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Alternative Wheat Cereals as Food Grains: Einkorn, Emmer, Spelt, Kamut, and Triticale
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The objective of this paper is to generate the interest of the home baker in the use of cereal grain flours other than common wheat. Presently Kamut and spelt flours are readily available. Triticale flour availability is limited, and the authors are still pursuing agronomic and quality evaluations of einkorn and emmer PI accessions from the USDA-ARS National Small Grain Germplasm Research Facility (NSGGRF), Aberdeen, Idaho.
Einkorn is thought to have originated in the upper area of the fertile crescent of the Near East (Tigris-Euphrates regions). Wild einkorn
Triticum boeoticum includes both the single grain
T. aegilopoides and the two grain
T. thaoudar and
T. urartu. Cultivated einkorn is
T. monococcum, and like wild einkorn has the genome constitution AA (
Table 1). In cereal crops the head (inflorescence) if unbranched is called a spike. The spike consists of flowers (spikelets) arranged on the rachis (which is an extension of the stem). The flowers (spikelets) arise from nodes along the rachis which are called rachilla. The spikelet is enclosed by bracts, the glumes, or chaff. The kernels within the spikelet as enclosed in bracts, the lemma, and palea. As an example, kernels of free threshing wheats thresh free of the bracts; barley threshes free of the glumes, while lemma and palea make up the hull of the kernel; einkorn, emmer, and spelt thresh with the complete spikelet intact. A classification and description of
Triticum sp. is outlined by Briggle and Reitz (1963). The wild and cultivated einkorn are differentiated by the brittleness of the rachis. The rachis of wild einkorn is brittle and the spikelets readily disarticulate when mature, whereas the rachis of cultivated einkorn is less fragile and remains intact until thrashed.
Einkorn along with emmer and spelt are often referred to as "the covered wheats," since the kernels do not thresh free of the glumes or the lemma and palea when harvested (Fig. 1). In contrast to the free threshing wheats, the spikes of einkorn disarticulate at threshing (the seed head breaks apart into intact spikelets). The spikes disarticulate with the rachilla apex attached to the base of the spikelet. Einkorn has long narrow glumes which are awned. Cultivated einkorn generally has one kernel per spikelet.
Einkorn became widely distributed throughout the Near East, Transcaucasia, the Mediterranean region, southwestern Europe, and the Balkans, and was one of the first cereals cultivated for food.
Harlan (1981), cites information suggesting that wild einkorn grain was harvested in the late Paleolithic and early Mesolithic Ages, 16,000-15,000 BC. Confirmed finds of wild grain remains have been dated to the early Neolithic (Stone Age) 10,000 BC. (Helmqvist 1955; Zohary and Hopf 1993). Cultivated einkorn continued to be a popular cultivated crop during the Neolithic and early Bronze Age 10,000-4,000 BC giving way to emmer by the mid-Bronze Age. Einkorn cultivation continued to be popular in isolated regions from the Bronze Age into the early 20th century. Today, einkorn production is limited to small isolated regions within France, India, Italy, Turkey, and Yugoslavia (Harlan 1981; Perrino and Hammer 1982).
Historically, einkorn was cultivated in cool environments on marginal agricultural land through the Mid-east and southwestern Europe. Einkorn is still cultivated in harsh environments and poor soil in Italy (Perrino and Hammer 1984). Einkorn selections produced protein and yield equal to or higher than barley and durum wheat when grown under adverse growing conditions (Vallega 1979). Evaluations of 15 einkorn accessions grown in Italy indicate that the yields were significantly lower than that of modern wheats when grown under intensive cropping management (Vallega 1992). However, in this study several progeny of selected einkorn crossings (while lacking in several desirable agronomic traits) produced yields comparable to the modern wheats. Eighty einkorn PI accessions from (NSGGRF) have been evaluated for yield, straw characteristics, and date of heading at the Southern Agricultural Research Center, Huntley, Montana (SARC) from 1992 to the present. The yields of einkorn ranged from 4160 to 120 kg/ha, 1992; 1290 to 130 kg/ha, 1993; 2160 to 220 kg/ha, 1994; and 2400 to 720 kg/ha in 1995. The 1995 yield range represents 25 final PI accession selections (based on yield record and straw strength) of which five produced total yields higher than oats and three higher total yields than the barley and wheat included in the trial. Einkorn grain yields in comparison to spring wheat under dryland cropping were dependent upon growing season environment (
Table 2). The protein content of einkorn when threshed in the hull varied from 10% to 26% higher, and the grain from 50% to 75% higher than the protein content (12.5% to 13.5%) of the hard red wheats. Agronomic production practices for spring grains would be applicable to einkorn, which has a tendency to mature later than spring wheat. Einkorn may be most suitable for cropping in lower moisture environments similar to the northern Great Plains area of Montana. The einkorn accessions tested had only moderate straw strength, averaged 109 cm in height, and would be susceptible to lodging in high moisture environments. The susceptibility to diseases is unknown and may be expressed in high moisture environments.
