Cereals & Grains
Wheat provides over 20% of all our calories. It’s an essential crop that forms the backbone of bread, pastries, and cakes. However, there’s a problem: conventional grain farming relies on degrading land practices and heavy use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Both of these degrade nature and emit greenhouse gases.
So, sourcing grains is a vital place where chefs can make a difference. By creating demand for the right grains, chefs can encourage farmers to move towards diverse, localised, agroecological grain farming. We’ve partnered with the UK Grain Lab, and spoken to farmers, millers, and bakers to find out how chefs can make the biggest impact on the grain economy. Below are our 5 key takeaways for chefs - click on each for more in-depth info, recipe ideas, and interviews.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Millers are an unmatched source of knowledge on all things grains. The right miller will be able to tell you all about local grains and flour. See this map to find your closest local mill, and click through to read our interview with Emma Shires, an independent miller in Nottingham. Click on the link above for questions to ask your supplier if you struggle to find a local miller.
Image credit: Fynn French-Collins
One of the biggest problems in grain farming is the waste generated by white flour. Use wholemeal to cut down on waste, improve nutrition, and enhance flavour. There is so much waste generated by sifting out the bran to create white flour.
Image credit: Fynn French-Collins
Think beyond wheat! Grains like rye, spelt, emmer, einkorn, naked barley, and oats are all full of flavour and super nutritious. They also help support organic grain farmers in years they can’t grow wheat. Check out the recipes below and get inspired!
All organic wheat farmers are also pulse farmers. As part of the rotation of organic cereal crops, farmers always grow pulses, which feeds the soil with the nutrients wheat needs. Most of these pulses end up being sent either to animal feed or to places in the Middle East, where they eat fava beans much more than we do. Buying UK-grown pulses helps relocalise the supply chain and supports UK farmers. Check out our Pulses page for more info!
This is the final step for those really looking to dive deep into local grains. Talking to other people who care about good grains is a great way to exchange ideas and learn more about local grains. Follow this link to find information on your local network! Click above to explore Longstraw Bakery's experience with the Southwest Grain Network and the impact of local grain networks.
