Flour Facts
October 3, 2021
Flour Processing Plant Engineering, Non Food Installation Projects, Fabrications
One of the most important ingredients in the UK, and one that most people consume regularly is flour. A third of the food products that populate our supermarket shelves contain flour. Flour contains a wide variety of essential vitamins and minerals like calcium, iron and fibre. It’s a curious fact that many people assume flour is milled in the same way it was hundreds of years ago. Wheat is no longer crushed by hand using stones, and actually modern flour milling is pretty state of the art these days!
Here are some interesting FAQs about flour:
- One grain of wheat produces over 20,000 particles of flour.
- About 350 ears of wheat [the bit with all the grains] make enough flour for one 800g loaf of bread.
- There are 51 flour mills in the UK operated by 30 companies, most members of the National
- Association of British and Irish Millers [NABIM]
- It takes approx 5 million tonnes of wheat to produce just over 4 million tonnes of flour.
- The UK grows and mills around 85% of it’s own wheat, blended with only small amounts of wheat that is imported. Britain has a reputation for producing exceptionally high quality flours thanks to the skill and efficiency of its millers.
- In 2020 just under 69% of all flour produced was the bread making variety.
Over-processing of food is a consistent worry for many people, and flour is no exception. However the milling process involves simply opening and separating the wheat seeds. This means that flour is a particularly natural, and highly versatile product. Frequent food safety and quality testing is also carried out to maintain standards. At Brookshaw Stuart we are proud to be a big part of the flour milling industry, and are dedicated to providing innovative solutions.