Millet looks like couscous, but it is a grain rather than a pasta.
Millet is associated with birds because bird food is the primary form in which millet is sold in the United States. This tiny, ball-shaped grain is not just for the birds. Millet is a healthful addition to any human diet. Though small in size, millet is a nutritional powerhouse for people. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Origins
Millet is technically a large classification of cereal grasses that have origins in Africa or Asia, where millet remains a major food crop. According to "The Condensed Encyclopedia of Healing Foods," 90 percent of the worldwide millet crop is grown in three countries: Nigeria, India and China. The millet variety most commonly found in the West came from North Africa. It was a staple grain for the ancient peoples in the Middle East, Egypt and North Africa.
Nutrition
Compared to corn or wheat, millet is higher in protein. Like other grains, though, millet is not a complete protein that contains all the necessary amino acids for human nutrition. Millet also lacks vital nutrients, including calcium, vitamins A, D, B-12 and C. Vitamins and minerals millet does have include phosphorus, magnesium, thiamine, riboflavin and vitamin B-6.
Preparation
During cooking, millet expands to three to four times its original size. Rinsing millet before cooking washes away dirt and debris. Toasting millet before cooking gives the bland-tasting grain more flavor. Basic millet cooking requires boiling 3 to 4 cups of water or broth in a saucepan, adding 1 cup of rinsed millet to the boiling water, reducing the heat, covering the pot and simmering the millet for 18 to 22 minutes or until it is tender and absorbs the liquid.
Uses
Millet has many uses for humans besides fodder to fill bird feeders. In ancient Egypt, it was used as the grain to make beer and bread. It continues to be used that way in Africa. Whole millet can be ground into a flour for combining with wheat flour to boost the nutrition of bread. In the Bible, millet is one of the ingredients included in a grain combination for bread. That bread is still made and is known as Ezekiel bread, named for the book of the Bible from which it came. Options for millet's use include replacing rice with cooked millet for a similarly mild grain and serving millet as a substitute for oatmeal as a breakfast cereal.
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