farro
{{short description|Dried wheat grains}}
{{other|Farro (surname)}}
File:Castel_del_Piano-Minestra_di_farro.jpg]]
Farro {{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|ær|oʊ}} is a grain of any of three species of wheat, namely einkorn, emmer, or spelt, sold dried and cooked in water until soft. It is used as a side dish and added to salads, soups and stews.
Etymology
The English word is borrowed directly from Italian {{lang|it|farro}}, first documented in English in 1828 when the botanist Samuel Frederick Gray mentioned it. It derives from Latin {{lang|la|far, farris}} (spelt, grain).{{cite web |title=farro (noun) |url=https://www.oed.com/dictionary/farro_n?tl=true |publisher=OED |access-date=28 November 2024}}{{cite web |title=Latin definition for: far, farris |url=http://www.latin-dictionary.net/definition/20306/far-farris |website=Latdict |access-date=28 November 2024}}
Description
Farro is made from any of three species of hulled wheat (those that retain their husks tightly and cannot be threshed): spelt (Triticum spelta), emmer (Triticum dicoccum), and einkorn (Triticum monococcum).{{cite conference |last1=Szabó |first1=A. T. |last2=Hammer |first2=K. |title=Notes on the Taxonomy of Farro: Triticum monococcum, T. dicoccum, and T. spelta |editor1=Padulosi, S. |editor2=Hammer, K. |editor3=Heller, J. |year=1996 |conference=4. Proceedings of the First International Workshop on Hulled Wheats, 21–22 July 1995, Castelvecchio Pascoli, Tuscany, Italy |publisher=International Plant Genetic Resources Institute |location=Rome |pages=2–3}} In Italian cuisine, the three species are sometimes distinguished as farro grande, farro medio, and farro piccolo.{{cite web |access-date=December 23, 2017 |url=https://www.bioversityinternational.org/fileadmin/_migrated/uploads/tx_news/Farro_in_Italy_1266.pdf |title=Farro in Italy |first=Markus |last=Buerli |year=2006 |publisher=The Global Facilitation Unit for Underutilized Species |via=Bioversity International |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171224101159/https://www.bioversityinternational.org/fileadmin/_migrated/uploads/tx_news/Farro_in_Italy_1266.pdf |archive-date=24 December 2017}}
Emmer is the most common variety of farro grown in Italy, specifically in certain mountain regions of Tuscany and Abruzzo. It is considered to be of higher quality for cooking than the other two grains and thus is sometimes called "true" farro.{{cite news |last=Hamlin |first=Suzanne |title=Farro, Italy's Rustic Staple: The Little Grain That Could |date=June 11, 1997 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/11/garden/farro-italy-s-rustic-staple-the-little-grain-that-could.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm |access-date=November 22, 2012}} Spelt is much more commonly grown in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Confusion about the terminology for these three wheat varieties is generated by the difficult history in the taxonomy of wheat and by colloquial and regional uses of the term {{lang|it|farro}}. For example, emmer grown in the Garfagnana region of Tuscany is locally known as {{lang|it|farro}}. Some English speakers use {{lang|it|farro}} to mean steamed or boiled grain presented as salad and similar dishes, whereas in Italy it means the three grains, individually or together. Farro is sometimes translated as "spelt" in English, but this is only one of three possibilities.{{cite book |last=Schlegel |first=Rolf H. J. |chapter=Farro |title=Dictionary of Plant Breeding |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryplantb00schl_099 |url-access=limited |edition=2nd |location=Boca Raton |publisher=CRC |date=2010 |page=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryplantb00schl_099/page/n161 149]}} Print.{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/magazine/30food-t-000.html?_r=0 | work=The New York Times | first=Heidi | last=Julavits | title=Grain Exchange | date=November 30, 2008}}
File:Usdaemmer1.jpg|Triticum dicoccum, emmer wheat, produces what is sometimes called "true" farro.
File:Gamberetti su insalata di farro 01.JPG|Shrimp in farro salad