Beadily Yours

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Sometimes, size can be deceiving (Ingredient Special on Millet).

Millet is my favorite breakfast food. I cook it up with rolled oats and amaranth grain. We call that dish “Hoppidge”, because it contains oats, like Porridge, but of course it is based on millet, which starts with an “H” in German (Hirse). Hoppidge is an extremely versatile dish. You can eat it fresh and warm from the pot. Or, mix it with many other ingredients to start your day on a full load of nutrients and power.

Other than that, millets happen to be among the first crops that were cultivated on our planet. We are talking “way back when”, long before our current civilization even became middle-aged. That might be one of the reasons why, in India, millets are called “the mother of grains”. In Europe, those “mother grains” were still a staple of feeding the growing population during those Middle Ages, by the way.

Which makes total sense, because millets are extremely nutritious and can be grown under very humble climate conditions. Like dry weather and rather low fertility of the soil. A super grain. And you read it right, I am talking about “millets”. There are many varieties of plants that are subsumed under the name. The most commonly known and used are probably pearl millet, proso millet, finger millet, foxtail, and teff.

The nutritional content of millets is considerably higher than your usual refined cereals (wheat, corn, rice). They not only contain minerals, vitamins, and protein, but also different dietary fibers (they are considered gluten-free, though), depending on the sort of millet and the growing conditions. Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), for example, is high in iron, magnesium, phosphorus, selenium, zinc, and copper. It also contains thiamin (vitamin B1) and vitamin B6. In addition, millets have a relatively low glycemic index – so they can be a good option for people with high blood sugar.

But millets are not only good food; they can also help improve landscapes and soil. As a crop, they provide land cover in arid areas. A good suitability for crop rotation, combined with minimal need for fertilizers, is characteristic as well. All this reduces soil degradation and supports sustainable land use and restoration. Which, in turn, is very important for saving biodiversity. The modest growing conditions make the millets an excellent choice to buffer food scarcity as well, providing food security and valuable nutrition in difficult periods. The same simplicity in production conditions is very good to create jobs and empower small-scale family farmers. The stories of the “Millet Champions” on the website of the Year of Millets 2023 (see InfoByteSized page for links) can give you a very good impression of that.

All in all, millets have an amazing potential that still could do with a little more attention and use. Well, a lot more than a little, actually.

Let the good grains roll!

Side Notes:

  • On the InfoByteSized page, I am providing you with some background information. Including links to stories, inspirations, and even a cookbook, which are all about millets (under ‘M’, as in ‘Millet’).
  • I already published the recipe for my favorite breakfast I was talking about earlier ([‘Hoppidge on Tour’]). The recipe to go with this ingredient special on millets will be a list of dish varieties you can create using up leftover “Hoppidge” (recipe coming up next week). If you want more recipes, I suggest, you look at that great recipe book connected to the “Year of Millets 2023” (see link on InfoByteSized page, under ‘M’ as in ‘Millet’ ).