Freekeh, Wild Wheat & Ancient Grains

Finalist in the Guild of Food Writers Awards 2022

Shortlisted for the André Simon Award

Ancient supergrains, now modern staples, are growing in popularity in our health conscious age. Ruth Nieman has been cooking with — and writing about — these grains for many years, and she is also well-versed in the cultural background to their use in the culinary arts.

A comprehensive guide to biblical grain foods, the book highlights freekeh, (from the Arabic ‘to rub’). Now widely available everywhere, it is the main staple of the Old Testament as a first grain offered up to the Temple in Jerusalem, grown by the ancient Israelites. The harvesting of freekeh, barley, emmer, rye, sorghum wheat, and spelt governed the landscape of Israel’s Judean hills and the lush northern region, known as Galilee.

Ruth’s recipes are for the modern day, and the modern kitchen, although their basis is in the ancient cooking practices which are explored throughout the book.