Discovering KAMUT ® khorasan wheat

Khorasan wheat: have you ever heard of that name? Should you try this new ancient grain of wheat that heaven — apparently — sent on our tables? We did, since we are very curious people; and if you explore the flavor of this KAMUT ® khorasan wheat, you will also appreciate everything else produced with it.

What is the khorasan wheat?

Khorasan wheat is a very ancient type of grain. Even if we love legends especially when they deliver us good things, we looked into the history of the product name. KAMUT ® cames from Ka' moet that literally means grain or Soul of the Earth in the old Egyptian language. Nowadays KAMUT ® is the registered trademark of khorasan wheat produced, marketed and guaranteed by Kamut International. That's why we put the ® symbol near the name! You cannot cultivate KAMUT ® because it is not a variety of wheat and you cannot use the name KAMUT ® if it is not in connection with a product of the KAMUT ® chain, because it is a trademark. One legend tell us that the discovery of the grain was made by an American airman in 1949, in Egypt, in a Pharaoh tomb. Perhaps the place of the discovery is not really true, but it is authentic that in 1977 Bob Quinn, an agricultural engineer, made the first good thing for khorasan wheat rediscovering the nutritional quality of the grain, choosing the best seeds and starting within ten years the production of KAMUT ® khorasan wheat.

Another good thing is that KAMUT ® khorasan wheat is cultivated, under licence of Kamut International, in an organic way: no modern synthetic compounds such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers are used. Today we see KAMUT ® khorasan wheat cultivated in the plains of Montana and in Western Canada (Alberta and Saskatchewan).

What are the main properties of KAMUT ® khorasan wheat?

KAMUT ® khorasan wheat has an high quality gluten content. This characteristic gives excellent results to the pasta because the high gluten content produces an unique flavor. If we want to do a comparison between the pasta made with KAMUT ® khorasan wheat and the others kinds of wheat, we can say that its taste is stronger than traditional pasta made with durum wheat flour, but at the same time it is more delicate than that ones made with whole wheat. What else can we add to this delightful description? KAMUT ® khorasan wheat is:

• more digestible;
• rich in proteins and minerals such as selenium. North American land is rich in minerals;
• rich in zinc, manganese, vitamins B1 and E;
• cultivated in North America, a "young" land that has not been cultivated for 2000+ years, so it has a lot of minerals to give to its edible products;
• KAMUT ® khorasan wheat aroma reminds you the flavor of nuts.

Corporate guidelines

Kamut International has precise guidelines on how to cultivate, grow and manage the final product. On their official website we read that KAMUT ® khorasan wheat shall:

1. be the ancient khorasan variety of wheat;
2. be grown only as a certified organic grain;
3. have a protein range of 12 - 18%;
4. be 99% free of contaminating varieties of modern wheat;
5. be 98% free of all signs of disease;
6. contain between 400 and 1000 ppb of selenium;
7. not be used in products in which the name is deceptive or misleading as to the content percentage;
8. not be mixed with modern wheat in pasta.

Italian khorasan wheat

Someone says that Saragolla is a native Italian grain cultivated in Italy between Lucania, Sannio ed Abruzzo and it seems to have similar characteristics of khorasan wheat. In Italy, as well as in European southern regions, KAMUT ® khorasan growing trials are not getting good results because:

• it has a lower grain quality, compared to the standards required by the KAMUT ® trademark;
• in comparison with modern European varieties it has a lower yield, it is not sustainable;
• lands in Europe are deficient in selenium, an important mineral that North American lands have in high concentration, indispensable for KAMUT ® khorasan wheat cultivation.

Our special thanks go to Rebecca Rossi from Kamut Enterprises of Europe. She gave us precious informations about KAMUT ® and helped us in writing a better article. Thank you Rebecca!

Video: KAMUT ® International's Khorasan Wheat

Video: KAMUT ® Wheat & The Cooking Cowboy

Sources

kamut.com - Kamut official website

stilenaturale.com - Kamut o grano Saragolla? Perché non acquistare quello italiano?

pastamadre.blogspot.it - il Kamut, questo (s)conosciuto (prima parte)

cibo360.it - Kamut

spigadoro.org - Il KAMUT ®, un saporito grano duro

donnagnora.it - Pasta di Grano Saragolla