We refer to our Red Fife Grain as a Heritage Grain, but what exactly does that mean?
Red Fife is considered to be one of the oldest wheats grown in Canada. It was first grown by a Scottish-born farmer named David Fife and his wife Jane in a little town called Otonabee just outside of Peterborough, Ontario. Before Red Fife was introduced to Canada Canadian farmers were having a hard time finding a grain that took to our climate. Farmers we plagued by grasshoppers (yes, you read that right) and most wheats never made it past a season.
Red Fife Berries
The Fife family first started farming the wheat back in 1842, but how they came into possession of the grain is shrouded in legend. Rumour has it that an acquaintance of David’s was walking by a dock in Glasgow and took a sample of a wheat he had found. He stored it in a small hole in the lining of his cap until he could send the grains to David back in Canada.
The journey to grow Red Fife in Canada was a tumultuous one… the grain made its way to David, but soon after planting a cow stumbled upon the field and ate all except for a few heads, which were fortunately saved by Jane. They were able to replant the seeds and continued to grow more Fife.
In the end Red Fife turned out to be a success. It acclimated well with the weather in Canada and grew in popularity well into the 1900s. From there the grain was used to develop new wheat strains that we use today. Tracing back, Red Fife is said to stem from a Ukrainian wheat strain called Halychanka.
Three stages of Red Fife: whole berries, bran, and sifted flour.
Today in the Peterborough area you can find the Official Historical Plaque erected by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada honouring David Fife and the Red Fife Wheat we now grow in Canada.
Our Red Fife at Brodflour is an organic spring wheat grown by Peter Leahy of Merrylynd Organics in the Peterborough area. Red Fife has a reddish tinge with a fresh nutty flavour, and works well as a substitute for all-purpose flour. We currently use a blend of Red Fife and Prairie Hard Red in most of our sourdough loaves, and recommend mixing it with a higher protein flour for use in bread. Red Fife does well on its own in cookies, cakes, and muffins.
Interested in trying out Red Fife for yourself? We are always milling fresh Red Fife flour at our stone mill in Toronto, ON. Stop by the store to pick up a bag, or order online to have it shipped anywhere in Canada! We can’t wait to see what you make with one of Canada’s oldest grains!
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Words by Carly Warren
