The millets are a group of small-seeded species of cereal crops or grains, widely grown around the world for food and fodder. Pearl millet ( Pennisetum glaucum) is the most widely grown type of Millet. A seed (in some plants referred to as a kernel) is a small embryonic Plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat usually with some stored In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank. Grains make up the structure of Metals Metal surfaces contain a number of small crystals known as grains with boundaries where they join Food is any substance usually composed primarily of Carbohydrates Fats water and/or Proteins that can be eaten or drunk by an In Agriculture, fodder or animal feed is any Foodstuff that is used specifically to feed Domesticated Livestock, such as They do not form a taxonomic group, but rather a functional or agronomic one. Their essential similarities are that they are small-seeded grasses grown in difficult production environments. It was millets, rather than rice, that formed important parts of prehistoric diet in Chinese Neolithic and Korean Mumun societies. The Mumun pottery period is an Archaeological era in Korean prehistory that dates to approximately 1500-300 BC
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Millet varieties
The millets include species in several genera, mostly in the subfamily Panicoideae, of the grass family Poaceae. Proso millet ( Panicum miliaceum) is also known as common millet, broom corn, hog millet or white millet. Panicoideae is a Subfamily of the true grass family. Poaceae or Gramineae is a family in the Class Liliopsida of the flowering plants. The most widely cultivated species in order of worldwide production[1] are. :
- Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum)
- Foxtail millet (Setaria italica)
- Proso millet also known as common millet, broom corn millet, hog millet or white millet (Panicum miliaceum)
- Finger millet (Eleusine coracana)
Minor millets include:
- Barnyard millet (Echinochloa spp. Pearl millet ( Pennisetum glaucum) is the most widely grown type of Millet. Foxtail millet (botanic name Setaria italica) is the second most widely planted species of Millet, and the most important in East Asia. Proso millet ( Panicum miliaceum) is also known as common millet, broom corn, hog millet or white millet. Finger millet ( Eleusine coracana, Amharic ዳጉሳ "Dagusa" or ቶኩሶ tōkūsō) also known as African millet or Ragi Echinochloa is a Genus, some of whose members are grown as Cereal or Fodder crops grouped with the Millets and known by common names )
- Kodo millet (Paspalum scrobiculatum)
- Little millet (Panicum sumatrense)
- Guinea millet (Brachiaria deflexa = Urochloa deflexa)
- Browntop millet (Urochloa ramosa = Brachiaria ramosa = Panicum ramosum)
Teff (Eragrostis tef) and fonio (Digitaria exilis) are also often called millets, as more rarely are sorghum (Sorghum spp. Teff or taf ( Eragrostis tef, Amharic ጤፍ ṭēff, Tigrinya ጣፍ ṭaff) is an annual grass Fonio is the term for cultivated grains in the Digitaria genus Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, some of which are raised for grain and many of which are used as Fodder plants either cultivated or as part ) and Job's Tears (Coix lacrima-jobi). Job 's Tears ( Coix lacryma-jobi) Coixseed, adlay, or adlai, is a tall grain-bearing Tropical Plant of the
Production history
Specialized archaeologists called palaeoethnobotanists, relying on data such as the relative abundance of charred grains found in archaeological sites, hypothesize that the cultivation of millets was of greater prevalence in prehistory than rice,[2] especially in northern China and Korea. Paleoethnobotany, also known as archaeobotany in European (particularly British academic circles is the archaeological sub-field that studies Plant remains from Broomcorn (Panicum miliaceum) and Foxtail millet were important crops beginning in the Early Neolithic of China. Foxtail millet (botanic name Setaria italica) is the second most widely planted species of Millet, and the most important in East Asia. The Neolithic (from Greek νεολιθικός — neolithikos from νέος neos, "new" + λίθος lithos China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National For example, some of the earliest evidence of millet cultivation in China was found at Cishan (north) and Hemudu (south). The Cishan culture (磁山文化 ( 6000 - 5500 BC) was a Neolithic Yellow River culture in northern China, centered primarily around The Hemudu culture (河姆渡文化 (5000 BC to 4500 BC was a Neolithic culture that flourished just south of the Hangzhou Bay in Jiangnan in modern Cishan dates to 7000-5000 BCE and contained pit-houses, storage pits, pottery, stone tools related to cultivation, and carbonized foxtail millet. A 4000 year old well-preserved bowl containing well-preserved noodles made from foxtail millet and broomcorn millet was found at the Lajia archaeological site in China. Proso millet ( Panicum miliaceum) is also known as common millet, broom corn, hog millet or white millet. Lajia ( Chinese: 喇家 Pinyin: Lǎjiā is an archaeological site located in Minhe County, Haidong Prefecture in Northwest China China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National [3]
Palaeoethnobotanists have found evidence of the cultivation of millet in the Korean Peninsula dating to the Middle Jeulmun pottery period (c. Physical geography See also Geography of North Korea, Geography of South Korea Mountains cover 70 percent of the Korean Peninsula and arable plains are The Jeulmun Pottery Period is an archaeological era in Korean prehistory that dates to approximately 8000-1500 B 3500-2000 BCE) (Crawford 1992; Crawford and Lee 2003). Millet continued to be an important element in the intensive, multi-cropping agriculture of the Mumun pottery period (c. The Mumun pottery period is an Archaeological era in Korean prehistory that dates to approximately 1500-300 BC 1500-300 BCE) in Korea (Crawford and Lee 2003). Millets and their wild ancestors such as barnyard grass and panic grass were also cultivated in Japan during the Jōmon period some time after 4000 BCE (Crawford 1983, 1992). Echinochloa crus-galli is a type of wild grass originating from tropical Asia that was formerly classified as a type of Panicum grass Panicum virgatum, commonly known as switchgrass, is a warm season Grass and is one of the dominant Species of the central North American For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. The is the time in Japanese prehistory from about 14000 BC to 400 BC. Millet was consumed in northern Europe at least since the Iron Age, based upon analysis of Haraldskær Woman found in Jutland, Denmark. This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age for the mythological Iron Age see Ages of Man. The Haraldskær Woman is an Iron Age Bog body found naturally preserved in a Bog in Jutland, Denmark. This article is about the region of Denmark. For the World War I naval battle see Battle of Jutland. The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe
