Farro

Farro is any of three species of hulled wheat, sold dried and cooked in water until soft: einkorn, emmer and spelt, called large, medium and small farro respectively in Italian cuisine. It originates in the Fertile Crescent, with archaeological grain evidence from around 17,000 BC in what is now Israel and about 7700 BC in Syria, and the English word comes from Italian farro, itself from Latin, first recorded in English in 1828. It is served as a side dish, in salads, and in soups and stews, most famously in Tuscan farro soup, and emmer is the variety most grown in Italy's mountain regions, particularly Tuscany and Abruzzo, where it is regarded as the true farro for its superior cooking qualities.