Abstract

Cereals are producing in a large volume as compare with other crops in Ethiopia because they are the principal staple crops. Small amounts of ancient wheat species may still be grown in some countries for traditional foods, but there has been renewed interest in them in recent years as they have been proposed to be rich sources of bioactive components and hence suitable for producing high value food products with enhanced health benefits. Emmer wheat is considered as one of the underutilized cereal crop and mostly produced in the highlands of the country. Very few selective countries are still producing and consuming the Emmer wheat. In Bale zone south eastern Ethiopia a significant amount of emmer wheat is producing and this area is considered as one of the major crop in this region. Emmer wheat is commonly used for the preparation of different foods which are traditionally recommended for mothers as a special diet after child birth and used for healing of broken bones faster in Ethiopia. In Bale zone of Ethiopia four varieties of emmer namely Haydaroo, Sinana 01, Lameso and Local are cultivated in both ‘meher’ and ‘belg’ cropping seasons. In this review we are presenting the evaluation of the emmer wheat and their nutritional quality.

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