Heritage Grains: Are They Worth It?

Why I use heritage grains, even though they aren’t the ideal solution

There’s a lot of debate about the role of heritage grains in rebuilding grain economies. One side definitely thinks they are the answer to today’s tasteless wheat and exploitative commodity system. I don’t think heritage grains are the cure to our current system of wheat farming and centralization. Their yields are small compared to modern varieties, they can be tricky to process, as many require de-hulling (removal of outer husk to access the wheat berry) and have long stems that can clog a combine or lodge (fall over) in a field.

These are grains that were grown a 150 years ago and then some, so there aren’t a lot of them still around. This lack of available seed means the farmer has to spend years growing out a handful of seed to a viable crop (there will be another post regarding the challenges of this) and the grains are very different to mill and bake with, compared to modern grains with their strong gluten and harder wheat berries.

BUT I do know that at this moment in Ontario, any farmer who wants to grow tasty, diverse and sustainable grains has to use primarily heritage grains, as there aren’t regional breeding programs dedicated to developing organic, high-yielding genetically diversified and evolutionary landrace/population wheats suitable for our climate. Therefore, heritage grains answer: our lack of diversity issue; grains that are suited for whole grain baking issue; grains that promote soil health issue; grains that are nutrient dense issue; grains with long root systems that promote soil health issue; grains that hold diverse genetics to developing climate change resistant crops issue…..

Modern wheat was bred to fit the needs of large scale farming and processing. To create commercial white flour, the mill must separate the bran and the germ from the kernel, leaving the endosperm (the part that makes white flour). Today’s commodity wheats are bred for large endosperm and a thin bran layer that easily flakes off in roller milling. Why is the thin bran layer an issue? Bran is where most of the minerals/nutrients (zinc, manganese, selenium, iron and amino acids) are. The majority of breeders are developing wheats with minimum bran, therefore less nutrition, and then millers take off any nutrition there was in the pursuit of white flour and low ash content (ash content measures the trace minerals in flour and a low content is desired by millers as a sign of increased white flour amounts per kernel). Then they must fortify the flour to replace what was lost.

Heritage wheats often have thicker bran coats. Wheats such Einkorn and Emmer are seen as nutrient dense grains with higher levels of lutein and betacarotene. Fortunately, some breeders are moving away from breeding for white flour wheats and breeding for flavour, nutrients and genetic diversity within the wheat population. It’s just going to a take while for that to reach Ontario and for farmers to switch over.

If you ask a farmer to grow a variety of wheat organically, mill it and deliver it to you, how can you discard over 20% of it? (it can be closer to 30% with older varieties due to the endosperm- bran ratio) Especially as the bran and the germ are where flavour and nutrition reside. Did you know that wholegrains are one of the largest sources for Vitamin E? It is found in the oil of the germ and in the bran. So that is why we use wholegrain flour, where the bran, germ and endosperm are kept together for maximum nutrients and taste.

Regional whole grains offer everything that commodity wheat cannot.

1. Whole Grain Nutrition: The outer layer of the grain contain most of the nutrients and when freshly milled it has a wonderful taste and texture. (Enriched white flours are an indication that the good stuff has been removed.)

2. Sustainability: These older varieties adapt to their growing conditions, better than most modern seeds, which are bred for limited characteristics in controlled environments. Seeds don’t have to be purchased from outside the farm. They can be planted each year, collected after harvest and planted the following year. They are not patented and owned by a private corporation. Heritage grains are an asset that stays on the farm, year after year. Some breeders are working on modern varieties that have yield and flavour, which is great! Let’s hope that becomes the new norm.

3. Diversity: Focusing on a single seed species inhibits long-term agricultural diversity. Growing buckwheat, rye, barley, and spelt can offer so much more than a single crop of bread wheat. The soil benefits greatly with crop rotation and seed variety. Nutrients remain in the soil, which lends itself to organic farming and offer more variety in our diets.

Regional grains connect us to a time where small farming communities were the norm, where you knew the person who grew your food, or you grew it yourself. We have the unique benefit of living in modern cities with modern conveniences, that offer connections to these special grains through a new breed of committed farmers.  Peter Leahy of Merrylynd Organics and Shelley and Tony Spruit of Against The Grain Farm are our main grain suppliers. Look for regional grains at farmers markets, through subscriptions to Community Supported Agriculture, food artisans and at farm-gate sales. Currently, we are using buckwheat, rye, barley, emmer, red fife wheat and spelt all grown in Ontario.