Triticum dicoccum 'Brownchaff Summer Emmer'

This typical Zeeland Emmer wheat (now cultivated on the edge of the Weerribben) probably originated from a cross with wild grass. The brown color of the chaff is unique and provides a very good aroma, popular as a low-gluten baking wheat, but also as a base for craft beers! The term "Summer" in the name would suggest that this is not a winter-hardy variety, but our grower has been sowing it in October-November for years...

General information about Emmer wheat can be found here:
Emmer wheat, the ancestor of durum wheat (Triticum durum) and Khorasan wheat (Triticum turgidum), is historically the most important type of wheat. Remains of this wheat species have been found in many excavations in the Middle East and Europe. Domesticated emmer wheat was cultivated from 7000 BC in countries such as Egypt. It is also one of the plants that were cultivated in the Netherlands on the so-called "raatakkers," also known as "Celtic fields," roughly 2000-3000 years ago.

Before the Second World War, emmer wheat was still cultivated in Germany, in Thuringia and Southern Germany. In Northern Bavaria, in the Coburg area, emmer wheat is once again being cultivated, among other things, for the production of emmer beer. In the Netherlands, there are also pilot projects with emmer wheat, such as in the Haarlemmermeer. On a larger scale, it is only grown in Ethiopia, Turkey, and Syria, where the species also occurs in the wild.

Emmer wheat can grow up to 2 meters tall. The auricles are large and ciliated. The ligule is medium-sized and blunt-toothed. The spikelet has a chaff awn a few centimeters long on the lower glume and two florets. The grains are tightly enclosed by the glumes, which is why emmer wheat must be hulled to free the grains. Emmer wheat lodges easily. Harvesting takes place in August. The grain is quite small, and the yield per hectare is low, a maximum of 2,500 kg per hectare.

Due to its low gluten content, emmer wheat is only suitable for bread making with cold fermentation and sourdough. The bread has a slightly nutty flavor and is moist. This wheat species can also be used as a flavoring for whole wheat bread. (source, among others, Wikipedia)

Names:
Latin: Triticum dicoccum
Dutch: Emmertarwe
Also known as: Bruinkaf Tweekoren
English: Emmer wheat