A hardy wheat grown mostly in Europe.
[Middle English, from Old English, from Late Latin spelta, probably of Germanic origin, akin to Middle Dutch spelte, wheat.]
spelt2 (spĕlt)

v.
A past tense and a past participle of spell1.
Dictionary:
spelt1 (spĕlt) ![]() |
[Middle English, from Old English, from Late Latin spelta, probably of Germanic origin, akin to Middle Dutch spelte, wheat.]

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| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: spelt |
For more information on spelt, visit Britannica.com.
| Food and Nutrition: spelt |
Coarse type of wheat, mainly used as cattle feed.
| Food Lover's Companion: spelt |
Native to southern Europe, where it's been used for millenniums, spelt is an ancient cereal grain that has a mellow nutty flavor. The easily digestible spelt has a slightly higher protein content than wheat and can be tolerated by those with wheat allergies. Spelt flour, available in natural food stores, can be substituted for wheat flour in baked goods.
| Veterinary Dictionary: spelt |
A low-grade variant of wheat with similar feed quality but lower yield. Used only as stock feed. Called also Triticum spelta.
| Wikipedia: Spelt |
| Look up spelt in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
| Spelt | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Monocotyledons |
| (unranked): | Commelinids |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Poaceae |
| Genus: | Triticum |
| Species: | T. spelta |
| Binomial name | |
| Triticum spelta L. |
|
Spelt (Triticum spelta) is a hexaploid species of wheat. Spelt was an important staple in parts of Europe from the Bronze Age to medieval times; it now survives as a relict crop in Central Europe and has found a new market as a health food. Spelt is sometimes considered a subspecies of the closely related species common wheat (T. aestivum), in which case its botanical name is considered to be Triticum aestivum subsp. spelta.
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Spelt has a complex history. It is a wheat species known from genetic evidence to have originated as a hybrid of a domesticated tetraploid wheat such as emmer wheat and the wild goat-grass Aegilops tauschii. This hybridisation must have taken place in the Near East because this is where Ae. tauschii grows, and it must have taken place prior to the appearance of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum, a hexaploid free-threshing derivative of spelt) in the archaeological record c. 8,000 years ago.
Genetic evidence shows that spelt wheat can also arise as the result of hybridisation of bread wheat and emmer wheat, although only at some date following the initial Aegilops-tetraploid wheat hybridisation. The much later appearance of spelt in Europe might thus be the result of a later, second, hybridisation between emmer and bread wheat. Recent DNA evidence supports an independent origin for European spelt through this hybridisation.[1] Whether spelt has two separate origins in Asia and Europe, or single origin in the Near East, is currently unresolved.[2][3]
The earliest archaeological evidence of spelt is from the fifth millennium BC in Transcaucasia, north of the Black Sea, though the most abundant and best-documented archaeological evidence of spelt is in Europe.[4] Remains of spelt have been found in some later Neolithic sites (2500–1700 BC) in Central Europe.[4][5] During the Bronze Age spelt spread widely in central Europe. In the Iron Age (750-15 BC) spelt became a principal wheat species in southern Germany and Switzerland and by 500 BC it was in common use in southern Britain.[4]
References to the cultivation of spelt wheat in Biblical times (see matzo), in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia and in ancient Greece are incorrect and result from confusion with emmer wheat.[6] Nevertheless, as a Triticum species, spelt is still forbidden for use during the Jewish holiday of Passover, except in the form of matzo.
In the Middle Ages, spelt was cultivated in parts of Switzerland, Tyrol and Germany. Spelt was introduced to the United States in the 1890s. In the 20th century, spelt was replaced by bread wheat in almost all areas where it was still grown. The organic farming movement revived its popularity somewhat toward the end of the century, as spelt requires fewer fertilizers.
Spelt contains about 57.9 percent carbohydrates (excluding 9.2 percent fiber), 17.0 percent protein and 3.0 percent fat, as well as dietary minerals and vitamins.[7] As it contains a moderate amount of gluten, it is suitable for some baking. In Germany, the unripe spelt grains are dried and eaten as Grünkern, which literally means "green grain".
Spelt is closely related to common wheat and is not suitable for people with coeliac disease. Some people with wheat allergy or wheat intolerance can tolerate spelt.
Spelt flour is becoming more easily available, being sold in British supermarkets since 2007.[8] Spelt is also sold in the form of a coarse pale bread, similar in colour and in texture to light rye breads but with a slightly sweet and nutty flavour. Biscuits and crackers are also produced, but are more likely to be found in a specialty bakery or health food store than in a regular grocery's shop.
Spelt pasta is also available in health food stores and specialty shops.
Dutch jenever makers distill a special kind of gin made with spelt as a curiosity gin marketed for connoisseurs. Beer brewed from spelt is sometimes seen in Bavaria[9] and spelt is distilled to make vodka in Poland[10] and elsewhere 11 12.
Spelt matzo is baked in Israel for Passover and is available in some American grocery stores.
Flour from sprouted spelt grains is increasingly available throughout North America in grocery and health food stores.
While today spelt is a specialty crop, its popularity as a peasants' staple food of the past has been attested in literature. Although today's Russian-speaking children may not know what exactly spelt is, they may have heard Pushkin's well-rhymed story of workman Balda asking his employer the priest "to feed me boiled spelt" ("есть же мне давай варёную полбу"). In Horace's Satire 2.6 (late 31 - 30 B.C.), which ends with the story of the Country Mouse and the City Mouse, the country mouse eats spelt at dinner while serving his city guest finer foods.
Spelt is also mentioned in Ezekiel 4:9: "Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and spelt, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof ..." Capitalizing on the presumed health benefits of the aforesaid ingredients, the "Food for Life" company has eponymously named its breakfast cereals, Ezekiel 4:9.
| Look up spelt in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
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| Translations: Spelt |
Nederlands (Dutch)
grove tarwesoort, gespeld
Français (French)
n. - (Bot) épeautre
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - αγριοσίταρο
Italiano (Italian)
farro, pronunciato
Português (Portuguese)
n. - espelta (f)
Русский (Russian)
пшеница спельта
Español (Spanish)
n. - espelta, escanda
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - spelt (tyskt vete)
中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
斯佩尔特小麦, 二粒小麦
中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 斯佩爾特小麥, 二粒小麥
한국어 (Korean)
n. - (가축 사료로 쓰이는) 밀의 일종
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) (كلمه) تتهجى كذا
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - זן של חיטה, כתוב
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![]() | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Food and Nutrition. A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2005 by A. E. Bender and D. A. Bender. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Food Lover's Companion. Food Lover's Companion. Copyright © 2001 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more | |
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![]() | Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Spelt". Read more | |
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