What is "bran"

Bran \Bran\, n. [OE. bren, bran, OF. bren, F. bran, from Celtic; cf. Armor. brenn, Ir. bran, bran, chaff.]

1. The broken coat of the seed of wheat, rye, or other cereal grain, separated from the flour or meal by sifting or bolting; the coarse, chaffy part of ground grain.

2. (Zo["o]l.) The European carrion crow.

c.1300, "the husk of wheat, barley, etc., separated from the flour after grinding," from Old French bren "bran, scurf, scales, feces" (12c., Modern French bran), perhaps connected with Gaulish *brenno- "manure," or with burn (v.). The word also was used 16c. in English for "dandruff flakes."

n. 1 The broken coat of the seed of wheat, rye, or other cereal grain, separated from the flour or meal by sifting or bolting; the coarse, chaffy part of ground grain. 2 The European carrion crow.

1. n. broken husks of the seeds of cereal grains that are separated from the flour by sifting

2. food prepared from the husks of cereal grains

Bran is the hard outer layer of cereal grains; it may also refer to:

• Bran Castle, a national monument and landmark of Romanian tourism
• Bran, Brașov, a commune in Brașov County, Romania; location of Bran Castle
• Bran, a village in Golăiești Commune, Iași County, Romania
• Castell Dinas Brân, a castle in Llangollen, Wales
• Bran, Charente-Maritime, a commune in the Charente-Maritime département in France
• Bran, a place in the parish of Os Ánxeles in the Galician council of Oroso.

• Bran Mutimirović, Serbian royalty
• Bran Drobnjak, founder of Drobnjaci clan
• Bran Ardchenn, king of Leinster
• Bran Becc mac Murchado, king of Leinster
• Guto Nyth Brân, legendary Welsh athlete

• Brân the Blessed, a character in Welsh mythology
• Bran Galed, a Welsh hero who had a magical drinking horn
• Bran Mak Morn, the last King of the Picts in Robert E. Howard's fiction
• Bran mac Febail, the protagonist of Immram Brain ( The Voyage of Bran), a tale from Irish mythology
• Brandon "Bran" Stark, a character from A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin

• Branle, Baroque dance (Spanish form)
• Bran (Welsh rock group), a Welsh prog rock group

• Broadband Radio Access Network, an European Telecommunications Standards Institute project involving low-cost, high-capacity radio links
• A nickname of Brandon
• Accademia della Crusca, also known as "The Bran" from the Italian word

Bran, also known as miller's bran, is the hard outer layers of cereal grain. It consists of the combined aleurone and pericarp.

Along with germ, it is an integral part of whole grains, and is often produced as a byproduct of milling in the production of refined grains. When bran is removed from grains, the grains lose a portion of their nutritional value. Bran is present in and may be milled from any cereal grain, including rice, corn (maize), wheat, oats, barley, rye and millet. Bran is not the same as chaff, coarser scaly material surrounding the grain but not forming part of the grain itself.

Bran is particularly rich in dietary fiber and essential fatty acids and contains significant quantities of starch, protein, vitamins, and dietary minerals. It is also a source of phytic acid, an antinutrient that prevents nutrient absorption.

The high oil content of bran makes it subject to rancidification, one of the reasons that it is often separated from the grain before storage or further processing. Bran is often heat-treated to increase its longevity.