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6.1. Manufacturers
6.1.1. Product development with the Kamut® brand grain
6.1.2. Where to buy Kamut® brand ingredients
6.1.3. How the purity of the Kamut brand grain is assured
6.1.3.1.Electrophoresis
6.1.3.2. Fluorescence spectrometry
6.1.3.3. DNA markers
6.1.4. How Kamut Enterprises of Europe and Kamut International can help you promote your Kamut brand products.

6.2. Bakers
6.2.1. Assets of Kamut bread and pastry
6.2.2. Baking with ancient wheats
6.2.2.1. Research on Kamut bread baking quality
6.2.3. Bread baking recipe
6.2.4. The Kamut license agreement for bakers
6.2.5. How we help you promote your Kamut brand products.

6.3 Farmers
6.3.1. Extreme weather conditions cause dramatically low yields in 2002.
6.3.2. Cultivating ancient wheats – yield potentials
6.3.3. Ancient wheats - New cultivar development for covered wheats

6.1. Manufacturers

6.1.1. Product development with the Kamut® brand grain
Today, Kamut® brand wheat is available through organic health food outlets as grain, whole grain flour and all kind of processed products like pasta, bread, biscuits, cold and hot cereals… Discover the myriad of Kamut® brand products in our product database.

If you’re thinking about developing Kamut® brand products, contact us:
For Europe: Renate De Preter
For non-European countries: Tara Blyth

6.1.2. Where to buy Kamut® brand ingredients
Search the database and select 25 kg or bulk

6.1.3. How the purity of the Kamut brand grain is assured
Quality control on the Kamut brand grain starts with testing field samples versus the Quality Specifications.
Download the PDF “Quality Specifications for bread quality Kamut® Brand Wheat”.

The approved Kamut® brand grain is shipped in full container loads to licensed distributors or manufacturers in Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan and the US. Each of those importers and each of their direct or indirect clients using the Kamut® brand name, transforming or selling Kamut® brand products, sign the (free of charge) Kamut® license agreement. Thereby, they commit themselves to following up quality specifications for raw materials and finished Kamut® brand products. Each year, a number of licensees are controlled by Ecocert or other recognized body in order to check their compliance to the Kamut® license agreement.

Download the PDF
For Europe: “Kamut® license agreement Europe”
For US: “Kamut® license agreement US”


Further research is now in progress to allow us to check the purity of Kamut® brand products:

6.1.3.1.Electrophoresis
The diversity of wheats’ reserve proteins (gliadines and glutenines) is the expression of the genetic patrimony of the variety and the species. It is possible to recognise a species by the electrophoretic image of its gliadin and glutenin.
Method of analysis: gliadin and glutenin are extracted from the grain, placed on a gel and then submitted to an electrical field. The proteins migrate in function of their charge and size and form species-specific bands.
With this kind of test, the difference between Kamut brand grain and both common wheat (hexaploid) and durum wheat (tetraploid) have been shown.

6.1.3.2. Fluorescence spectrometry
Experiments are being carried out to determine a molecular print by spectrometry of Kamut products such as flour and pasta. The goal is to be able to separate a 100% Kamut product (flour or pasta) from one that is mixed with another grain and in the latter case, trying to track down the percentage of both grains.

Principle and method: a sample of wheat is lit by a beam of white light. This causes certain molecules (aromatic amino acids) to emit a light (phenomena of fluorescence). This light is captured by an optical system (monochromator) and sent to a computer-linked detector analysing the light spectrum.

The figure below shows the fluorescent spectrums obtained with this method on samples of Kamut grain and common wheat. We can see that the spectral patterns provide characteristic wavelengths between Kamut flour and common wheat flour.

6.1.3.3. DNA markers
Work to find a unique DNA sequence specific for the Kamut brand wheat is now being done.

6.1.4. How Kamut Enterprises of Europe and Kamut International can help you promote your Kamut brand products.

We offer you the following promotional items:
Click on an item to see it.

