Grain Harvest Staple · Smoked Green Wheat
Freekeh
📷 Closely related photo — Photo: Wribln / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Freekeh gets its smoky flavor from being harvested while still young and green, then set alight in the field — the still-moist grain survives the flames while the husk burns away.
Young green durum wheat is harvested early, sun-dried, then briefly set on fire so the outer chaff burns off while the grain itself only toasts and smokes. Cooks in northern Jordan simmer it with chicken or lamb stock into a smoky, chewy pilaf sold at family-run kitchens and market stalls.
Why it's made this way: Wheat farming has long been concentrated in Jordan's northern highlands, and the region's grain-burning method for making freekeh has stayed a local specialty passed between farming families.
More from Jordan
Part of World of Street Food — 3248 dishes from 118 countries.
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