History of Ancient Grain

Ancient Grain

Why work with “ancient” grain or cereal varieties? An “ancient” variety is a variety that has never been manually crossed or selected by seed companies.  It is the property of the farmer who cultivates it.

Each “ancient” variety is made up of a set of individual grains that are close, but genetically unique, that have been grown and harvested together: this is the definition of a population. Only visual (mass) selection and natural adaptation have caused it to evolve over time. The names of old varieties are assigned to their terroirs, regions (i.e. Rouge de Bordeaux), which are rustic and often have long stalks.

These Heritage grains, like a population wheat of ancient varieties, offer a signature aroma. The flour contains an accentuated value in lipids and carotenes, which give the bread a cream color and make it very suitable for baking, pastry making and cooking.

Eating these types of “ancient” varieties offers a number of benefits such as high nutritional value , ease of digestibility and low allergenic potential when consumed.