Wheat flour is no longer alone in the kitchen: we are experiencing the boom of alternative flours

Our diet has diversified greatly in recent decades. Centuries of improvements in means of transportation, migratory movements and innovation in the creation of new products have radically transformed our diet.

An example of this can be found in something as everyday as flour. In the past it would have been rare to find more than two types of flour in a home, that is, finding some type of flour that was not based either on corn or wheat.

Guided by the Dictionary of the Spanish Language, we could say that flours are the dust resulting from the grinding of wheat or other seeds, as well as the dust from some tubers and legumes. Also, in a more generic way, the “fine dust to which some solid materials are reduced.”

Perhaps an excessively generic definition since, in this context, we are talking exclusively about food flours, those flours that we use in very diverse (and increasingly varied) dishes. Some of these flours They have been accompanying us for millenniaothers are more modern acquisitions. In this article we are going to review some of the most important alternative flours for kitchens and investigate the reason for their growing popularity.

Flours can be classified depending on the nature of their raw material. We can thus distinguish cereal flours, such as wheat), legumes, nuts, and others.

We can start by insisting that not all “alternative” flours are exactly new. For example, rye flour It is a cereal flour that has been used for centuries to produce bread in various places. The consumption of rye bread dates back to ancient times and we know that it was also consumed centuries ago in our environment.

Other cereal flours include barley, oat, tapioca or rice flours. These flours can contain different concentrations of gluten, starch, proteins and other nutrients that make them better or worse depending on what we are looking for.

Another of the most popular alternative flours today is chickpea flour. Legumes are also used to produce flour, such as pea or lentil flour. These flours They usually represent an alternative source (either complementary) of protein in our diet.

Sometimes legume flours are also categorized as “pseudocereals”, a category that can also include seed flours such as quinoa or buckwheat. These two flours do not contain gluten, a compound that helps amalgamate and give elasticity to mixtures that contain it, but that also generates adverse reactions in many people.

If we talk about “alternatives” we must also consider that there is a variety of flours even among those extracted from the same product. If we take the most popular flours, we can find different varieties such as whole wheat flour, or cornstarch flour or cornstarch.

He boom of the other flours

The success of these flours can be explained as a combination of circumstances. The novelty factor is a determining factor: these flours can offer us new variations on products that we already know, even beyond breads and pastries. However, this novelty factor is not the only one to take into account, nor may it be the most important one.

Perhaps the most important factor in the arrival of these alternative flours is based precisely on that: that they offer an alternative to the most established flour, wheat flour. A central alternative for people with celiac diseasebut it has also helped people with milder gluten intolerances to improve their quality of life.

Gluten is not the only compound that may be of interest to those who decide to try new flours. The relative presence of certain nutrients It can be a determining factor to change flour. An example of this is legume flours, which can provide certain essential amino acids to people with certain diets such as vegetarians.

Other flours may exceed other nutritional values. An example of this could be quinoa flour, which, in addition to being another alternative source of protein, is also rich in fiber and iron. Also buckwheat or buckwheat flour, with a greater relative presence of micronutrients such as magnesium, manganese or phosphorus.

The pandemic could also have been a determining factor. 2020 was a unique year As far as flour consumption is concerned: consumption went from oscillating between 2.29 and 2.41 kg per capita at 3.42 kg per person, according to data from Statista.

Much of it is due to confinement: baking was one of the hobbies acquired by many people during these months. It is difficult to estimate to what extent this “fashion” affected changes in flour consumption: according to the same data from Statistaconsumption per capitafell to 2.15 kg in 2022.

In Xataka | After the dumpling crisis due to “lack of flour”, many are wondering what will happen next. We have investigated it

Image | Hans