Einkorn (Triticum monococcum L. subsp. monococcum) was an outstanding contributor to the development of agriculture and to the diet of our ancestors, but since the bronze age its fortunes declined and nowadays it is cropped and eaten only in limited and scattered spots within its original distribution area. After millenia of neglect, recent researches rediscovered the outstanding nutritional characteristics of this crop and suggested that einkorn can still play a relevant role in modern agriculture and food industry. As a primer for future developments, within its “2006 Plan for Research and Development” Regione Lombardia (Italy) fostered a two-years research project titled “Monococco per l’Innovazione Cerealicola ed Alimentare” (i.e. Einkorn for Cereals and Food Innovation), whose acronym is MonICA. Partners in the project were the “Fondazione Pianura Bresciana”, the “Consiglio per la Ricerca e la Sperimentazione in Agricoltura”, with the two research units QCE and SCV, the University of Milan, with the DiSTAM department (now DeFENS), and the private Cooperative “L’Antica Terra”. General objective of the project was the development of a regional production chain for the transformation of einkorn and the manufacturing of foods (bread and other oven products, pasta, etc.) with high nutritional value. To this end, it was necessary to perform a detailed analysis of the agronomic, nutritional and technologic characteristics of T. monococcum, to identify lines suitable for modern agriculture and with good attitude for food production. Specific objectives were the agronomic and compositional characterisation of four einkorn advanced lines cropped in four different environments over two years, the definition of specific manufacturing processes for parboiled seeds as well as for bread, pasta and bakery products, the analysis of the evolution of antioxidant compounds and of heat damage indices during manufacturing and on the end products, the in vitro evaluation of coeliac sensitivity and the transfer of such know-how to farmers and food industries in a Lombardy core-area (Brescia plain). The main results obtained from the project are reported.

MonICA – a model project for einkorn reintroduction / A. Brandolini, A. Hidalgo, N. Pogna, R. Geminati - In: 16th Conference of the International Work Group for Palaeoethnobotany. Abstracts Book. / [a cura di] S. M. Valamoti. - Greece : School of History and Archaeology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 2013. - ISBN 978-960-243-690-5. - pp. 212-213 (( Intervento presentato al 16. convegno Conference of the International Work Group for Palaeoethnobotany tenutosi a Thessaloniki, Greece nel 2013.

MonICA – a model project for einkorn reintroduction

A. Hidalgo
Secondo
;
2013

Abstract

Einkorn (Triticum monococcum L. subsp. monococcum) was an outstanding contributor to the development of agriculture and to the diet of our ancestors, but since the bronze age its fortunes declined and nowadays it is cropped and eaten only in limited and scattered spots within its original distribution area. After millenia of neglect, recent researches rediscovered the outstanding nutritional characteristics of this crop and suggested that einkorn can still play a relevant role in modern agriculture and food industry. As a primer for future developments, within its “2006 Plan for Research and Development” Regione Lombardia (Italy) fostered a two-years research project titled “Monococco per l’Innovazione Cerealicola ed Alimentare” (i.e. Einkorn for Cereals and Food Innovation), whose acronym is MonICA. Partners in the project were the “Fondazione Pianura Bresciana”, the “Consiglio per la Ricerca e la Sperimentazione in Agricoltura”, with the two research units QCE and SCV, the University of Milan, with the DiSTAM department (now DeFENS), and the private Cooperative “L’Antica Terra”. General objective of the project was the development of a regional production chain for the transformation of einkorn and the manufacturing of foods (bread and other oven products, pasta, etc.) with high nutritional value. To this end, it was necessary to perform a detailed analysis of the agronomic, nutritional and technologic characteristics of T. monococcum, to identify lines suitable for modern agriculture and with good attitude for food production. Specific objectives were the agronomic and compositional characterisation of four einkorn advanced lines cropped in four different environments over two years, the definition of specific manufacturing processes for parboiled seeds as well as for bread, pasta and bakery products, the analysis of the evolution of antioxidant compounds and of heat damage indices during manufacturing and on the end products, the in vitro evaluation of coeliac sensitivity and the transfer of such know-how to farmers and food industries in a Lombardy core-area (Brescia plain). The main results obtained from the project are reported.
Settore AGR/15 - Scienze e Tecnologie Alimentari
2013
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/221905
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