Do you know freekeh from farro? What about identifying kamut in the mix? In the spirit of New Year's resolutions and healthy eating, it's time to get to know your old-school grains. Besides, aren't you tired of boring old oats and rice?
These so-called ancient grains carry the title because they're old (some more than 5,000 years) and they haven't been modified for industrialized production like wheat and corn. This also means many carry a nutritional punch you won't find in more familiar grains. Check out The Wall Street Journal's primer on quinoa, kamut, teff, freekeh, farro, millet, and, rye and try a new grain today!
• Get Your Freekeh On at The Wall Street Journal
Related: Good Grains: What is Spelt?
(Images: F. Martin Ramin for The Wall Street Journal)
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I know this is ridiculously nit-picky, and I'm sorry for that, but quinoa is from South America, which is definitely New World. The text of the article is correct, you can call them all "old-school" or ancient, but Old World and New World have well-defined geographical meanings and since these grains come from all over, Old World is not appropriate in the title here.
That said, I've tried most of these in some form or another and they are all tasty! Much more interesting than most of the now-standard stuff that gets mass-produced and artificially processed beyond recognition.
I love using these grains (though I haven't tried everything pictured above, I'll have to branch out!) They are a great way to start a base for a very healthy and simple dinner, just throw in some greens, onions, garlic, seasonings (I like some toasted cumin) and veggies and you have a very filling meal! (So easy to modify and make something using whatever is in your fridge!)
I'd love to have the recipe that the WSJ describes for Dan Barber's Freekeh crackers. I have a box of Freekeh sitting in the pantry -- Anyone have any recipes for this grain that they like? Since it supposedly has a smokey flavor I'm not sure how to best use it.
Yeah, quinoa is New World.
Plus, anyone paying $8/lb for quinoa is getting ripped off. AlterEco is definitely one of the higher end brands, but there are many other organic brands that are significantly more affordable than the one listed in the article.
First - I enjoyed the content. Second, TheKitchn repeats errors made by the Wall Street Journal (quinoa and calling freekah a grains -- freekeh is a processing method for young cereals.) The WSJ's casual indifference to mere facts is annoying, although typical of their editorial style: one expects it from them.
But TheKitchn should do better ! I realize that with Wikipedia being down, doing simple fact checking is extremely difficult -- but there are other sources of information. If nothing else, turn off javascript and read Wikipedia.
@m_j_s that reminds me that quinoa is also not technically a grain. Grains are members of the Poaceae (grasses), but quinoa is in the Chenopodiaceae, a dicot family. But, we eat it like a grain, so I guess it's okay to call it one. I think you can definitely call freekeh a grain since it's made from wheat (in the Poaceae). It's sort of like how we make culinary distinctions between fruits and vegetables, even though it's not botanically correct. Almost every "vegetable" we eat is actually a fruit. The only vegetables that are vegetative are things like spinach, lettuce, potatoes, carrots, mint...
Sorry for being so picky, Stephanie, but what do you expect from AT readers? ;)
@Saluki: freekeh is traditionally served with lamb (esp. lamb shanks) in Lebanese cuisine. It can also be added to soups instead of rice or pasta.
I sometimes use it as a base for Mediterranean-style salads. The flavour is robust enough that it can stand up to liberal amounts of garlic, onion, cumin, etc.