Wheat

Wheat is a grain that comes from the Poaceae (Grass) family. Although wheat is known and used around the world, its origins are in a section of the Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA aka The Middle East aka The Levant aka The Fertile Crescent) region that includes many countries like Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, and Georgia. However, the most common name of “wheat” comes from the German word for “white”. The wheat (T. aestivum aestivum) we know of today evolved from the plant einkorn (T. monococcum). Einkorn was first domesticated in the Karacadag Mountains of Turkey over 11,000 years ago by Anatolian farmers. You can learn more about wheat’s many journeys in our wheat profile!