Khorasan Wheat

Khorasan wheat, Triticum turgidum subsp. turanicum, is a tetraploid wheat with grains twice the size of modern wheat and a rich, nutty flavor, named for Khorasan, a historical region spanning parts of modern Iran, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan on the Silk Road. Its kernels weigh up to 60 grams per thousand, roughly double an ordinary wheat's weight, and it contains more protein, lipids, amino acids, vitamins and minerals than contemporary wheat. The grain was rediscovered and brought to the United States in the mid-twentieth century by Montana farmer T. Mack Quinn and his son Bob, who founded Kamut International and trademarked the name Kamut for an organically grown branded version; over the past decade, global production has ranged from about 35,000 to 100,000 acres, mostly in Montana and Canada under Kamut International licensing, with additional cultivation in Italy.