frik

[eking]

A couple years ago I made a recipe from one of your eastern Mediteranean books involving frik and lamb - it was excellent except for a sort of funky, barnyardy taste - now, is this characteristic with frik or perhaps an issue with my having cleaned it insufficiently? Any suggestions would be welcome, and thanks for the work you do and the way you do it!

[Wolfert]

Your frik was old (rancid).

You need to sniff the grain; it should smell smoky and wild. Call aziz at kalustyan and ask him for a pound. Be sure to mention my name and I told you how good is frik is. That should get things going.

[malcolmjolley]

At the risk of digracing myself at a forum with the esteemed Ms. Wolfert, but I'm dying to know: what's frik? (I got nothing on Google and my Oxford Companion to Food is at home!)

[Wolfert]

Green wheat (frik in north africa, freekeh in Syria, fireek in egypt and firik in Turkey).

In the early spring in these countries, when the stores of winter wheat have been used up and the new wheat is not yet ready for harvest, farmers will gather piles of immature wheat from the fields, carefully set them afire, then thresh the charred sheaves. The idea is to let the chaff and straw burn, but to presreve the moist kernels of immature wheat. Asa result of this burning, the kernels become imbued with a wood-smoke flaor that is delicious, earthy, and unique. It takes time to clean green wheat, but it is well worth the effort. It turns rancid very fast. I keep it in the freezer.

[trillium]

Would this be the same as green wheat from Jordan? A dear friend who was Palestinian by way of Jordan by way of Venezuela gave me some and instructions on making it into a soup with lamb. It was really wonderful eating and I've been trying to find it ever since. I didn't have to clean it though, just rinsed and dumped it into the soup pot.

regards,

trillium

[Wolfert]

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Green wheat (frik in north africa, freekeh in Syria, fireek in egypt and firik in Turkey).

Absolutely.

When I lived in Turkey, green wheat was carefully and slowly cleaned to remove every bit of debris. THe Australians are merchandising green wheat using some very modern technolocgy for cleaning.

One of these days, I expect to see it in our supermarkets. It might already be at Kalustyan's. Check with Aziz. He always likes to be first in selling new products from the middle east.