Freekeh

Roasted Green Wheat

 

 

Freekeh, which means "to rub" in ancient arabic, is a true ancient grain which has its history rooted in the fertile crescent.  The story goes that an ancient city knew of an impending siege on itself.  In preparation for the siege, the city folk harvested their wheat crop early and stored them in clay urns to protect whatever they had from fire.  When the city was indeed attacked and razed to the ground, the people returned to rebuild.  The city had been utterly destroyed and the contents of the urns appeared beyond use, but when the people rubbed the char from the grains, it revealed a cookable grain.  To the delight of the people their crop was not only edible, but also delicious.  To this day many cultures in the region harvest their wheat early and roast the crop green which yields a delicious grain now known as freekeh.