Farro
Food · Grain · Food, Typed Supps
An ancient wheat with a chewier texture and more fibre than modern wheat products.
Stage by stage
- Intake (Dense grain chewed): Its dense, chewy grain requires thorough chewing.
- Stomach (Fiber slows digestion): Fiber begins slowing digestion.
- Small intestine (Protein, fibre & magnesium absorbed): Plant protein, fibre, and magnesium are absorbed together.
- Bloodstream (Cholesterol-related benefit): Its fibre is linked to modest cholesterol benefits over time.
Timing
Semi-pearled versions cook faster than whole farro but retain slightly less of the bran layer.
Time to effect
- Wks–mo: Cholesterol and blood-sugar-related effects typically build with weeks of regular intake.
Allergens
Contains: Gluten. Derived from what this food is, not from a product label.
Eating patterns
Fits: Vegan, Vegetarian, Pescatarian, Halal, Kosher. Depends on the product: Low-FODMAP.
Satiety
169 on the satiety index, where white bread is 100 — high. Modelled from the Holt et al. (1995) measurements.
Environmental footprint
1.6 kg CO2e and 648 litres of freshwater per kg, matched to "Wheat & rye" in Poore & Nemecek (2018), Science 360.
Cost band
Mid — roughly £7 per kg, as a band midpoint rather than a price.
Key nutrients
Nutrition per 100g
- Calories: 112
- Protein: 4.7g
- Carbohydrate: 23.8g
- of which sugars: 0.7g
- Fat: 0.8g
- of which saturated: 0.2g
- Fibre: 3.5g
- Sodium: 1mg
Food vs. supplement
Farro’s fibre content rivals some fibre supplement doses, delivered with plant protein and magnesium a fibre powder does not include — though it does contain gluten, unlike most isolated fibre supplements.
Kitchen tip
It holds its chewy texture even after cooking, which makes it a good make-ahead grain for salads that sit in the fridge for a few days.
Common myth
Farro is a modern health-food invention. In reality: It is one of the oldest cultivated wheat varieties, eaten for thousands of years before modern refined wheat became the norm.
Recipes that use it
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