Kamut

Sottolestelle was certainly one of the first companies in Italy to use this cereal and is definitely one of the Italian companies that uses it the most. Over 60% of our entire output of baked products is made with this cereal grain. Kamut© is simply fantastic. It is a graminaceous plant not unlike the other durum grains except that its grain is slightly longer. The history of Kamut® is closely linked to Bob Quinn who discovered the cereal. The story goes that a US airman found the seeds during WWII inside a pyramid in Egypt and ended up sending them together with the funeral set to the United States. It seems that no-one really took any notice of the Pharaoh’s wheat, as it was called, until Bob Quinn an agronomist, came across it at a local fair. He quickly discovered the enormous potential of the Kamut® grain, with its protein level up to 40 times that of durum wheat, just to mention one of its striking characteristics. So he patented the grain with the US Ministry of Agriculture under the official name of QK77, more commonly called Kamut®. The success that Kamut® has gained is also due to the fact that it is used to cure cases of wheat gluten sensitivity. Kamut® is not totally free from gluten, therefore it is not recommended for use by coeliac sufferers. Kamut® is an internationally registered trade mark owned by KANA the association of Kamut® growers and it is produced only and exclusively using the biological or organic method in Montana. Kamut® is rich in Magnesium, Zinc , as well as Selenium which is known for its antioxidant power.

Compared to common wheat , its vitamin E content is superior by 30% and it contains 65% more amino acids. Prof. Werner Pfannhauser, a food research chemist from the University of Vienna, claims that Kamut®-based products contain more Selenium than is required for the organism to absorb the quantity required of this vital trace element. The natural Selenium content in Kamut® is 900 mg/kg, whereas the recommended daily requirement of selenium is between 50-200 mg. Consequently, just a few Sottolestelle fette biscottate made from Kamut® suffice to meet the daily Selenium requirements.