View source for Parched grain

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'''Parched grain''' is grain that has been cooked by dry roasting.<ref>[http://www.dictionary.oed.com Oxford English Dictionary, Online Edition, Draft Revision Dec 2008] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212200706/http://dictionary.oed.com/ |date=2009-02-12 }}</ref> 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."<ref>{{bibleref2|Joshua|5:11|NASB|Joshua 5:11 (NASB)}}</ref>
*"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 [[reaper]]s, and he passed parched grain to her; and she ate and was satisfied, and kept some back."<ref>{{bibleref2|Ruth|2:14|NKVJ|Ruth 2:14 (NKJV)}}</ref>

It is known in [[Hebrew]] as קָלִי (''qālî''). 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]]. 

== Use as a camp ration ==
A variety of parched grains have been used historically as a camp ration, both for military troops on maneuvers and civilian travelers on extended overland journeys. Because parching both cooked the grains, and removed most of the water content, it was useful as a way to have pre-cooked meals which could be stored or carried for extended periods, and weighed the same or slightly less than the uncooked grains. It also had the advantage that it could be eaten without re-heating it, either dry or by soaking in water, and so would both reduce cooking time in the field and allow troops to travel without any campfires at all if needed.

In particular, parched rice was widely used in South and East Asia for troops well into the 20th century, including by the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] during the [[Second Sino-Japanese War|Sino-Japanese War]]s and [[World War II]]. It was a primary staple of the [[People's Liberation Army]] of China during the [[Long March]] as well, being one of the few items they were able to carry a significant supply of while on the move.

Early European accounts of [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]] record 'parched corn' as one of the many ways the [[Iroquoian]] peoples cooked maize.  It was prepared by first scorching the corn and then pounding it to a fine meal.  It was used in various recipes, but especially as emergency rations for travellers, usually eaten a spoonful at a time with a drink of water.  According to [[Robert Beverley Jr.]] a local name for this food in Virginia was '[[Hominy|Rockahomonie]]'.<ref name="Strauss">{{cite thesis |degree=PhD |last=Strauss |first=Alisa Natalie |date=2000 |title=Iroquoian Food Techniques and Technologies: An Examination of Susquehannock Vessel Form and Function| url=https://etda.libraries.psu.edu/files/final_submissions/5875 |publisher=Pennsylvania State University}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Beverley Jr. |first1=Robert |title=History and Present State of Virginia, Book III |date=1705 |location=London |page=18 |url=https://docsouth.unc.edu/southlit/beverley/beverley.html |access-date=28 February 2024}}</ref>

During the [[U.S. Civil War]] parched [[maize]] was used both as a grain itself and as a way to carry maize for grinding into cornmeal.

==See also==
* [[Tsampa]]
* [[Panchamakara]]
* [[Grano arso]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Grains]]
[[Category:Hebrew Bible words and phrases]]
[[Category:Maize products]]
[[Category:Native American cuisine]]


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