WHAT IS AN ANCIENT GRAIN?
There is no official definition of ‘ancient grains.’ All whole grains in the larger sense are "ancient" -- they all can trace their roots back to the beginnings of time.However, here at the Whole Grains Council, we generally define ancient grains loosely as grains that are largely unchanged over the last several hundred years. This means that modern wheat (constantly bred and changed) is not an ancient grain, while einkorn, emmer/farro, Kamut®, and spelt would be considered ancient grains in the wheat family. Heirloom varieties of other common grains -- such as black barley, red and black rice, blue corn -- might also be considered ancient grains. Other grains largely ignored until recently by Western palates (such as sorghum, teff, millet, quinoa, amaranth) would also be widely considered to be ancient grains. Sometimes less common grains, like buckwheat, or wild rice, are also included.
http://wholegrainscouncil.org/whole-grains-101/ancient-grains
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