Farro

Farro refers to hulled wheats, with the main form being emmer, Triticum dicoccum, and the others being spelt and einkorn. In Italy, the three types are called farro grande (spelt), farro medio (emmer) and farro piccolo (einkorn). Emmer is a tall grass with bearded spikes, and its grains are plump, elongated and amber to reddish brown, tightly held in a tough husk that must be removed by milling. Cooked farro has a pleasantly chewy bite and a nutty, slightly sweet flavor. It is sold whole, semi-pearled, which cooks faster and needs no soaking, and pearled, as well as ground into flour.

Emmer was one of the first crops domesticated in the Fertile Crescent, more than 10,000 years ago, from wild emmer growing in the Near East. It spread to Egypt, Europe and Asia and was a primary cereal in the Bronze Age before being largely replaced by free-threshing bread wheat. The Italian word farro derives from Latin far, a term for hulled grain, which is also the root of farina and farinaceous. In Tuscany, Lazio, Umbria and Abruzzo, local farro remained in cultivation in mountain regions, including the area of Garfagnana, which has a protected designation.

The Romans built much of their diet on far, a hulled wheat, and the grain gave its name to the Roman marriage ceremony known as confarreatio, in which a cake made from farro was shared. Roman soldiers received a ration of it, and a porridge called puls, made from emmer, was a basic food for centuries. The word farinaceous and the word flour, as well as the Latin for flour, farina, share the root.

In Egypt, emmer was a main grain for bread and beer, and archaeological sites across the Near East and Europe show that it was a staple. Eventually, free-threshing wheats that were easier to mill took over, and emmer was kept alive mostly in upland areas where the soil was poor and traditions endured. In Italy it continued as a country food in soups and as a winter dish.

In recent decades farro became fashionable among chefs and home cooks seeking old grains with character, and cultivation expanded in Italy and elsewhere, including the United States, where emmer is grown on small farms. The Garfagnana farro has a European protected geographical indication.

Farro is simmered like rice or pasta in broth or water and then used in salads with vegetables and herbs, in soups with beans, in risotto-style dishes called farrotto, and as a base for roasted vegetables or meats. Semi-pearled farro cooks in about 20 to 30 minutes, while whole farro may require soaking and up to an hour. The grain is also ground into flour for breads, pasta and cakes, and cooked as a breakfast porridge with fruit and honey.

Farro is a whole or partly processed grain providing fiber, plant protein, magnesium, zinc and B vitamins. Studies of ancient wheats suggest they may differ from modern wheat in some nutrient or antioxidant levels, but the evidence is limited, and the differences are not large enough to claim a clear health advantage. Whole-grain farro contributes to the benefits seen from eating whole grains in general, such as improved digestion and heart health. Pearled farro has less fiber than whole farro because part of the bran is removed.