Zea (bread) facts for kids

Zea is a special kind of Greek bread. It's made from a grain called farro, which Greeks call "zea." This bread is usually chewy and light. It also has more healthy fiber than regular wheat bread.

A Look Back: Zea Bread's History

Zea's Ancient Roots

People think this grain has a very, very old history in Greece. It might even go back to prehistoric times! Scientists have found farro grains at ancient sites. One site in Anatolia is 12,000 years old. Old writings also talk about a grain called "zea" or "zeia."

Zea in Famous Stories

The famous Greek writer Homer used a word, zeidoron, which means "life-giving." This word comes from "zea." He used it in his epic poem, the Iliad. In another story, the Odyssey, Homer wrote that young zea was fed to horses.

Another ancient writer, Herodotus, wrote about zea too. In his book, Histories, he said that ancient Egyptians liked zea more than wheat or barley. Dioscorides wrote that Greeks and Romans made a drink called poltos. It was like a porridge and made from ground zea and wheat. There's even a legend that Alexander the Great ate zea bread. He supposedly ate it to stay strong! A medieval harbor in Piraeus was even named Zea Marina. It might have been named after this important grain.

Why Did Zea Bread Disappear?

Even though zea was popular long ago, it slowly disappeared. First, barley became more common. Then, durum and wheat took over as the main grains for bread. In Greece, there's a story that zea bread was banned in the 1930s. People thought this was to help the wheat market. But it's more likely that wheat was just easier to grow. So, farmers didn't have a reason to grow zea. For many years, zea bread was almost forgotten. The closest thing was farro in Italy.

Zea Bread's Comeback

Luckily, zea bread is becoming popular again in Greece! Some zea farms have been around for a while. But most new farms started in the early 2000s. Many of these farms use Italian farro seeds. In Greek, these are called "Dikokko Sitari." However, some farms are using the old grain from ancient Greece. You can find famous bakeries in Athens that sell zea bread. Also, some Greek recipes now ask for zea flour as an ingredient.