Parched grain

Parched grain is grain that has been cooked by dry roasting. It is an ancient foodstuff and is thought to be one of the earliest ways in which the hunter gatherers in the Fertile Crescent ate grains. Historically, it was a common food in the Middle East, as attested by the following Bible quotes:

• "On the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes, and parched grain."
• "Now Boaz said to her at mealtime, 'Come here, and eat of the bread, and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.'" So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed parched grain to her; and she ate and was satisfied, and kept some back."

The grain has the same length of the normal grain, although somewhat thinner and darker with a green shade. It is served as a casserole hot dish, cooked with morsels of meat or poultry.