By Michael Holleman, Contributing Editor
Imagine a salt flat at 13,000 ft., carved amid a Bolivian mountain range from an ancient sea. On this vast plateau, only quinoa can grow in the rich mineral soil and dry, cold air, where it’s thrived since the age of the Incas. During the fallow season, llamas and alpacas naturally aerate the soil by trampling the ground in search of wild grasses, and their dung provides rich fertilizer for the quinoa seeds. Once shrubs emerge, farmers tend to each by hand, shielding them from frost and cold winds with small stones and the same straw used to form roofs of dwellings.
It’s as much the compelling back stories of lesser-known grains as their flavor and nutrition that interest consumers and help propel demand for such in food products and on menus. Ancient grains (most of which carry the built-in marketing benefits that “heirloom" brings to the table) are suddenly new again, offering novelty and contributing to menu and product interest.
The good news for chefs and manufacturers is that the spectrum of grains readily available in the marketplace has grown exponentially in the last several years. What’s more, grains today represent nearly every color in the rainbow, from charcoal wheat to red quinoa, from black barley to purple Thai rice, aiding plate presentation and enhancing products’ appeal.
No longer must every risotto begin with an Italian white rice. Cooked oatmeal need not be the sole hot-cereal option at breakfast. How does seafood paella, the famed saffron-scented rice dish from Spain, become more interesting and nutritious? When prepared with black barley.
Ancient, unique and whole
Make no mistake: The grains making waves with consumers right now are whole grains. And consumers say they want more of them—on the menu, on serving lines, in prepared-food departments of supermarkets and on retail shelves.
Whole grains and foods made from them contain all the essential parts and naturally occurring nutrients of the entire grain seed, including the bran, germ and endosperm. Even if the grain has been processed (e.g., cracked, crushed, rolled, extruded and/or cooked), the food product should deliver approximately the same rich balance of nutrients that are found in the original grain seed. The USDA defines a food as “whole grain" when at least 51% of the grain is whole grain and a serving of that food has at least 8 grams of whole grain.
The best examples of less-mainstream, but increasingly recognizable, whole-grain foods and flours are amaranth; black barley; buckwheat; white, black and red quinoas; colored rices other than brown, including several black and red varieties now grown in the United States; sorghum (also called milo); teff; triticale; and certain varieties of wheat, including spelt, einkorn, emmer, farro, grano, kamut, charcoal wheat and forms, such as bulgur, cracked wheat and wheat berries. Wild rice, though well known among consumers, is enjoying a resurgence in interest among foodservice operators and manufacturers thanks to new categorizing that distinguishes premium Grades A+ and A from Grades A/B, C and D/Cracked.
According to the Whole Grains Council, Boston, an initiative of Oldways and the originator of the Whole Grain Stamp featured on more than 5,000 products worldwide, cereal grasses from the Poaceae (or Gramineae) family, such as canary seed, Job’s tears, Montina, Timothy, fonio, etc., are also whole grains when consumed with all of their bran, germ and endosperm. Amaranth, quinoa and buckwheat are not in the Poaceae botanical family, but these “pseudo-grains" are normally included with true cereal grains because their nutritional profiles, preparation and uses are so similar.
Good health: a driver
In April 2010, the American Society for Nutrition, Bethesda, MD, brought together researchers to review the evidence regarding the health benefits associated with whole grains. Current scientific evidence indicates that whole grains play an important role in lowering the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer, and also contribute to weight and cholesterol management, and digestive health. The findings were published as a supplement to The Journal of Nutrition in May 2011 (141(5):1,011S-1,022S).
Health experts advise everyone—men and women, young and old—that grains are a healthy necessity in every diet, and it’s important to eat at least half our grains as “whole grains." Consumers are increasingly aware that fruits and vegetables contain disease-fighting phytochemicals and antioxidants, but many still do not realize whole grains are often an even better source of these key nutrients. Moreover, whole grains have some valuable antioxidants not found in fruits and vegetables, and many also contain B vitamins, vitamin E, magnesium, iron and fiber.
Some less-mainstream grains are excellent sources of plant protein. With the growing number of “flexitarians" who opt for meatless meals at least part of the time, such grains can be a boon to delivering interesting, flavorful vegetarian and vegan items. Amaranth, for example, is high in protein, as is quinoa, which contains the eight amino acids essential for optimal health.
The millions of people who can’t eat gluten, a protein in wheat and related grains such as barley, rye, spelt, kamut and triticale, must choose their grains carefully. This group includes the nearly 3 million Americans with celiac disease—an autoimmune form of gluten intolerance—who must eat a gluten-free diet for life. Other people may not have celiac disease, but may be allergic to wheat nonetheless, and must avoid all forms of wheat.
