The origin of rye domestication is unknown but it was being cultivated at several locations in the general area of Turkey, north-western Iran and Armenia by 6000 BC. Rye arrived in Europe as cultivated crops by 4000 BC.
Unlike other grain, this nutritious food has always been a second class cultivar, somewhat considered a food of the poor. It first appeared as a significant food crop in northern Europe. From there, cultivation of the grain spread southward throughout the continent and, after about the 16th century, across the southern part of Russia into Siberia.
Al living standards in the times of the ancient Greeks and Romans and some other European cultures rose, the consumption of rye diminished, though people living in Germany, Scandinavia and eastern European nations still appreciate rye’s taste and nutrition.
During the Middle Ages, the poorer people of England ate bread made from rye, or from a mixture of rye and wheat, known as maslin.
It was unknown in the western hemisphere until it was brought to North America and to western South America by European settlers in the 16th and 17th centuries, and thence to the rest of South America, Australia, and South Africa.
Today, the majority of the world’s rye comes from the Russian Federation, Poland, China, Canada, and Denmark grow rye commercially as well.
History of Rye
