In 2013, the United Nations launched a somewhat obscure ancient grain into international prominence by declaring the International Year of Quinoa. Now, a decade later, the United Nations has their sights set on another underutilized group of ancient grains with promising benefits for both people and the planet: millets. Will millets be the next quinoa?
What Are Millets?
In the United States, when you see “millet” on a food package, it is virtually always a type of millet called proso millet. Around the world, however, millet is not just one grain but the name given to a group of about a dozen or so related crops that have small, round, edible seeds, hence the United Nation’s choice to use the plural form of the word. Some examples include pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), foxtail millet (Setaria italica), proso millet (Panicum miliaceum) and ?nger millet (Eleucine coracana). Sorghum, fonio and teff are also widely considered to be types of millets.
Don Osborn, co-founder of the North American Millets Alliance, hopes that the International Year of Millets will help highlight the different types of millets “in order to discuss their individual qualities as diverse crops, as nutritious foods and as grains with their own flavors.”
[READ: Best Foods to Eat in the Morning.]
Given the urgency of the climate crisis and the persistence of both undernutrition and obesity, nutritionally-dense, climate-friendly whole grains like millets are a natural choice to turn to. Proso millet (the main type of millet sold in the U.S.) has the lowest water requirement of any grain crop, and pearl millet (more common in Africa and Asia) is most able to tolerate extremes of heat and drought. Similarly, teff, an Ethiopian whole grain, thrives in drought. According to Osborn, “farmers know they’ll have something to harvest with millets, while corn etc. may fail if rainfall patterns are unfavorable.”
Millets, which are naturally gluten-free, give people a better nutritional bang for their buck than the refined grains that have become so prevalent in Western diets today. Although each type of millet has a slightly different nutritional profile, proso millet is a good source of fiber, folate, magnesium, niacin, riboflavin, thiamin and vitamin B6. The grain is also an excellent source of copper and manganese.
[SEE: 6 Worst Foods for Gut Health.]
How to Cook With Millets
Long before rice paddies dominated the landscapes of Asia, millets were an important crop in the region. The oldest known example of noodles uncovered by archeologists is a 4,000-year-old fossilized bowl of millet noodles, dug up in Northwest China.
Today, millets are largely associated with Indian cuisine, used in all sorts of Indian dishes such as idli (a steam-cooked fermented savory cake), bisi bele bath (a spiced grain and vegetable dish) and upma (a thick, savory breakfast porridge). In addition to being cooked in its intact form, millet can be ground and used as ?our (as in some Indian flatbreads) or prepared in a creamy porridge, similar to polenta.
In your own home kitchen, proso millet is a canvas that adapts well to any number of flavors and toppings. “Personally, I love golden millet unadorned, cooked in lightly salted water or broth with only a dab of good butter or a drizzle of olive oil,” says Maria Speck, author of the cookbooks “Simply Ancient Grains” and “Ancient Grains for Modern Meals.”
Speck also recommends creating “a magnificent millet bowl with toppings of your choice, such as fresh or roasted vegetables (leftovers are great here), topped with crumbled feta and showered with lots of herbs.”
Chef Robin Asbell, author of nearly a dozen cookbooks, including “The Whole Grain Promise,” fondly recalls that one of her first experiments with millet was a macrobiotic “millet mashed potato” dish, made by replacing potatoes with half millet and half cauliflower. “The two were pressure cooked together and pureed for a comforting, creamy comfort food,” says Asbell, who included the recipe in “The New Whole Grains Cookbook.”
Like any whole grain, millet is a fantastic ingredient to help anchor the morning meal.
“For a warming breakfast porridge, simmer the nourishing grain in milk or a plant-based milk of your choice, lightly sweetened with honey or maple syrup if you like,” says Speck. “Vary it by adding chopped dried figs or apricots from the start, then top with toasted nuts or serve the grains slightly warm, with a good dollop of Greek yogurt and fresh fruit.”
Asbell breaks down the basic cooking instructions for millet, explaining that “if you want to have separate, relatively firm grains with a nutty flavor, pan-toast raw millet until fragrant, and cook it with a ratio of 1½ to 2 cups liquid to each cup of millet. Stir the millet when the liquid is absorbed, and let the millet stand, covered, for at least five minutes to finish steaming.” For softer grains with more of a porridge consistency, Asbell recommends increasing the liquid ratio to 3 or even 4 cups stock or water per cup of millet.
[READ: Vegetables You Should Be Eating.]
Millet Trends
Over the past decade there has been a surge of millet-based food products, according to the Oldways Whole Grains Council’s Stamped Product Database. In the period of 2013-2023, products with millet increased by 45%, with 391 registered for Whole Grain Stamp use in 2013 and 567 registered in 2023.
There are a number of creative millet products available for sale today. Wander the aisles of your favorite supermarket, and you just might come across foods like millet and brown rice ramen noodles, millet granola, banana chocolate chip millet pancake mix, millet apple cinnamon raisin buns, millet garlic and basil bread, millet hot dog buns and pumpkin millet oat porridge, just to name a few.
As farmers continue to invest in infrastructure for growing, processing and innovating with climate-friendly millets, we can imagine that this is only the beginning for this versatile, climate-friendly food crop.
Manhattan Millet Cakes Recipe
Serving size: 1 cake. Recipe makes six servings.
Calories: 252.
Nutritional Breakdown: Fat: 10 g, Saturated Fat: 3 g, Sodium: 487 mg, Carbohydrate: 33 g, Fiber: 5 g, Protein: 9 g.
Ingredients:
— 1 cup uncooked millet.
— 10 chopped sun-dried tomatoes.
— 1 clove garlic, minced.
— ⅓ cup pitted green olives, chopped.
— ¼ cup raw sun?ower seeds.
— ¼ cup packed grated Pecorino-Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (or plant-based cheese).
— 1 tablespoon capers, rinsed, drained and minced.
— 2 teaspoons dried oregano.
— 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil.
— 3 cups mixed salad greens.
— Mustard.
Instructions:
1. Combine the millet and 3 cups of water in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Drain if necessary and transfer the millet to a bowl.
2. When cool, add the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, olives, sun?ower seeds, cheese, capers, and oregano. Stir well, mashing the ingredients together. Use dampened hands to form 6 patties.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and cook the patties until lightly brown and crisp, about 4 minutes on each side. Serve on a bed of greens with the mustard.
This recipe is from theOldways 4-Week Vegetarian & Vegan Diet Menu Planbook.
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What to Know About Millet originally appeared on usnews.com
