Bran Views

Gourmet Food

Bran is the hard outer layer of grain and consists of combined aleurone and pericarp. Along with germ, it is an integral part of whole grains, and is often produced as a by-product 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 and millet. Bran should not be confused with chaff, which is coarser scaly material surrounding the grain, but not forming part of the grain itself.

Rice bran and rice bran oil are widely used in Japan as a natural beauty treatment. The high levels of oleic acids make it particularly well absorbed by human skin, and it contains over 100 known vitamins, minerals and antioxidants including gamma oryzanol which is believed to impact pigment development.

Bran (German: Törzburg; Hungarian: Törcsvár) is a commune in Braşov County, Romania. It lies 30n km from the city of Braşov. Medieval Bran Castle, which was once besieged by Wallachian voivod Vlad III, is a popular tourist destination as it is purported setting for Count Dracula, in Bram Stoker's Dracula .

The Teutonic Order began construction of a wooden fort known as Dietrichstein in the early 13th century. After the fort's destruction in 1242 by Mongols, King Sigismund of Hungary ordered the construction of a stone castle in 1377, while the settlement of Bran began to develop nearby. Positioned high atop a steep cliff, the castle guarded a strategic trade route between Transylvania and Wallachia. In 1498, Bran fell under the jurisdiction of Braşov.