SICILY, LAND OF WHEAT

In the Mediterranean civilization man and wheat, for about ten thousand years, have shared their evolutionary path, since man, who became a farmer, passed from nomadic to sedentary and began to cultivate, together with barley, einkorn spelled and, later, the emmer.

In Sicily, there are indirect reports of wheat cultivation from archaeological finds dated 7300-6500 BC where charred straw and caryopses have been found. Even the sacred scriptures speak of wheat, just think of the word “bet-leheni” which means house of bread. The world of the Romans and Greeks also spoke of wheat, the Greek goddess Demeter had a daughter from Zeus, Persefora. As a girl, Persefora was kidnapped and it is said that Demeter, for the joy of having found her daughter again, made the wheat germinate. Demeter was adopted by the Romans with the name Cerere (hence the term cereal). Sicily became a real granary that the Greeks exploited after driving out the Sicilians.

Wheat has not only traced the history of man, but has traced, and still traces today, the landscape environment of our territory. All over the world and in all magazines, Sicily is identified with a warm color of the landscape and bright yellow over entire hills. Wheat is also considered as a trademark that identifies Sicily. Our island is famous for the artistic itineraries from city to city, from country to country, but the predominant landscape is undoubtedly that shaped by the cultivation of wheat in the various areas of Sicily.

Sicilian Grains

Since ancient times, Sicily has been a land particularly bound to the cultivation of wheat, so much so that, in the days of ancient Rome, it earned the title of Granary of Rome.

The soil and the climate favor the growth of the ears and the natural drying. The scent of wheat has nuances in Sicily that are difficult to find elsewhere: Sicilian wheat returns to fill the fields, to reconstruct the landscapes, to enrich the biodiversity that has always characterized the island.

THE ANCIENT GRAINS OF SICILY

In the long evolutionary path of the genus Triticum and its domestication, Sicily has always been a fundamental step in the passage of various wheats. Wheat has found on the island the environmental conditions to settle in over fifty very specific local varieties, which tell fifty names, fifty stories, fifty places and which still have a lot to reveal to that part of Italian consumers who are bringing them back to table.

The lower amount of gluten present in ancient Sicilian grains means that all the products obtained from them are lighter, digestible and assimilable, with less probability of developing increasingly widespread intolerances, probably due to the excessive consumption of modern wheat.

Finally, the ancient grains, precisely because they are indigenous, are very resistant and grow spontaneously without requiring the excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides.

The Sicilian Ancient Grains are mostly characterized by very high plant height (on average greater than 150 cm), late ripening and low productivity (often producing less than half of modern varieties).

They have a good nutritional and health value, which can be translated in terms of high content in: fiber, protein, gluten, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals and low or very low gluten index.

PERCIASACCHI

Perciasacchi means “sack hole” and owes its name to the pointed shape of the caryopsis that pierced the jute sacks in which the grain was contained during transport.

If once it characterized the crops throughout the Sicilian island, today it is found mostly in limited areas of the Agrigento area, thanks to the passion of those who wanted to keep the production of this plant and flour alive on farms.

Perciasacchi wheat, native to Sicily, and Kamut (or Khorasan to be clear), are the same type of wheat, that is, Triticum turgidum ssp. turanicum.

Kamut, despite being considered overseas, in fact originates from seeds recovered in Europe. This version would attest to the greater age of the Perciasacchi variety compared to Kamut, whose registered trademark dates back only to 1990.

From a nutritional point of view it has the same beneficial characteristics of ancient grains, not having undergone genetic alterations.

Its glycemic index is low and makes it possible to include it in low-calorie diets. Gluten proteins are less elastic and to a lesser extent, resulting in a suitable flour for those who prefer a diet low in gluten.

The warm climate of the island allows this plant to grow without being altered by mycotoxins, often present to a large extent in the flours on the market. Mycotoxins are heat-resistant molecules produced by fungi, which can cause damage to the human body on tissues such as the liver, kidneys and immune system.