The history of grains sums up the recent history of the world – for the past 10,000 years at least. Religions and wars (they seem to go together), diet and death, the minutiae of daily existence for most people have been and still are bound together by the getting and sharing of grains. Of these, wheat alone runs the gamut of uses, from wallpaper paste to the body of God.
Wheat is woven into most of the world's cultures in temperate zones at every turn. It was one of the five sacred grains in China, represented throughout the ancient tombs of the Egyptians, and found all along the Silk Road. It pervaded the lives and religions of the Greeks and Romans, the Arabs and Huns.Those who have the misfortune to be allergic to the gluten in wheat know how pervasive wheat is because they confront it daily hidden in food, drink cosmetics and household products.
This is a blog about all things wheaten, from fashion to farms to futures, folklore to literature, and recipes to religions. In my grand vision, molecular biology, geography, the adaptation of humans to wheat and wheat to humans will have a place alongside recipes for breads, pastas, pies and pastries.