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Husk, in botany, is the outer protective coating on the hull, on the fruit, on the seed, that becomes chaff. Maize's ear of corn leafy outer casing shell covering for example, grow on the yellow fruit's shell hull. Husk can also refer to the exuvia of bugs or small animals left behind after moulting.
In cooking, hull can also refer to other waste parts of fruits and vegetables, notably the cap or sepal of a strawberry.
The husk of a legume and some similar fruits is called a pod.
Plantago-seed mucilage is often referred to as husk, or psyllium husk.
Crop plants of several species have been selected that have hulless seeds, including pumpkins, oats, and barley.
Husking and dehulling
Husking of corn is the process of removing its outer layer, leaving only the cob seed rack. Dehulling is the process of removing the hull (or chaff) from beans and other seeds. This is sometimes done using a huller machine. To prepare the seeds for oil extraction, they are cleaned before the outer covering, or husk is removed. There are three different types of dehulling systems that can be used to process soybeans: Hot dehulling, warm dehulling and cold dehulling. Hot dehulling is the system offered in areas where beans are processed directly from the field. Warm dehulling is often used by processors who import their soybeans. Cold dehulling is used in plants that have existing drying and conditioning equipment, but need to add dehulling equipment to produce high protein meal. The different dehulling temperature options are for different types of production, beans and preparation equipment.
In third-world countries, husking and dehulling is still often done by hand using a large mortar and pestle. These are usually made of wood, and operated by one or more people.
The husk is biodegradable and may be composted.