Omega 3 Bread
Edmontons Bon Ton Bakery owner Eugene Edelmann grew rather accustomed to having his
wholegrain breads analyzed by the University of Albertas Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional
Science. In the 1980s, one variety of his bread was shown to carry 19.1 percent protein content at a time
when the industry standard was eight to nine percent.
While Edelmann is credited with introducing the bagel to Edmonton in 1956, it is his
Omega-3 bread that was considered culinary cutting edge for 1989. Designed to afford a degree of dietary
heart healthiness to diners, the Edelmann loaf used grain sources such as wheat germ, cornflour and
cornmeal for its fatty acid content.
Its ingredients included crushed and cracked wheat, wheat germ, flax, oatmeal, soya,
cornmeal, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds. Low in salt and sugarunrefined blackstrap molasses provided
its sweetness and something for the yeast to feed offthe prototype of this new bread was not an instant
hit in the taste department. Edelmanns trick was to add grated fresh lemon peel to brighten the flavour
and aroma, especially when it was toasted.
At the time, few small bakeries in the area were developing heart-healthy products from
scratch, and Edelmann went further by having his breads tested at the University of Alberta. The Omega-3
bread went on the market in 1989, priced at $1.75 for a 16-ounce loaf.
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