What is a millstone? Detailed analysis

The article tells about what a millstone is, what does this device need and is it used in our time.

Ancient times

Agriculture has been known to people since ancient times. Our ancestors quickly realized that it is much more profitable to grow the same wheat than to be satisfied with its wild sprouts. Of course, they reached this far not immediately, because agriculture implies a settled way of life.

Wheat and its relatives are useful in that they contain both carbohydrates and a sufficient amount of protein, which determines their nutritional status. Of course, for a long time the wheat was eaten either raw or in steamed form, but at some point, flour was obtained from it using the millstone. So what is a millstone and are they being applied now? In this we will understand.

Definition

According to the encyclopedia, the millstone is a pair of stone circles, into which grain is poured. And with its rotation, the latter is ground into flour. They can also be made of wood, but with inserts of metal or other harder material to facilitate the grinding process.

The very first millstones were set in motion by muscular strength, and the process of making flour was long and laborious. So now we know what a millstone is. Later, to speed up and facilitate the process, belt drives and large mills were designed that could turn a very large amount of grain into flour. So now we know what a millstone is.

Mills

Mills could be very different, wind, water and mechanical, where millstones were driven by draft animals or special workers.

The winds were erected on high ground, where the wind often blew. And water - at the river with a fast and strong current. This method was more productive, because the work did not depend on weather conditions, and even in winter people cut ice to keep the water wheel moving. Also, considering the question of what a millstone is, it is worth mentioning the construction, which provided the work of animals: horses, bulls and others.

Nowadays

Now millstones as such are almost not used, on an industrial scale flour is ground in special drums. And yet such devices can be found in some remote corners of the planet where there is no electricity or technology is very poorly developed.

By the way, millstones are used not only for wheat flour, it can be made from many cereals - corn, rye, barley, etc.

Now we know what a millstone is: the meaning of the word and the device of this device.