Grünkern (a form of spelt)

Now that I have talked a lot of my home region I want to introduce you to a culinary specialty from that area.

German summers are far from being tropic, although it can get very warm. But most of the time they are cool and rainy. These days this is just a nuisance and not very dramatic. There is always a flight to catch and escape the bad weather.

But if we go back a couple of centuries this could have dramatic consequences when for example the summer was to wet to let the grains ripen. So the farmers had the choice to harvest the grains half ripe, or starve during the following winter. The salvation came with a special grain and somebody smart. In spring the farmers sowed spelt and harvested it half ripe and dried it over wood fires. This adds a nice smoked flavor to the grains. My father always told me stories about the harvest and what a hard job this was in the old days when all this had to be done manually. The shredded grain is being used as an add on in broth, or you mix it in your meatballs. If you prefer vegan food you can make patties with just the grain and leave the meat out. It is very delicious and healthy. It contains a lot of B-Vitamins, magnesium, phosphor and iron. In Germany you can buy it inorganic supermarkets.