Millet

Recent research has identified millet as among the oldest staples of mankind, tracing its cultivation in East Asia back ten thousand years. Part of a larger family of grasses, this small-seeded cereal spread across the globe because it grows well in drought-prone areas. To this day, millet is a staple in Africa, India, and northern China.

In 2005, archaeologists discovered the world’s most ancient noodles in China. They were made from millet and were four thousand years old. The pasta was found in twenty-inch-long strings and was surprisingly well preserved. This spectacular find may finally settle the debate on who first invented pasta: the Chinese, the Italians, or the Arabs.

From antiquity through the Middle Ages, millet was an important staple in central Europe before it was replaced by potatoes and corn from the New World. Millet porridge was widely eaten by the poor, from Greece to Italy to the Balkans. The significance of the grain as a major staple is also documented in language use. For example, the German term for millet, Hirse, derives from an old Germanic term for “nourishment.”

Millet is a gluten-free grain. It is high in B vitamins, iron, magnesium, and zinc. And while this nutritious staple is derided by many in the West as “bird food,” it is a deliciously mild whole grain, quick-cooking and almost endlessly versatile, much like polenta and couscous.

This tip was published in 'Ancient Grains for Moden Meals "Mediterranean Whole Grain Recipes for Barley, Farro, Kamut, Polenta, Wheat Berries, & More" by MARIA SPECK'