For Europe:

For the US and other non-European countries:

  • Kamut information brochure: English
  • Kamut® recipes
  • Why We Use a Trademark brochure in English

We promote your product:

  • Via the product database in this website
  • Through our consumer departments
  • On fairs (2004: Biofach Frankfurt, NPE West, All Things Organic, NPE East, Sana Bologna)

6.2. Bakers

6.2.1. Assets of Kamut bread and pastry

HIGH NUTRITIONAL VALUE
Kamut brand wheat, bread and pastry contain more high-quality protein, unsaturated fatty acids, minerals and trace elements than modern wheat. The natural selenium content (app. 900 mcg/kg) is remarkably high, far higher than that of our domestic grain varieties. 200g of Kamut bread provide the daily allowance for this essential trace element.

ENERGY AND STAMINA
Not only athletes or people with an intensive lifestyle, but also children and elderly people benefit from this easily digestible grain that provides long-lasting nourishment.

DISTINCTIVE TASTE AND FRESHNESS
Kamut bread and pastry have a distinctive, mild, sweet taste with a hint of nuts and a remarkable sunny yellow colour. Even if you don’t like the taste of wholemeal food, you will appreciate the light and airy structure of kamut pastry. Kamut bread has a soft crumb and keeps fresh exceptionally long.

TOLERANCE
Many people who are suffering wheat sensitivities, have discovered Kamut as a valuable alternative for modern wheat. Research by the International Food Allergy Association (IFFA) established that: "For most wheat-sensitive people, Kamut grain can be an excellent substitute for common wheat".
However, if you suffer from severe allergies, you should always consult your doctor first.

6.2.2. Baking with ancient wheats

Bread production with ancient wheat is not as easy as with modern wheat selected for its gluten quality. The gluten of ancient wheat can be weaker. Bakers who work with these types of flour place them in the following order of bread-making aptitude:
kamut® flour > spelt > emmer >einkorn.

6.2.2.1. Research on Kamut bread baking quality

In cooperation with Mr. Patrick Le Port, baker of the French “La boulangerie Savoyarde” bakery, a baking test is organised in order to detect whether we can notice a difference in baking quality according to factors such as: origin, type of soil, previous crop, climate of the year, protein content, … The final objective is to separate lots for baking and non-baking purposes.

Beside the baking test and professional tasting, a specific baking quality analysis such as Zeleny or Petrinex will be run.
The Chopin test does not work for durum type wheat such as Kamut grain. Durum wheat has a different gluten type and the dough breaks when running the Chopin test.

6.2.3. Bread baking recipe

Kindly offered to us by J. Wenning from the Ährensache bakery in Köln, Germany:

For about 10 breads of 830 g dough weight:

Starter dough: kg
Baking ferment 0,024 Dough temperature about 28°C
Whole Kamut flour 1,7 Resting time about 18 hours
Water 1,7
Main dough:
Whole Kamut flour 2,8
Water 1,3
Sunflower seeds 0,6
Water 0,45 (to previously soak the sunflower seeds)
Salt 0,11
Total: 8,684

Keep the dough moist!
Kneading time 10 min.
Dough resting time 45 min.
Dough units about 830 g.

General hints for baking with Kamut brand grain are: use more water and allow longer resting time.
Baker Tuur Verheyen from Belgium reports: while running baking tests with Kamut flour, I used my standard recipe with 70 cl water per kg flour. The result was perfect; I never tasted such delicious bread before!

6.2.4. The Kamut license agreement for bakers

Kamut is a registered trademark. This has been done to assure the quality of the Kamut brand grain and products made thereof.
All users of the Kamut brand name should carefully read and sign the (free of charge) Kamut license agreement. It for instance tells you that “Kamut bread” is a name reserved for bread made with 100% Kamut. Thus, consumers know what they are buying, and you are protected against unlawful competition from bakers mixing with much cheaper modern wheat.

Only for Europe: Download the shortened version for local bakeries here.

