Detroit-based Freekeh Harvest Baked Pita Chips are making their debut this week at the Fancy Food Show at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City.
The product, which “delivers a nutty, roasted, smokey taste and nutritional powerhouse,” currently is available in more than 40 Michigan stores. The company states it is the first in the U.S. to use the native Mediterranean freekeh grain in a snack food.
Leslie Touma, a former metro Detroit auto executive and granddaughter of Lebanese immigrants to America, noticed how much freekeh, a slow-roasted supergrain, was a staple of the Mediterranean diet. She decided to bring freekeh to America in the form of a protein-rich pita chip for snacking on-the go.
“Our target customers are healthy snackers, which includes everyone from moms looking for healthy snack options for the family and foodies looking for a new snack experience,” says Touma, owner and president of Freekeh Harvest.
Touma, along with her team that includes Michelin-starred Chef Michael Fusano, developed the recipe for the chips.
According to Touma, the chips provide three times more protein and fiber, fewer calories, and up to 50 percent less fat than other pita chips. They are Non-GMO Project Verified, Vegan, contain no artificial colors or flavors, and have no cholesterol or trans-fat.
The chips are available in Sea Salt and Everything options.
According to the company, freekeh was discovered around 2300 B.C. by accident. A civil war was raging in the eastern Mediterranean. Under siege and worried they would lose everything, the village farmers harvested their wheat early, while still green, and hid the grain in storage barns.
The barns were burned, but the farmers discovered that when they rubbed the burnt grain chaff together, a roasted high protein seed with a unique nutty flavor emerged. Freekeh was born. The word freekeh comes from the Arabic word “farik,” meaning “to rub.”
