New Grain Makes Better Bread
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Spanish researchers successfully crossbred durum wheat and wild barley to create a new grain with superior taste and richer color than conventional wheats. It also requires less water, fertilizer and fungicide. After 30 years of selection, Tritordeum is making inroads in Europe, Asia and Australia. It’s an alternative grain for malt, baking flour and durum wheat for pasta. The Spanish biotechnology company Vivagran owns the rights to the non-GMO, conventionally bred, hybrid crop.
“Tritordeum started as an academic project, crossing durum wheat with wild barley, a barley native from Chile,” explains Etienne Vassiliadis, CEO of Vivagran. “Our company obtained the exclusive license for the germplasm commercial exploitation, which, after 30 years of breeding, no longer looks like the original germplasm.”
Vassiliadis notes that Tritordeum doesn’t look or taste like durum wheat or barley. It has a buttery, golden-yellow color that comes through in the flour. It also has a sweet taste with a toasted aroma.
“After tasting bread and pasta made with Tritordeum, products made from common wheat taste blah,” he says. “With its rich taste and color, people get hooked on it. I’ve worked in the baking industry for 10 years and bake at home. I’ve never tasted anything like it. After tasting it, people are buying the flour at a high premium.”
Tritordeum is higher in protein and has health benefits superior to wheat, including 30 percent more dietary fiber. It’s high in oleic acid, associated with cardiovascular health, and lutein, an antioxidant that reduces the risk of eye disease. It has also reduced levels of immunogenic gliadin peptides from gluten, which are responsible for gluten intolerance.
Tritordeum was bred and selected for the hot and dry climate of Spain, Italy, Greece and southern France. Vassiliadis reports that it has a very small yield penalty against some wheats and outperforms others. Even a slight yield penalty is offset by lower input costs.
While not originally developed for areas with better soil and water, Tritordeum has been successfully grown in the Netherlands and recently trialed in Germany, Austria and Poland with promising results. About 10 advanced lines are now being screened in Europe and Australia. Several offer potentially significantly higher yields.
“We have three lines that provide 25 to 50 percent greater yields than our commercial varieties,” says Vassiliadis. “They appear to be almost unaffected by rust or other disease. They promote soil health and fit with regenerative agriculture.”
Vivagran is licensing Tritordeum germplasm to seed producers, growers and processors in Europe and Australia. Government approval is required to grow it in the U.S. and Canada.
“Tritordeum is also a genetic resource for breeders,” says Vassiliadis. “It’s easy to cross it with other grains and pass on its remarkable traits, like the rust resistance. We’re testing crossing it with durum wheat, barley and other wheats, and it could also be crossed with triticale.”
Vivagran is working with Boortmalt, the second-largest malting company in the world, headquartered in Belgium. Tritordeum malt is now available commercially, and some has been shipped to its American subsidiary, Prairie Malt. However, the flour is still excluded due to regulatory paperwork and shipping costs.
Vassiliadis has sent a small shipment to the innovation center of a major U.S. food company. Malt has also been sent to several brewers. Vivagran hopes to establish more contact with North American food companies and researchers. Eventually, Vassiliadis expects to license it there for seed and grain production.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Etienne Vassiliadis, Vivagran, Calabria 35, SA2, 08015, Barcelona, Spain (ph 34 667 234 534; evassiliadis@vivagran.nl; www.vivagran.nl; www.tritordeum.com).
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New Grain Makes Better Bread CROPS New Techniques Spanish researchers successfully crossbred durum wheat and wild barley to create a new grain with superior taste and richer color than conventional wheats It also requires less water fertilizer and fungicide After 30 years of selection Tritordeum is making inroads in Europe Asia and Australia It’s an alternative grain for malt baking flour and durum wheat for pasta The Spanish biotechnology company Vivagran owns the rights to the non-GMO conventionally bred hybrid crop “Tritordeum started as an academic project crossing durum wheat with wild barley a barley native from Chile ” explains Etienne Vassiliadis CEO of Vivagran “Our company obtained the exclusive license for the germplasm commercial exploitation which after 30 years of breeding no longer looks like the original germplasm ” Vassiliadis notes that Tritordeum doesn’t look or taste like durum wheat or barley It has a buttery golden-yellow color that comes through in the flour It also has a sweet taste with a toasted aroma “After tasting bread and pasta made with Tritordeum products made from common wheat taste blah ” he says “With its rich taste and color people get hooked on it I’ve worked in the baking industry for 10 years and bake at home I’ve never tasted anything like it After tasting it people are buying the flour at a high premium ” Tritordeum is higher in protein and has health benefits superior to wheat including 30 percent more dietary fiber It’s high in oleic acid associated with cardiovascular health and lutein an antioxidant that reduces the risk of eye disease It has also reduced levels of immunogenic gliadin peptides from gluten which are responsible for gluten intolerance Tritordeum was bred and selected for the hot and dry climate of Spain Italy Greece and southern France Vassiliadis reports that it has a very small yield penalty against some wheats and outperforms others Even a slight yield penalty is offset by lower input costs While not originally developed for areas with better soil and water Tritordeum has been successfully grown in the Netherlands and recently trialed in Germany Austria and Poland with promising results About 10 advanced lines are now being screened in Europe and Australia Several offer potentially significantly higher yields “We have three lines that provide 25 to 50 percent greater yields than our commercial varieties ” says Vassiliadis “They appear to be almost unaffected by rust or other disease They promote soil health and fit with regenerative agriculture ” Vivagran is licensing Tritordeum germplasm to seed producers growers and processors in Europe and Australia Government approval is required to grow it in the U S and Canada “Tritordeum is also a genetic resource for breeders ” says Vassiliadis “It’s easy to cross it with other grains and pass on its remarkable traits like the rust resistance We’re testing crossing it with durum wheat barley and other wheats and it could also be crossed with triticale ” Vivagran is working with Boortmalt the second-largest malting company in the world headquartered in Belgium Tritordeum malt is now available commercially and some has been shipped to its American subsidiary Prairie Malt However the flour is still excluded due to regulatory paperwork and shipping costs Vassiliadis has sent a small shipment to the innovation center of a major U S food company Malt has also been sent to several brewers Vivagran hopes to establish more contact with North American food companies and researchers Eventually Vassiliadis expects to license it there for seed and grain production Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Etienne Vassiliadis Vivagran Calabria 35 SA2 08015 Barcelona Spain ph 34 667 234 534; evassiliadis@vivagran nl; www vivagran nl; www tritordeum com
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