Stay true to Kernza

Continuing the discussion from Kernza® Crackers Project:

Before reading this thread and your mention of Ritz crackers, when I tasted cracker A, these were my same thoughts - “this tastes like a Ritz cracker”. When I tasted cracker B, although similar, it had a better wheat taste. Don’t try to copy an already successful cracker. Kernza should be able to stand on it’s own w/o tasting like Ritz. IMHO, more wheat flavor will make a better cracker if you want to stay true to Kernza.

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Thanks for sharing your thoughts, @GregHall.KM!

We didn’t work to copy the Ritz flavor, the flavor of the crackers is just Kernza and wheat. We evaluated many different types of crackers, and liked the layered, flaky form of Ritz more than seeded or non layered crackers.

Kernza is in a moment of finding its place in our food. Where does it work really well? Where is it challenging, and needs more breeding before it can be used? Different methods and tools are necessary to take it from an ingredient to a commonly eaten food, and looking to existing products is useful in figuring out processing methods to apply to Kernza.

We certainly believe in staying true to Kernza, figuring out how to increase usage rates, and celebrating the flavor and baking qualities the grain currently offers!

I think using Kernza in breads would be a way to use it in commonly eaten foods. Bread is a very commonly eaten food throughout the world .I bake a sourdough bread and bagels and will start using Kernza in my baking