California Becoming The Hub Of An Heirloom Grain Revolution

Despite the controversy over wheat – Staff of life? Cause of many health problems? – a movement is emerging in the U.S., especially in California. Led by “activists” like Sonoko Sakai, an heritage grains advocate who hated the flavor of bread made here, the movement’s goal is to restore the “wheatiness of wheat”. Sakai decided to grow heirloom varieties of wheat in California. A South Carolina grower provided five tons of heirloom seeds, including Sonora wheat, Roman rye, and Red Fife. She found farmers to grow the wheat. The result, compared to industrial flours, “is like night and day”, according to one pastry chef in Los Angeles. “The flavor and the structure, I mean it’s just impressively good.” A second result is the emergence of a “California grain hub” that is specializing in the production and marketing of flours made from heirloom wheat varieties.