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Summer Beam Books
Restoring Heritage Grains: The Culture, Biodiversity, Resilience, and Cuisine of Ancient Wheats by Eli Rogosa
Restoring Heritage Grains: The Culture, Biodiversity, Resilience, and Cuisine of Ancient Wheats by Eli Rogosa
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Restoring Heritage Grains: The Culture, Biodiversity, Resilience, and Cuisine of Ancient Wheats by Eli Rogosa
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing Company
Binding: Paperback
Pub Date: June 22, 2016
Physical Info: 0.7" H x 8.9" L x 6.0" W (0.9 lbs) 272 pages
Wheat is the most widely grown crop on our planet, yet industrial breeders have transformed this ancient staff of life into a commodity of yield and profit--witness the increase in gluten intolerance and 'wheat belly'. Modern wheat depends on synthetic fertilizer and herbicides that damage our health, land, water, and environment. Fortunately, heritage 'landrace' wheats that evolved over millennia in the organic fields of traditional farms do not need bio-chemical intervention to yield bountifully, are gluten-safe, have rich flavor and high nutrition. Yet the robust, majestic wheats that nourished our ancestors are on the verge of extinction.
In Restoring Heritage Grains, author Eli Rogosa of the Heritage Grain Conservancy, invites readers to restore forgotten wheats such as delicious gluten-safe einkorn that nourished the first Neolithic farmers, emmer--the grain of ancient Israel, Egypt, and Rome that is perfect for pasta and flatbreads, rare durums that are drought-tolerant and high in protein, and many more little known wheat species, each of which have a lineage intertwined with the human species and that taste better than any modern wheat.
Restoring Heritage Grains combines the history of grain growing and society, in-depth practical advice on landrace wheat husbandry, wheat folk traditions and mythology, and guidelines for the Neolithic diet with traditional recipes for rustic bread, pastry and beer. Discover the ancient grains that may be one of the best solutions to hunger today, and provide resilience for our future.
Restoring Heritage Grains combines the history of grain growing and society, in-depth practical advice on landrace wheat husbandry, wheat folk traditions and mythology, and guidelines for the Neolithic diet with traditional recipes for rustic bread, pastry and beer. Discover the ancient grains that may be one of the best solutions to hunger today, and provide resilience for our future.
When Eli Rogosa worked with traditional farmers in the Fertile Crescent, she discovered a treasure of robust heritage wheat growing in the stifling heat and drought without chemical intervention, but realized that landrace wheats are on the verge of extinction, not only in the Fertile Crescent but Europe as well. Rogosa established the Heritage Grain Conservancy to preserve rare landrace wheats to ensure that future generations have access to the biodiversity that is disappearing around the world in the face of industrial agriculture. Eli was funded by the European Union to work with gene banks and traditional farmers in Europe, and today shares her decades of experience restoring heritage wheat and baking with einkorn. In addition to her work in biodiversity preservation, Rogosa manages an artisan einkorn bakery on her farm in Massachusetts. Einkorn, an ancient wheat, has a unique 'diploid' gluten that can be safely enjoyed by many people with allergies to modern wheat. She farms with her husband, Cr Lawn, and has two children, Noah and Ezra.
Review Quotes:
"This work is a thought-provoking polemic against industrial wheat and its negative impact on the environment and human health. . . Rogosa is a passionate advocate for replacing modern wheat and links its development with a variety of health issues, such as the rise in celiac disease and digestive ailments. . . This title is an engaging and stimulating work."-- Choice
"Interesting and informative . . . the book also includes a useful resources section with information about seed banks, and--perhaps best of all--a selection of recipes that make use of heritage grains. Whether of traditional cookies, pie crust, pizza, or challah, these recipes provide opportunities to practice what Rogosa preaches, and to taste the different flavors heritage wheats offer."-- Foreword Reviews"Eli Rogosa has delivered to us, her many fans, the long-awaited book, Restoring Heritage Grains, in which she totally blows the lid off of this historic moment in the world of bread. She not only artfully guides us through thousands of years of the history and botanical evolution of wheat but also, prophetically, shows us its very future. And now we all have access to Eli's inner world, to the passion that has been fermenting within her for many years and now exists forever through her brilliant words." --Peter Reinhart, educator; author of Bread Revolution
"Most wheat grown worldwide today can be described as an in-bred, dwarfed, distant cousin of the genetically diverse, farmers' landrace cereal crops of the past. Eli Rogosa argues passionately and convincingly in her book that from many perspectives, including food security and nutritional value, our landrace cereals need to be brought back from the brink of extinction. Eli illustrates the central role of cereals in human civilization as we know it, including in myth and religion and how this role has been traduced by agribusiness interests. Eli adds valuable advice and knowledge for the grower and the cook on preservation and use of our cereal crop inheritance." --Andy Forbes, secretary, Brockwell Bake Association, London, UK
"In this book, agro-anthropologist, farmer, and baker Eli Rogosa helps us rediscover ancient landrace and traditional pre-Green Revolution wheats--varieties that are more delicious, nutritious, drought-resistant, and resilient than modern wheats, and that are already organic-adapted. The author covers everything from the romantic to the practical: personal stories about finding individual plants of rare wheats in Israel; historical and anthropological information; methods for growing, harvesting, and threshing; as well as many detailed recipes. A must read for anyone who has a garden or farm and who likes good bread." --Carol Deppe, author of The Tao of Vegetable Gardening
"Restoring Heritage Grains is both poetic and practical. Eli Rogosa first tells the sad story of how the Green Revolution transformed the staff of life into a toxic-drenched monocrop. Then she shares the joyful story of her life's work discovering, growing, distributing the seed and spreading the word about heritage grains. She makes a compelling case for heirloom landraces, the deep-rooted, diverse gene pools that coevolve with changing conditions, "people and seeds" finding ways to survive through climate challenges. Along the way, she recounts the history of wheat from the earliest human discoveries through ancient and modern Near East and European history, including the new world of the Americas. She lingers over the early millennia of matriarchy and the sacred rituals of many different peoples. Especially striking is her account of ancient Israeli practices as a sophisticated community food system based on social justice. This is a book to cherish." --Elizabeth Henderson, author of Sharing the Harvest
"Restoring Heritage Grains is both poetic and practical. Eli Rogosa first tells the sad story of how the Green Revolution transformed the staff of life into a toxic-drenched monocrop. Then she shares the joyful story of her life's work discovering, growing, distributing the seed and spreading the word about heritage grains. She makes a compelling case for heirloom landraces, the deep-rooted, diverse gene pools that coevolve with changing conditions, "people and seeds" finding ways to survive through climate challenges. Along the way, she recounts the history of wheat from the earliest human discoveries through ancient and modern Near East and European history, including the new world of the Americas. She lingers over the early millennia of matriarchy and the sacred rituals of many different peoples. Especially striking is her account of ancient Israeli practices as a sophisticated community food system based on social justice. This is a book to cherish." --Elizabeth Henderson, author of Sharing the Harvest
