Ancient grains is a marketing term used to describe a category of grains and pseudocereals that are purported to have been minimally changed by selective breeding over recent millennia, as opposed to more widespread cereals such as corn, rice and modern varieties of wheat, which are the product of thousands of years of selective breeding. Ancient grains are often marketed as being more nutritious than modern grains, though their health benefits over modern varieties have been disputed by some nutritionists.[1][2]
Ancient grains include varieties of wheat: spelt, Khorasan wheat (Kamut), einkorn, and emmer; the grains millet, barley, teff, oats, and sorghum; and the pseudocereals quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, and chia.[1][2][3][4][5][6] Some authors even consider bulgur and freekeh to be ancient grains,[7] even though they are usually made from ordinary wheat. Modern wheat is a hybrid descendant of three wheat species considered to be ancient grains: spelt, einkorn, and emmer.[2][3]
- ^ a b Conis, Elena (19 February 2011). "Ancient grains: The best thing since sliced bread?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
- ^ a b c Joanna Jolly (16 December 2014). "Why do Americans love ancient grains?". BBC News. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
- ^ a b Clark, Melissa (13 March 2015). "Know Your Heirloom and Ancient Grains". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
- ^ Dan Charles (8 December 2014). "'Ancient Grains' Go From Fringe Food To New Cheerios Variety : The Salt". NPR. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
- ^ Vara, Vauhini (24 October 2014). "Why We're Willing to Pay More for Cereals with Ancient Grains". The New Yorker. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
- ^ Zevnik, Neil (7 January 2014). "Ancient Grains: Everything Old Is New Again". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
- ^ Charlie Fox, Freekeh Recipes: A Guide to Cooking with this Ancient Grain, 2020