Efforts to Meet the Growing Demand for Organic Grains in Denmark
Grain consumers, like brewers and bakers, want organic grains that are locally grown, but the Danish grain market has struggled to keep up. A recent change in the EU regulation for organic farming has opened up the possibilities for experimentation. The GUDP-project "BOOST" takes advantage of this and aims to improve the quality and diversity of organic grains in Denmark. Kost Studio is onboard to explore the future demand.
The Danish grain market faces mainly two issues. Either the grains have too low a protein content or they are not robust enough to fight certain illnesses without the use of pesticides. As a result, Danish brewers and bakers often turn to conventional grains or import special grains instead.
We had the pleasure to visit one of the project members BoMill Insight in Malmö, to get an introduction to their revolutionary grain sorting technology. Every individual grain gets scanned for potential illness and then sorted in batches based on for example protein percentage. As if that wasn’t enough to impress us, the machine can do it at extreme speed and preciseness, sorting multiple tonnes an hour. This wildly fascinating technology will make a huge difference.
Our job is to figure out what qualities in grains are demanded in the future and explore new food products that can come from it. We are inspired by North Africa and the Middle East! First, we have experimented with the methods for producing 'freekeh' – a whole grain, traditionally durum wheat, harvested very early and then roasted. Turns out, it works great on Danish durum wheat as well.
The project is a perfect example of how we use both historical, cultural, and gastronomic perspectives to drive the future of food. We are excited to be a part of moving towards an organic future of grains.
Want to know more about the project? Follow this link. https://lnkd.in/eGrDZfWW