Emmer

Emmeris a hybrid species ofwheat, producing edible seeds that have been used as food since ancient times. The domesticated types areTriticum turgidumsubsp.dicoccumandT. t.conv.durum. The wild plant is calledT. t.subsp.dicoccoides. The seeds have anawnedcovering, the sharp spikes helping the seeds to become buried in the ground. The principal difference between the wild and the domestic forms is that the ripened seed head of the wild plantshattersand scatters the seed onto the ground, while in the domesticated emmer, the seed head remains intact, thus making it easier for people to harvest the grain.
Along witheinkorn, emmer was one of thefirst crops domesticatedin theNear East. It was widely cultivated in the ancient world, but is now arelictcrop in mountainous regions of Europe and Asia. Emmer is one of the three grains calledfarroin Italy.
Emmer is first attested in 1908 in English as aloanwordfrom GermanEmmer, variant ofAmelkorn, fromamel, 'starch', likely fromLatinamylum, itself borrowing fromAncient Greekamylon.
Likeeinkorn(T. monococcum) andspelt(T. spelta), emmer is a hulled wheat, meaning it has strongglumes(husks) that enclose the grains, and a semibrittlerachis. On threshing, a hulled wheat spikebreaks upinto spikelets that require milling or pounding to release the grains from the glumes.Wild emmer spikelets effectively self-cultivate by propelling themselves mechanically into soils with theirawns.  During a period of increased humidity during the night, the awns of the spikelet become erect and draw together, and in the process push the grain into the soil.  During the daytime, the humidity drops and the awns slacken back again; however, fine silica hairs on the awns act as hooks in the soil and prevent the spikelets from backing out. During the course of alternating stages of daytime drying and nighttime humidity, the awns' pumping movements, which resemble a swimmingfrog kick, will drill the spikelet 25 millimetres (1 inch) or more into the soil.
Strong similarities in morphology and genetics show that wild emmer (T. dicoccoidesKoern.) is the wild ancestor and acrop wild relativeof domesticated emmer. Wild emmer still grows wild in the Near East. It is atetraploidwheat formed by the hybridization of twodiploidwild grasses, wild red einkorn (Triticum urartu), and the goatgrassAegilops speltoides.
The botanistsFriedrich August KörnickeandAaron Aaronsohnin the late 19th-century were the first to describe the wild emmer native toPalestineand adjacent countries.Earlier, in 1864, the Austrian botanistCarl Friedrich Kotschycollected specimens of the same wild emmer, without stating where he had collected them.Although cultivated in ancient Egypt, wild emmer has not been grown for human consumption in recent history,perhaps owing to the difficulty with which the chaff is separated from the seed kernels, formerly requiring the spikes to be pounded with mortar and pestle.Wild emmer is distinguished from common wheat by its tougher earrachisand the beards releasing the grains easily, by their ear rachis becoming brittle when ripe and their firmly fitting beards.Wild emmer grows to a height of 50–70 cm (20–28 in), and bears an elongated spike measuring 10–15 cm (3.9–5.9 in), with long, protruding awns extending upwards.Avniet al., 2017 provides a complete emmergenome.
Wild emmer is native to theFertile Crescentof the Middle East, growing in the grass and woodland of hill country from modern-dayIsraeltoIran.  The origin of wild emmer has been suggested, without universal agreement among scholars, to be theKaraca Dağmountain region of southeastern Turkey. In 1906,Aaron Aaronsohn's discovery of wild emmer wheat growing inRosh Pinna(Israel) created a stir in the botanical world.Emmer wheat has been found in archaeological excavations and ancient tombs.  Emmer was collected from the wild and eaten by hunter gatherers for thousands of years before its domestication.  Grains of wild emmer discovered atOhalo IIhad aradiocarbon datingof 17,000BCand at thePre-Pottery Neolithic A(PPNA) site ofNetiv Hagdudare 10,000–9,400 years old.
The location of the earliest site of emmer domestication is still unclear and under debate.Some of the earliest sites with possible indirect evidence for emmer domestication during the EarlyPre-Pottery Neolithic BincludeTell Aswad,Çayönü,Cafer Höyük,Aşıklı Höyük,Kissonerga-Mylouthkia[de]andShillourokambos.Definitive evidence for the full domestication of emmer wheat is not found until the Middle Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (10,200 to 9,500 BP), at sites such asBeidha,Tell Ghoraifé,Tell es-Sultan (Jericho),Abu Hureyra,Tell Halula,  Tell Aswad and Cafer Höyük.
