Land Institute selling flour made from perennial wheatgrass
9/30/2010
MICHAEL STRAND
Scientists at the Land Institute have been working for decades to develop new perennial grains that approach the yields of traditional annuals.
Although they expect the research to take decades more, one somewhat symbolic milestone was reached this year.
Perennial pancakes, anyone?
At the Land Institute’s annual Prairie Festival this past weekend, folks who stopped in at the bookstore had an opportunity to buy a 1-pound sack of Kernza, the trademarked name of a type of perennial intermediate wheatgrass developed at the Land Institute.
This marked the first time grains developed at the Land Institute have been available to the public, said managing director Ken Warren.
Over the past couple of years, small amounts of Kernza flour have been available to people working at the Land Institute, who have experimented with it in cookies, cakes and tortillas, said Lee DeHaan, a plant breeder working on perennial wheat development.
The grain has a relatively low gluten content, DeHaan said, so it doesn’t work well in bread unless it’s used with wheat flour.
Read more about Kernza in Friday's Journal.
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