Food Business News - May 7, 2013 - 32

Notes on

ancient grains

ach ancient grain has its own story. Here are a few:
Amaranth: Led by Cortez, the Spaniards in the 16th century
wanted to outlaw foods used in Aztec festivals, called “heathen” by
the Spaniards, according to the Whole Grains Council, Boston. The foods
included amaranth, which the Aztecs may have domesticated as far back
as 6,000 to 8,000 years ago.
Farro: It may refer to three types of grain:
emmer wheat, einkorn wheat or spelt, said
Tom Vierhile, innovations insight director for
Datamonitor.
Freekeh: It refers to the practice of harvesting grains while they are young and
green to retain the grains at the state of peak
taste and nutrition, according to FreekehliAmaranth
cious, L.L.C., Norwood, N.J. The history of
freekeh dates back to 2,300 B.C. It originally
was grown in Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and
Syria.
Kamut: According to Kamut International, Missoula, Mont., Kamut is a trademark.
Grains must meet such qualiﬁcations as being of the ancient khorasan wheat variety,
being certiﬁed organic and having a protein
Farro
range of 12% to 18%.
Teff: Perhaps the smallest of all the ancient grains, teﬀ is similar in size to a poppy
seed, but it packs a nutritious punch, according to the Whole Grains Council. A cup of
cooked teﬀ has about 123 mg of calcium.
Teﬀ also is a source of vitamin C, and 20%
to 40% of its carbohydrates are resistant
Kamut
starches. FBN

selling chia as an ingredient,
The Chia Co. offers product at
the retail level. Nine different
stock-keeping units may be
found at Whole Foods Market.
Increasing quinoa supply is a
goal of the United Nations. Bolivia and Peru account for more
than half of the annual 70,000
tons produced. Growers in
Canada, China, Denmark, Italy,
India, Kenya, Morocco and The
Netherlands are producing or
undertaking agronomic trials
designed for commercial production of quinoa.
While a hectare (about 2.5
acres) may produce 600 kilograms (1,323 lbs) of quinoa
now, the Food and Agriculture
Organization wants to raise
production to more than a ton
of quinoa per hectare. Reaching
that goal would help raise the
overall annual production to
200,000 tons.
ConAgra Mills, Omaha, has

FOODBUSINESS NEWS

offered ancient grains since 2007.
The line began with amaranth,
quinoa, sorghum, millet and teff.
This year the company added
buckwheat, spelt and a variety
of puffed and toasted grains for
whole grain, multigrain, glutenfree and artisan foods.
“Consumer research shows
us that Americans are excited
about these heritage grains for
a variety of reasons, including
adding culinary adventure to
mainstream favorites,” said Joni
Huffman, director of business
development for ConAgra Mills.
Bay State Milling made two
moves involving ancient grains
last year. In February 2012 the
company said it had partnered
with growers to offer OrganicEssentials whole spelt and OrganicEssentials white spelt flour.
In August of last year, Bay
State Milling announced it
was acquiring T.J. Harkins Basic Commodity Brokers, Inc.,

based in Bolingbrook, Ill. T.J.
Harkins supplies ancient grains
as well as edible seeds, sweet
spices, specialty grain flours
and grain blends.
“Grains like rye, spelt and millet are in reasonable supply and
are leveraged by multi-national
companies,” Ms. Zammer said.
“Others like Kamut and amaranth (a pseudo-cereal) are in
limited supply and have a higher
cost associated with them.
“With demand for protein
and gluten-free products on
the rise, there will be pressure
on crops like millet and amaranth, but the good news is they
can grow in climates that exist in the U.S. If a reasonable
demand and premium can be
made by growing these grains,
farmers will step up to grow
them. Some may opt to maintain organic status (as Kamut
has), which also helps keep the
ancient status in check and ensures the premium price tag.”

Will it work?
The annual world production
of millet grains at last count
was 726,712 tonnes with India
the top producer at 334,500
tonnes, according to a review
published on-line in Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety. The review involved researchers from
China Agricultural University in
Beijing and Assiut University in
Egypt.
Bird lovers may recognize
millet as birdfeed, but many
Africans also use it in porridge.
Nigerians use millet in kunu, a
nutritious beverage.
The researchers investigated
how millet might be incorporated into mainstream commercial
foods. They found millet grains
contain such health-promoting
components as fiber, minerals,
vitamins and phytochemicals.
They also found novel processing and preparation methods
are needed to enhance the bioavailability of the micronutrients and to improve the quality
of millet diets.
According to the review, using millet in ready-to-eat breakfast cereals seems feasible.
Incorporating millet into bread
or noodles may be more difficult since millet has no gluten.
Millet may be used to replace

a percentage of wheat flour in
such applications.
Chia, which is gluten-free,
adds binding and texture to
gluten-free products, Mr. Foss
said. Like millet, chia may be
used in flour blends. Mr. Foss
added chia comes in two colors. White chia may go into
white bread, yogurt or beverages. Black chia stands out and
is visible in products such as
crackers or nutritional bars.
Formulators in North America have a new option when
using quinoa. Novel Ingredient
Services, West Caldwell, N.J.,
has become the exclusive U.S.
distributor (neutraceutical market) for Quinoasure, a quinoa
powder suitable for use as an
ingredient in foods, beverages,
dietary supplements and meal
replacements. Novel Ingredient
Services also will service Canada and Mexico.
Available in both conventional and organic form, Quinoasure is odorless, virtually tasteless and has better mouthfeel
than quinoa grain, according to
Novel Ingredient Services.
“Water solubility makes Quinoasure versatile enough to
use in a variety of nutritional
supplements and meal replacements, as well as beverages and
foods,” said Bob Green, company president for Novel Ingredient Services.
Susan Key, manager of product applications for Bay State
Milling, said, “It is imperative to
understand every aspect of each
of the ancient grains. Waterholding capacity is one major
aspect that must be understood.
Amaranth has a high water-holding capacity, while other ancient
grains do not bind any water.
“As with any formula change
that is made, the entire process of the baked good should
be evaluated when adding ancient grains to dough systems.
Formulation, water absorption,
mix time, proof time, bake time
and flavor are all critical elements when processing with
ancient grains.”
Although humans have used
ancient grains in foods and beverages for thousands of years,
the learning process continues
for formulators of today. FBN
— Jeff Gelski
jgelski@sosland.com

May 7, 2013

Food Business News - May 7, 2013

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