Spelt
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Spelt (Triticum spelta), also known as dinkel wheat<ref name=GRIN>Template:GRIN</ref> is a species of wheat. It is a relict crop, eaten in Central Europe and northern Spain. It is high in protein and may be considered a health food.
Spelt was cultivated from the Neolithic period onward. It was a staple food in parts of Europe from the Bronze Age to the Middle Ages. It is used in baking, and is made into bread, pasta, and beer.
It is sometimes considered a subspecies of the closely related common wheat (T. aestivum), in which case its botanical name is considered to be Triticum aestivum subsp. spelta. It is a hexaploid, most likely a hybrid of wheat and emmer.
DescriptionEdit
Spelt is a species of Triticum, a large stout grass similar to bread wheat. Its flowering spike is slenderer than that of bread wheat; when ripe, it bends somewhat from the vertical. The spike is roughly four-edged. The axis of the spike is brittle and divided into segments; it shatters into separate segments when fully ripe. Spelt differs from bread wheat in that each seed (a caryopsis, botanically a fruit with its wall fused to the single seed inside) stays fully encapsulated by its husk.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Confusion with other wheatsEdit
Especially in the context of descriptions of ancient cultures, the English word spelt has sometimes been used for grains that were not T. spelta, but other species of hulled wheat such as T. dicoccum (emmer wheat) or T. monococcum (einkorn wheat, also known as "little spelt", in French "petit épeautre"). This confusion may arise either from mistranslation of words found in other languages that can denote hulled wheat in general (such as Italian farro, which can denote any of emmer, spelt or einkorn; spelt is sometimes distinguished as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, 'large farro',<ref name="Buerli-2006">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> emmer as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, ('medium farro'),<ref name="Buerli-2006"/> and einkorn as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, 'little farro'<ref name="Cornish-2014">Template:Cite news</ref>), or changing opinions about which actual species of wheat are described in texts written in ancient languages. Thus, the meaning of the ancient Greek word {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ([zeiá]) or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is either uncertain or vague, and has been argued to denote einkorn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> or emmer rather than spelt.<ref>Template:LSJ</ref> Likewise, the ancient Roman grain denoted by the Latin word {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, although often translated as 'spelt', was in fact emmer.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Similarly, references to the cultivation of spelt wheat in Biblical times in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia are incorrect: they result from confusion with emmer wheat.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}.</ref>
EvolutionEdit
Hybridisation and polyploidyEdit
Like common wheat, spelt is a hexaploid wheat species, which means it has six sets of chromosomes. It is derived from a hybridisation event between a domesticated tetraploid wheat such as durum wheat and another wheat species, increasing the number of sets of chromosomes.<ref name="Blatter-2004"/> Genetic evidence indicates an initial hybridisation of a domesticated tetraploid wheat and the diploid wild goat-grass Aegilops tauschii. It further shows that spelt could have arisen as the result of a second hybridisation, this time of bread wheat and emmer wheat, giving rise to European spelt.<ref name="Blatter-2004">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The spelt genome continues to influence the breeding of modern hexaploid bread wheat through recent hybridisation.<ref name="Wang-2024">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Spelt, being closely related to bread wheat, is a likely source of alleles to increase wheat's genetic diversity, and so improve crop yields. Analysis of the Oberkulmer cultivar of spelt found 40 alleles that could contribute to increased yield. Among the differences were spelt's larger grain size, greater fertility of tillers, and longer fruiting spikes.<ref name="Xie-2015">Template:Cite journal</ref> Template:Vanchor is an effector-triggered resistance gene for powdery mildew.<ref name="Cowger-2019">Template:Cite journal</ref>
History of cultivationEdit
Spelt has been cultivated since approximately 5000 BCE. In the fifth millennium BCE, there are archaeological remains in the north of Iraq and in Transcaucasia, north-east of the Black Sea. Much more evidence comes from Europe.<ref name="Cubadda-2002">Template:Cite book</ref> Remains of spelt have been found in Denmark, Germany, and Poland from the later Neolithic (dating from 2500–1700 BCE).<ref name="Cubadda-2002"/><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Evidence of spelt has been found from across central Europe from the Bronze Age. In the south of Germany and Switzerland in the Iron Age (750–15 BCE), it was a major type of wheat, while by 500 BCE, it had in addition become widespread in the south of Britain.<ref name="Cubadda-2002"/> There is evidence that spelt cultivation increased in Iron Age Britain as damp regions of the country with heavy soils tolerated by spelt were being settled.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In the Middle Ages, spelt was cultivated in parts of Switzerland, Tyrol, Germany, northern France and the southern Low Countries.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Spelt became a major crop in Europe in the 9th century CE, possibly because it is more suitable for storage and being husked makes it more adaptable to cold climates.<ref name="Newfield 2013">Template:Cite book</ref>
Spelt was introduced to the United States in the 1890s. In the 20th century, spelt was replaced by bread wheat in almost all areas where it was still grown. The organic farming movement revived its popularity somewhat toward the end of the 20th century, as spelt requires less fertilizer.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Since the beginning of the 21st century, spelt has become a common wheat substitute for making artisanal loaves of bread, pasta, and flakes.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> By 2014, the grain was popular in the UK, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine. Shortages were reported although spelt was grown in those countries.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the United States, most spelt is grown in Ohio as of 2022.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
NutritionEdit
A Template:Convert reference serving of uncooked spelt provides Template:Convert of food energy and is a rich source (20% or more of the Daily Value) of protein, dietary fiber, several B vitamins, and numerous dietary minerals (table). Highest nutrient contents include manganese (143% DV), phosphorus (57% DV), and niacin (46% DV). Spelt contains about 70% total carbohydrates, including 11% as dietary fibre, and is low in fat (table).
Spelt contains gluten, and is therefore suitable for baking, but this component makes it unsuitable for people with gluten-related disorders, such as celiac disease.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In comparison to hard red winter wheat, spelt has a more soluble protein matrix characterized by a higher gliadin:glutenin ratio.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
ProductsEdit
In Germany and Austria, spelt loaves and rolls (dinkelbrot) are widely available in bakeries.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The unripe spelt grains are dried and eaten as grünkern ("green grain").<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In some countries, spelt may be considered a health food; for example, in Australia it is grown organically for the health food market.<ref>Neeson, R., et al. "Optimising the quality and yield of spelt under organic production in SE Australia". 14th Australian Agronomy Conference. The Regional Institute, 2008.</ref> Dutch jenever makers sometimes distil with spelt,<ref name="Peragine-2010">Template:Cite book</ref> while beer brewed from spelt exists in Bavaria<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Belgium.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- 05215 Spelt bread, Sanok.JPG
Wholegrain spelt bread from Poland
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
Template:Wheat Template:Cereals Template:Taxonbar Template:Authority control