 50 g of sprouted seeds in equal proportions grains of wheat, fresh corn and rye grains, grind everything in a blender. Pour boiling water over the resulting mixture so that the water level is slightly higher than the mixture. Leave for 2 hours, then add 1 tablespoon of golden root juice. Take 3 times a day, 1/3 cup. The course of treatment is 7 days.

Cardiovascular diseases

Take 50-100 g of rye grains and germinate them so that the length of the sprouts is up to 1 mm. Wash the sprouted grain and grind it in a meat grinder. Add milk or water to the resulting mass. butter(10 g) and bring to a boil, but do not boil the mixture. After this, add another 1 teaspoon of honey. Take 1 tablespoon every day right before breakfast.

Joint inflammation

Soak rye bread in milk and apply to the affected area. This compress will reduce pain and relieve swelling.

Nicotine addiction

Take equal proportions of barley, oats and rye grains (1 teaspoon each), pour 250 ml of boiling water, cool and drink the entire portion in one gulp on an empty stomach. If you light a cigarette immediately after this, your mouth should feel very bad taste which will make you stop smoking.

Sprouted rye is especially valued in dietary nutrition.

The fascination with sprouted grains of cereal crops began in the middle of the last century. Moreover, at first this was perceived as another fad of adherents of a healthy lifestyle, the so-called naturopaths, but decades later the usefulness of their use received a solid scientific basis. This required a lot of medical research.

As for sprouted rye, it turned out that no other cereal is able to compete with it in terms of the content of B vitamins, antioxidants and proteins. Just 50 g of sprouted grains per day provides a person with enough useful substances to prevent many colds, normalize the functioning of the entire gastrointestinal tract and metabolism.

What is the secret of sprouted rye, and why does its ordinary grain not have such healing properties?

The thing is that during germination, the starch content in the grain sharply decreases, since it is consumed by the sprout. As a result, the glycemic index of the product sharply decreases, and its consumption reduces blood sugar levels. The calorie content of grains during germination is reduced by one and a half times. In addition, part of the starch is converted into carbohydrates that are more beneficial for the body, for example, maltose, and active synthesis of vitamins C and E occurs in the grain itself. Suffice it to note that within a day after the start of rye grain germination, the concentration of vitamin C in it increases by 25 once.

But this is not all the beneficial properties of sprouted rye. They also contain substances that promote the absorption of iron and zinc by the body, prevent putrefactive processes in the intestines and thereby normalize the intestinal microflora.

How to germinate rye

This is a very simple process that can be easily done at home, although there are several nuances.

Firstly, for germination you need to take only those grains that have not been treated with chemicals. If you are not sure about this, it’s okay. You just need to rinse the grains, then add water and leave for about 15 minutes in a bowl of water. Grains treated with herbicide will float to the surface and simply need to be removed. Then they take a plate, lay cotton cloth on its bottom in several layers, on which rye grains are laid out in a layer up to 1 cm thick, and they are also covered with cotton cloth. Unboiled water at room temperature is poured into a plate so that it slightly hides the grains. The plate is left in room conditions in a dark place. Rye can hatch within a day, so you need to constantly monitor the “process”. As soon as the length of most of the sprouts approaches 1 mm, the grains are washed and eaten. Sprouted grains in washed form are stored only in the refrigerator. Keep in mind that if the length of the grain sprouts exceeds 1 mm, you should absolutely not eat them, since such a product contains harmful substances.

Sprouted rye can be used in any way you like: make cutlets from it (see above, add to soups, porridges, mix with honey, etc.).

Sprouted rye salad recipe

The name of this salad is " Vitamin bomb"To prepare it you will need 3 tomatoes and 3 medium-sized cucumbers, one medium-sized sweet apple, 100 g of sprouted rye, a brush of dill, a green onion, 20 g of vegetable oil, salt and pepper to taste.

The sprouted rye grain is washed and ground in a blender. The apple is cored, peeled and also chopped, then mixed with chopped sprouts. All other ingredients are cut with a knife, oil and spices are added, everything is thoroughly mixed.

When preparing such salads, the main thing is not to be afraid to improvise. So, instead of greenery in this salad You can add chopped nuts, and yogurt instead of vegetable oil. The apple can be replaced with pineapple, banana, or any berries.

Contraindications to the consumption of rye and products made from it

Due to its high acid content, rye bread is contraindicated for stomach and duodenal ulcers and hyperacid gastritis.

Due to its high fiber content, rye should not be consumed if you have enterocolitis or colitis. In addition, it can irritate the gastric mucosa.

Rye contains gluten (gluten), so individual intolerance to this grain (along with wheat and other grains) is possible.