Wheat is the only grain with sufficient gluten content to make a raised or leavened loaf of bread. When buying, avoid packages with a rancid, stale odor. Blue cornmeal , from New Mexico, has a bluish-gray tint and a stronger, toastier flavor. It is often used for tortillas and tamales. Corn grits are also available in white or yellow.
Grits are more coarsley ground than cornmeal.
It is usually combined with white flour because it does not have gluten of its own. Barley is sold also as pearl barley to be used mainly as a soup ingredient. Buckwheat flour is made from the seed of the fagopyrum, an herb. This flour is suitable for making pancakes. In Russia, it is called kasha.