Nowadays, there is a growing interest in more natural foods, sustainable farming methods, and the rediscovery of ancient dishes and flavours—including forgotten grain varieties. This culinary compendium of recipes, you are having a look at, was created to offer a taste of the many ways the two most ancient wheat species—einkorn and emmer—can be used, and to invite you to discover the unique, distinctive, and characterful flavours of these ancient wheats.
Raising consumer awareness about einkorn and emmer, one recipe at a time
One of the best ways to raise awareness is with practical guidance on how to use them. After all, the quickest way to a consumer’s heart is through their stomach. „Discover the Taste of Ancient Wheats” – Culinary Compendium of Ancient Wheat Recipes” was created to offer a taste of the many ways the two most ancient wheat species – einkorn and emmer – can be used, and to invite you to discover the unique, distinctive, and characterful flavours of these ancient wheats.
Since 2015, ÖMKi has been engaged in the cultivation of the traditional ancient wheat landraces emmer and einkorn under organic conditions, as well as in their quality assessment and product development, building on the values of the past. The einkorn and emmer used in these recipes were derived from ÖMKi’s ancient wheat variety trials. For all dishes made with flour, we exclusively used whole-grain ancient wheat flours, which makes this recipe compendium one of a kind.
Although we do not yet see ancient grain flours on the shelves of stores on a daily basis, it is worth taking a look around, because ancient wheats have beneficial nutritional effects thanks to their high content of bioactive compounds, favorable gluten composition, and rich mineral content.
We not only conduct research, but also create recipes, and now show you what kind of healthy delicacies you can make by replacing regular wheat flour with einkorn or emmer flour.
We would like to express our gratitude to the European Union’s Horizon Europe 2021 Research and Innovation Programme for supporting the publication of this culinary compendium of ancient wheat recipes through the LIVESEEDING project — ‘Boosting Organic Seed and Plant Breeding to Foster Sustainable and Diverse Food Systems in Europe’ (Grant Agreement No. 101059872).
