"Profoundly herbaceous. Nutty fresh. Deep toasty caramel notes."
Would you guess this is the vocabulary of a professional grain taster, sitting down every day — as does Glenn Roberts, founder of Anson Mills, specialty producers — to somewhere between six and 30 spoonsful of plain boiled heritage grains? The variety described is Red Fife, America's preferred bread flour in the 19th century, now being revived.
Identifying flavor, aroma and "finish" not in wine but in wheat may be a new thought, since local heritage grain has just stepped on stage in Western Pennsylvania. Most of us haven't tasted much of it.
We are about to have a chance to relearn what the collective American palate once knew about our grain heritage when grain was chosen for flavor, grown close to home and ground fresh.
"It's taken for granted in Europe that grain has terroir, reflects the soil and climate in which it grows," says Mr. Roberts. "People have grain mills on their countertops. They search the countryside for farmers with the best-tasting grains."
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Pittsburgh Post Gazette
