Farro: Some Facts and a Little History

• Farro has a long and glorious history: it is the original grain from which all others derive, and fed the Mediterranean and Near Eastern populations for thousands of years; somewhat more recently it was the standard ration of the Roman Legions that expanded throughout the Western World. Ground into a paste and cooked, it was also the primary ingredient in polenta, eaten for centuries by the Roman poor. Important as it was, however, it was difficult to work and produced low yields. In the centuries following the fall of the Empire, higher-yielding grains were developed and farro's cultivation dwindled. By the turn of the century in Italy there were only a few hundreds of acres of fields scattered over the regions of Lazio, Umbria, the Marches and Tuscany growing farro.
• Farro would probably still be an extremely local specialty had the farmers of the French Haute Savoie not begun to supply it to elegant restaurants that used it in hearty vegetable soups and other dishes. Their success sparked renewed interest in farro among foodies, and now the grain is enjoying resurgence in popularity in Italy as well, especially among trendy health-conscious cooks.
• According to Garzanti's Italian-English dictionary it's spelt, but Luciano Migliolli, author of Il Farro e le sue Ricette (Farro and its recipes), says that though it looks rather like spelt they're not the same. Farro must be soaked, whereas spelt can be boiled straight off. Also, cooked farro has a firm chewy texture, whereas spelt softens and becomes mushy.

Purchasing and Preparation

Farro is divided into 3 grades. The best has grains 6-8 mm long (1/4 to 1/3 of an inch), the second has grains 3-5 mm long (1/8 to 1/4 inch, which can be inappropriately labeled farricello, the Italian for spelt), and the third consists of cracked grains broken during processing. Purchase whole grain farro and crack it at home, if the recipe calls for it, by whirling it in an electric coffee grinder or blender -- this way you avoid purchasing dust or stones. Once you have purchased it, store it like any other grain, in a sealed glass container in a cool dry place.

Before you can use farro you do have to prepare it: Wash it well, picking out impurities such as pebbles, or bad grains, and soak it for at least 8 hours. It will keep in this soaked state in the refrigerator for a few days. Come time to cook it, either add it to a soup or boil it by itself, for 2 hours in a normal pot or one in a pressure cooker (halve these times if you are using cracked farro). One thing that you should keep in mind is that farro will continue to absorb liquid and soften once it is done, so you should let it sit for a while if you can.