Starting from just a handful of seed which has been replicated over three to four growing seasons, Heartland Craft Grains is thrilled to exclusively offer this trio of heritage wheats to you! We believe we’re the only ones in the United States stewarding these particular heritage varieties. And we've finally grown enough to share with you all!
Received from the wheat whisperer herself, Sylvia Davatz has been an enthusiastic seed saver and proponent for increasing biodiversity in agriculture. We share an interest in exploring rare varieties with potential for excellent flavor and baking qualities. It's been fun sharing notes and observations on our wheat plots.
And now it's time to share what we know about each variety!
Steppenweizen Derenburg – A Hard Red Winter Wheat collected from Eastern Germany in the 1800’s. Little more historical information is known about this unique variety adding to the mystery. Our interest developed after watching our initial plots stand well, offer acceptable yield, and exhibit high disease resistance and grain quality.
Ethiopian Purple Wheat – Purple wheats have been grown for centuries in the Ethiopian Highlands. The purple coloration is due to higher anthocyanin levels than more familiar varieties of white and red wheat. Anthocyanins possess antioxidant activity often found in dark pigmented foods. Purple wheat flour offers an extremely unique culinary experience! It gives a subtle lavender-colored hue to baked goods and exhibits a deep, complex flavor profile. Purple wheat is thought to have developed from Durum wheat varieties grown in the Ethiopian Highlands, which may inspire kitchen exploration for applications where Durum is used.
Automne Rouge Barbu – A beautiful, rustic variety of Hard Red Winter Wheat that originated along the Rhine River in France where it had been cultivated for quite some time. In 1880 it was mentioned in “The Best Wheats” catalog by Henry Vilmorin, a French wheat merchant and breeder. It caught our attention as simply the most beautiful variety of wheat we have ever grown! It has held our attention as we have closely observed this tall, deep rooted, rustic wheat variety be extremely disease resistant even in the most difficult of years. We believe these attributes offer potential for unique flavor and culinary application.
