Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Lentil experiment

This kind of thing makes my jaw drop. Some 4,000-year old lentils, found at an archeological dig in Turkey, have been coaxed into sprouting and are about to be planted in the field. Food that old! One of the staple crops that enabled mankind to develop civilization carrying its original DNA! Seventeen little plants from ancient seeds awakening in the 21st century.

4000-year old lentils

3 comments:

Cheryl said...

That is so amazing and mind boggling!

Cheryl said...

Do you think they would taste better then today's lentils as they haven't been impacted by prior generations exposed to pollution, acid rain, smog and such?

Priscilla said...

We can only guess whether they would taste better. But things grown 100 or 200 years ago did have more flavor, I believe, because modern growers have bred in traits that enhance color and prolong shelf life even if it affects flavor, such as with tomatoes and apples. Wheat and beans probably tasted better to the Romans than they do to us.