Emmer is found in a large number of Neolithic sites scattered around the fertile crescent.  From its earliest days of cultivation, emmer was a more prominent crop than its cereal contemporaries and competitors, einkorn wheat andbarley.Small quantities of emmer are present duringPeriod 1 at Mehrgharhon the Indian subcontinent, showing that emmer was already cultivated there by 7000–5000 BC.
In the Near East, in southernMesopotamiain particular, cultivation of emmer wheat began to decline in theEarly Bronze Age, from about 3000 BC, andbarleybecame the standard cereal crop. This has been related to increased salinization of irrigated alluvial soils, of which barley is more tolerant,although this study has been challenged.Emmer had a special place inancient Egypt, where it was the main wheat cultivated in Pharaonic times, although cultivated einkorn wheat was grown in great abundance during theThird Dynasty, and large quantities of it were found preserved, along with cultivated emmer wheat and barleys, in the subterranean chambers beneath theStep PyramidatSaqqara.Neighbouring countries also cultivated einkorn,durumand common wheat.In the absence of any obvious functional explanation, the greater prevalence of emmer wheat in the diet of ancient Egypt may simply reflect a marked culinary or cultural preference, or may reflect growing conditions having changed after the Third Dynasty. Emmer and barley were the primary ingredients in ancient Egyptian bread andbeer. Emmer recovered from thePhoeniciansettlement atVolubilis(in present-dayMorocco) has been dated to the middle of the first millennium BC.
Emmer wheat may be one of thefive species of grainwhich have a special status inJudaism. One of these species may be either emmer orspelt. However, it is fairly certain that spelt did not grow in ancient Israel, and emmer was probably a significant crop until the end of theIron Age. References to emmer inGreekandLatin textsare traditionally translated as "spelt", even though spelt was not common in the Classical world until very late in its history.
Pliny the Eldernotes that although emmer was calledfarin his time, it had formerly been calledadoreum(or 'glory'), providing an etymology explaining that emmer had been held in glory.He mentions itsuse in sacrifices, stating that it had to be purified by roasting in order to be suitable.He states that in Etruria emmer was first roasted, then crushed either with an iron-capped pestle, or using a handmill that was toothed on the inside. This contrasted, Pliny writes, with the rest of Italy, where either a plain pestle or a watermill was used to make it into flour.
Today emmer is primarily a relict crop in mountainous areas. Its value lies in its ability to give good yields on poor soils, and its resistance to fungal diseases such asstem rustthat are prevalent in wet areas. Emmer is grown in Armenia, Morocco, Spain (Asturias), the Carpathian mountains on the border of Czechia and Slovakia, Albania, Turkey, Switzerland, Germany, Greece and Italy. It is grown in the U.S. as a specialty product. In Ethiopia, the grain is traditional.
InItaly, uniquely, emmer cultivation is well established and even expanding. In the mountainousGarfagnanaarea ofTuscanyemmer (one of three grains known asfarro) is grown by farmers as an IGP (Indicazione Geografica Protetta) product, with its geographic identity protected by law.The demand for Italian farro has led to competition from non-certified farro, grown in lowland areas and often consisting of a different wheat species, spelt.
Emmer's main use is as food, though it is also used asfodder. Ethnographic evidence from Turkey and other emmer-growing areas suggests that emmer makes good bread (judged by the taste and texture standards of traditional bread); it was widely eaten as bread in ancient Egypt.In Armenian cuisine, emmer pilaf is cooked in sunflower oil. The pre-cooked emmer is fried in oil and then sautéed onions are added. In the second version, boiled water and emmer are added to the sautéed onion and then cooked until tender.In Armenia, emmer porridge with lamb called "kashovi" is widespread in theShirak region, while lean kashovi is known in all regions of Armenia. Chopped lamb is added to cold water then boiled for 10 minutes, emmer and sautéed onion are added and cooked over a low heat until tender.In Italy, whole emmer grains can be found in most supermarkets and groceries, emmer bread (pane di farro) can be found in bakeries in some areas, while in Tuscany emmer has traditionally been consumed as whole grains in soup. Emmer has been used in beer production.
Emmer hasantihyperglycemicproperties andantioxidantactivity, which could be useful as part of a diet fortype 2 diabetesin its early stages.As with all varieties and hybrids of wheat,emmer is unsuitable for people withgluten-related disorders, despite the popular claim that  ancient grains contain less gluten.