Farro is commonly sold in whole grains, often regulated by various sizes with a gradient of “choice”. First choice is given to the largest grains (6/8mm.) second choice for sizes of 3/5mm, also erroneously called “Farricello” or small farro, and the third choice is for broken grains, the result of un-calibrated stone mills or an imperfect husking operation.Some prefer the broken farro, since this reduces sensibly soaking and cooking time.

​

It is however always advisable to buy whole farro, because it does not contain impurities (small stones, dust present in the broken stock), you can then avoid the burden of cleaning it and you have a guarantee of selection.

 

To obtain broken farro all you have to do is use a coffee grinder or a food processor. Farro is kept like all other grains, it is sold principally in sealed little sacks or in a vacuum, some companies sell it in glass containers to always guarantee the original humidity. Farro sold to restaurants is delivered in 15/50 kg sacks (33/110lbs.) in an economical mix of 60% first choice and 40% second choice. In the market, as we mentioned already, you run into false farro, the soft one, or even a mixture of farro and wheat, a very low price usually belies the quality and warns you against this not so infrequent nutritional fraud.