I received a coupon recently for a product called “Suzie’s
Puff Cakes.” They look like rice cakes, but they’re made of spelt.
Yes, spelt.
There’s been a vogue for rare and unusual grains recently.
If they’re “ancient” – some primitive holdover from the pre-wheat era – so much
the better. Spelt is one of these: not a parent or grandparent of modern wheat,
but more like its maiden aunt. It’s still grown in Central Europe, and there’s
a growing market for it.
As there is for teff (a cereal grass
grown in Ethiopia) and quinoa
(the seed of a goosefoot relative, from South America), and amaranth (the seeds of a
lovely Mexican plant), and Khorasan
wheat (which has been patented as “Kamut”).
What do they taste like? Well, try them. They’re all pretty
much okay, they won’t shock you. (Quinoa disappoints me a little; it has an odd
flavor which, frankly, needs to be covered up.)
But they have the charm of being uncommon and a little
strange.
And isn’t it fun to eat something your ancestors might have
eaten?
Coming soon: cooking with samphire!
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