Walk through any grocery store, skim over a food package label, watch a new food product launch on TV, or view a food brand’s profile page on Facebook – and you will probably see the trendy keywords of ancient or heirloom grains. What’s the mystery behind ancient grains? Grains or cereals are the fruits, usually called seeds, from members of the grass family. The major component is starch, not fat or oil. Ancient grains are more than products grown and consumed for thousands of years, they are cereals and seeds that have an essential nutritional value. Spelt, emmer, quinoa, einkorn, farro, dinkel, Kamut® and Kernza are all examples of ancient grains.
Heritage grains also include barley, sorghum, millets, teff, fonia and the pseudo-cereals amaranth, quinoa, and buckwheat. Several ancient grains are available in unique colors, such as red rice or black barley.
Ancient or heirloom grains are "neglected grains". Often referred to as being true to their original form, they remained unchanged by modern science and breeding technologies. However, the fact that there is little change from antiquity does not necessarily make the ancient grains more nutritious than modern varieties.
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