In the U.S., einkorn production is presently limited to evaluations of PI accessions for agronomic yield and quality traits, and or germplasm sources for plant breeders to improve protein and disease resistance in the development of modern wheats. However recent studies in Europe and Canada emphasized the nutritional quality of einkorn. Grain protein of einkorn accessions and progeny of einkorn crossings were consistently significantly higher than modern wheats (Vallega 1992). The data also indicate that given the significant increase in yields of the progeny and the higher grain protein, progeny lines produced significantly more protein/ha than the modern wheats. The amino acid composition of einkorn was found to be similar to wheat, irrespective of very large variations in total grain protein among the einkorn accessions tested (Acquistucci et al. 1995). The composition and nutritional characteristics of a selected spring einkorn were compared to spelt and hard red spring wheat grown in Canada (Abdel-Aal et al. 1995). The einkorn accession was considered more nutritious than the hard red wheat, based on the higher level of protein, crude fat, phosphorous, potassium, pyridoxine, and beta-carotene. The gluten of the einkorn accession had a gliadin to glutenin ratio of 2:1 compared to 0.8:1 for durum and hard red wheat. Flour and dough characteristics of gluten from 12 einkorn accessions were compared to durum and common wheats (D'Egidio et al. 1993). The einkorn flours were characterized by high protein, high ash, a very high carotene content, and small flour particle size when compared to the modern bread wheats. Dough characteristics of the einkorn accessions were significantly inferior to the modern wheats. The gluten strength was similar to that of soft wheats, but remained sticky, with a low water retention capacity. While breads made from einkorn were considered to be inferior to emmer or spelt breads (LeClerc et al. 1918), Bond (1989) states that breads made from einkorn in France had a light rich taste which left common bread wheat products tasteless and insipid by comparison. Bond also indicated that similar to ancient civilizations the einkorn grains were used in various food dishes such as soups, salads, casseroles, and sauces. The consideration that flour from
T. monococcum may be non toxic to individuals with celiac disease (Favret et al. 1984, 1987) as cited by D'Egidio et al. (1993), and Abdel-Aal et al. (1995) suggest that given the nutritional advantage of einkorn and possible consumption by individuals allergic to common wheats, an increased interest will be given to the diploid wheats.
The sites of origin of emmer are considered to be similar to einkorn, within the regions of the Near East (Nevo 1988). Wild emmer
T. dicoccoides, like wild einkorn is distinguished by the brittleness of the rachis, which disarticulate when mature. The rachis of cultivated emmer
T. dicoccum is less fragile and tends to remain intact until threshed. The genomic constituents of emmer are described in
Table 1. The genomic constitution AA of emmer is thought to be derived from
T. monococcum. Various sources of the BB genome have been suggested,
T. speltoides, T. searsii, and
T. tripsacoides (Morris and Sears 1967; Kimber and Sears 1987). Emmers are predominantly awned with spikelets consisting of two well developed kernels. Emmer glumes are long and narrow with sharp beaks.
The use of emmer as a cereal food is considered to be contemporary with that of einkorn. Similar to einkorn, the earliest civilizations initially consumed emmer as a porridge prior to developing the process of bread making.
Remnants of wild emmer in early civilization sites date to the late Paleolithic Age 17,000 BC (Zohary and Hopf 1993). Cultivated emmer emerged as the predominant wheat along with barley as the principal cereals utilized by civilizations in the late Mesolithic, and early Neolithic Ages 10,000 BC (Helmqvist 1955; Harlan 1981; Zohary and Hopf 1993). Cultivated emmer dispersion and use by early civilizations greatly exceeded that of einkorn. Due to the addition of the BB genome cultivated emmer could be grown in a wider range of environments including regions having high growing season temperatures. Cultivated emmer became the dominant wheat throughout the Near and Far East, Europe, and Northern Africa from the Neolithic (Stone Age) through the Bronze Age 10,000-4,000 BC. Emmer utilization continued through the Bronze Age 4,000-1,000 BC, during which the naked wheats, primarily the tetraploid species slowly displaced emmer. However, emmer continued to be popular in isolated regions such as south central Russia into the early 1900s. Presently emmer remains an important crop in Ethiopia and a minor crop in India and Italy (Harlan 1981; Perrino and Hammer 1982).