6.2.5. How we help you promote your Kamut brand products.

We offer you the following promotional items:

For Europe:

For the US and other non-European countries:

We promote your product:

Via the product database in this website

  • Through our consumer departments
  • On fairs (2005: Biofach Frankfurt, NPE West, All Things Organic, NPE East, Sana Bologna)

6.3. Farmers:

Kamut grain is exclusively grown under contract according to the following principles:
- Organic agriculture
- In regions of the world where the soil conditions and climate assure an optimal quality
- Preserving the genetic integrity of Kamut grains

4.3.1. Commercial farming today
4.3.2. Only organically grown
4.3.3. Test field history

6.3.1. Extreme weather conditions cause dramatically low yields in 2002.

Every year, farmers growing the Kamut brand grain, join for the annual Kamut production meeting. The last reunion was held in Alberta, and covered the crop seeded in April-May 2003 and harvested August-September 2003. The results were very disappointing because of drought striking very large areas and on the other hand too humid conditions in Canada, causing black tip disease.
The average yield over the past 10 years was 18 bushels/acre (60 pounds or 1.2MT/Ha cleaned). In 2003, the average was 14 bu/acre cleaned (0.94MT/Ha).

6.3.2. Cultivating ancient wheats – yield potentials

The first characteristic of ancient wheat is that they have remained for the most part outside of modern selection programs, which has made it possible to preserve their nutritional qualities as well as their quite limiting agronomic traits. It is in some countries thanks to the organic farming movement, respectful of the environment and always looking for healthy food options, that these islands of ancient wheat production exist. This is the case for einkorn in the Haute Provence region in France, Spelt in Switzerland and the Belgian Ardennes region, Emmer and spelt wheat in Tuscany and Kamut brand wheat, which found its home in Montana, Alberta and Saskatchewan.

The yield potentials of ancient wheat are usually lower than those of modern ones; it all depends of course on the conditions of cultivation. For example, spelt can be very competitive in cold and humid soils while Khorasan and einkorn are very well adapted to dry climate in extensive cultivation. They are more efficient in converting lower inputs into higher nutrition; in other words, they are better suited for organic agriculture.

Einkorn, for example, is still cultivated in harsh environments and poor soil in Italy (Perrino and Hammer 1984). Einkorn selections produced protein and yield equal to or higher than barley and durum wheat when grown under adverse growing conditions (Vallega 1979). Evaluations of 15 einkorn accessions grown in Italy indicate that the yields were significantly lower than that of modern wheats when grown under intensive crop management (Vallega 1992).

Covered species like Einkorn, Emmer and Spelt require a supplementary dehusking operation (for grain use) that also contributed to the loss of interest in the covered wheat.

6.3.3. Ancient wheats - New cultivar development for covered wheats

The key factor in producing light textured breads is the gluten quality of the flour. While the desired gluten traits have been successfully obtained in common bread wheats through many years of intensive cultivar development, little or no effort was applied to the alternative cereal crops like spelt, emmer and einkorn. Recently, however, studies have been directed to the gluten quality of covered grains. Studies on gluten quality of common wheat cultivars suggest that characteristics of high molecular weight glutenin subunits, which are controlled by specific genes, are responsible for baking quality (MacRitchie et al. 1990). High molecular weight glutenin subunits, considered to have good bread making qualities, have been identified in emmer (Pena et al. 1993) and spelt (Rodriquez-Quijano et al. 1990). Cultivar development for the specific improvement of spelt protein quality for baking quality is also in progress (H. Lafever, pers. commun. 1995). Genetic studies for development of improved einkorn, emmer, and spelt are in progress at the Crop Development Center located at theUniversity of Saskatoon, SK (P. Hucl pers. commun. 1996).

There are more and more developments of new selected varieties using conventional technique. For example, the Ohio State University has developed “Champ,” a variety crossed with common wheat. Sunbeam Extract Co (plant breeder) has developed a semi-dwarf type with good resistance to lodging under higher nitrogen levels, which increase the yield potential of spelt.

Will these attempts at genetic improvements succeed in preserving the sought after qualities (such as high nutritional value and alternatives for people with wheat allergies) while eliminating disadvantages (like low yield and low gluten strength)? The results of modern selection thus far make this seem doubtful.