Real Food Encyclopedia | Millet
Millet – it’s not just for birds! How did a crop with an ancient provenance become synonymous with birdseed in the United States? And how did a plant once revered by the Chinese fall into culinary obscurity? Overall consumption is slipping worldwide, supplanted by industrialized wheat and corn, but with millet’s resistance to drought in an era of shifting climate, it’s a grain waiting to be rediscovered.
Millet is an umbrella for around 20 species of cereal grass from the Poaceae family, the seeds of which are harvested for grain. Various species include pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) and finger (Eleusine coracana). Foxtail (Setaria italica) and proso millet (Panicum miliaceum) are often grown for birdseed and livestock fodder.
As one of the oldest domesticated cereals, millet’s history stretches back to the Neolithic era. It’s mentioned in the Bible as one of the grains used to make bread. In ancient China, millet was one of five sacred grains and the Chinese believed that it was brought from the heavens by Houji or “Lord Millet,” a culture hero worshiped as the founding ancestor of farming. While we associate China with rice, millet may have been the grain of choice in ancient times.
In Europe, millet follows a story seen time and again with other crops. Once an important part of the daily diet during the Roman Empire and Middle Ages, it became synonymous with the poor and fell out of favor. Its use as livestock feed hasn’t helped either.
By extension, millet has a bit of an image problem in the United States. You’ve seen millet at the local pet store, but maybe not the supermarket. While the cereal is primarily grown for animal feed in the U.S., in many parts of the developing world, especially in Africa, it’s a dietary staple and a main source of protein and energy. To this day millet ranks globally as the sixth most important grain after corn, rice, wheat, barley and sorghum.
Fun Facts about Millet:
- The most commonly grown variety is pearl millet, whose seed grows in cattail-like stalks. Other species of the cereal, referred to as minor millets, include finger, foxtail and barnyard (Echinochloa utilis). In India, finger millet is known as ragi, which is milled into a flour used in dosa and roti flatbreads.
- Although sorghum and teff (a grass native to Ethiopia) are often lumped in the same category with millet, they are separate cereals.
What to Look for When Buying Millet
Millet, known for its small round seeds, comes in white, yellow and red varieties. You will likely find whole grain pearl millet in health food or organic grocery stores.
Sustainability of Millet
Water and Millet
Many millets are exceptionally drought-tolerant, capable of producing grain under conditions where other crops like wheat, rice and corn would fail. This makes them popular crops in water-stressed regions of the world like the African Sahel and Northern India, where farmers rely on a short rainy season and have limited access to irrigation. This also makes millets an increasingly popular crop for farmers to add to rotations where rainfall is becoming unreliable, like the U.S. Great Plains. Because millets are generally grown without irrigation, they make a good choice if you’re looking to reduce the water footprint of your diet.
Pesticides and Millet
Millet is also generally grown without chemical pesticides and has a long tradition of sustainable farming practices in places like India, where a recent government push to use pesticides and chemical fertilizers in rural communities has met with deep resistance. It’s a bit of a hot topic in India, where some are championing a return to millet, a traditional food source that has fallen into obscurity after decades of shortsighted agricultural and environmental policies.
Millet Seasonality
Millet is a warm season grass and is harvested in the late summer. Once milled, the grain is available all year round.
Millet and Geography
Most of the millet grown for the human consumption in the U.S. comes from Colorado. Other millet producing states include Nebraska and South Dakota. On a worldwide scale, India produces the most millet, followed by Nigeria and Niger.
Eating Millet
Storing Millet
At room temperature, millet will keep in a sealed, dry container for a year or so. If you want your grain to last longer, you can store alternatively in the refrigerator.
Cooking with Millet
Pro Tip: To get more flavor out of millet, toast the seeds lightly in a skillet for 4-5 minutes until golden brown. Then cook as desired. A 2:1 water to millet ratio will get you a quinoa-like consistency. For porridge, use a 3:1 ratio and stir often. Season as needed.
Millet is a versatile grain and a nutritious substitution for rice or quinoa. It can be cooked into porridge, served like polenta, or turned into gluten-free pancakes. And in India, as mentioned previously, millet flour is a key ingredient in many traditional flatbreads.
Millet also has a long history of being fermented or distilled into alcohol. In Africa, malted millet is brewed into a beer known variously as kaffir beer or bantu beer. Over in Nepal and Tibet, raksi is a traditional liquor distilled from millet.
Millet Nutrition
Rich in B vitamins like niacin and thiamine, millet is a nutrient dense alternative to rice. One cup of cooked millet contains 12 percent of the recommended daily allowance of protein and is loaded with minerals manganese and phosphorous. Millet is also low glycemic and gluten-free.