Major research on millets is carried out by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics in Andhra Pradesh, India, and by the USDA-ARS at Tifton, Georgia, USA. The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics or ICRISAT is a non-profit and non-political research organization helping the poor in the semi-arid India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country The Agricultural Research Service ( ARS) is the principal in-house research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA Tifton is a city in Tift County, Georgia, United States. The population was 15060 at the 2000 census The United States of America —commonly referred to as the
Current uses of millet
Millets are principally food sources in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. The Republic of Cameroon is a unitary republic of central and western Africa. In Western India, millet flour (called "Bajari" in Gujarati and marathi) has been commonly used with "Jowar" (Sorghum called "Jwari" in Marathi) flour for hundreds of years to make the local staple flat bread (called "Rotla"). Gujarati (ગુજરાતી Gujǎrātī ? Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, some of which are raised for grain and many of which are used as Fodder plants either cultivated or as part "ROTLA" redirects here ROTLA is also an abbreviation of Raiders of the Lost Ark Rotla is a 40 Km long River
Millets are traditionally important grains used in brewing millet beer in some cultures, for instance by the Tao people of Orchid Island and, along with sorghum, by various peoples in East Africa. Millet beer, also known as Bantu beer, kaffir beer, or opaque beer, is an Alcoholic beverage made from malted Millet. The Tao ( commonly known by the misnomer Yami (雅美 are a Taiwanese aboriginal people native to tiny outlying Orchid Island in Taiwan. Orchid Island ( Yami language: Ponso no Tao or Pongso no Tao;; POJ: Lân-sū is a 45- Km² Volcanic island off the Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, some of which are raised for grain and many of which are used as Fodder plants either cultivated or as part
Millet is used to prepare boza fermented drink in Balkan peninsula countries. Boza is a popular Fermented beverage in Turkey, Albania, Bulgaria, The Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia
Millet is the base ingredient for the distilled liquor, rakshi, in Nepal. Rakshi (रक्शी is a Millet -based distilled alcoholic drink popular in Nepal. Nepal (नेपाल) is a Landlocked country in South Asia.
Millet porridge is a traditional Russian food, eaten sweet (with milk and sugar added at the end of cooking process) or savoury with meat or vegetable stews. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending
Coeliac patients can replace certain cereal grains in their diets by consuming millets in various forms including breakfast cereals. Coeliac
Millet can often be used in recipes instead of buckwheat, rice, or quinoa. Buckwheat refers to plants in two genera of the Dicot family Polygonaceae: the Eurasian genus Fagopyrum, and the North American genus Rice is a Cereal foodstuff which forms an important part of the diet of many people worldwide and as such it is a staple food for many For the town with a similar name see Quinua Peru. "Quinoa" is also a title of a 1992 music album by Tangerine Dream.
Millet sprays are often recommended as healthy treats to finicky pet birds, as they are easily eaten and (in the case of destruction-prone hookbills) easily broken.
Nutrition
The protein content in millet is very close to that of wheat; both provide about 11% protein by weight. Wheat ( Triticum spp is a worldwide cultivated grass from the Levant area of the Middle East.
Millets are rich in B vitamins, especially niacin, B17, B6 and folic acid, calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, and zinc. Niacin, also known as vitamin B3, is a water-soluble vitamin which prevents the deficiency disease Pellagra. Folic acid (also known as Vitamin M and Folacin) and Folate (the Anionic form are forms of the water-soluble Vitamin B9 Calcium (ˈkælsiəm is the Chemical element with the symbol Ca and Atomic number 20 Iron (ˈаɪɚn is a Chemical element with the symbol Fe (ferrum and Atomic number 26 Potassium (pəˈtæsiəm is a Chemical element. It has the symbol K (kalium from qalīy Atomic number 19 and Atomic mass 39 Magnesium (mægˈniːziəm is a Chemical element with the symbol Mg, Atomic number 12 Atomic weight 24 Zinc (ˈzɪŋk from Zink is a Metallic Chemical element with the symbol Zn and Atomic number 30 Millets contain no gluten, so they are not suitable for raised bread. Gluten is a composite of the proteins Gliadin and Glutenin. These exist conjoined with Starch, in the Endosperms of some When combined with wheat or xanthan gum (for those who have coeliac disease), though, they can be used for raised bread. Wheat ( Triticum spp is a worldwide cultivated grass from the Levant area of the Middle East. Xanthan gum is a Polysaccharide used as a Food additive and Rheology modifier. Coeliac Alone, they are suited for flatbread. A flatbread is a simple Bread made from flattened Dough. Many flatbreads are unleavened&mdashmade without Yeast or Sourdough culture
As none of the millets are closely related to wheat, they are appropriate foods for those with coeliac disease or other forms of allergies/intolerance of wheat. Coeliac However, millets are also a mild thyroid peroxidase inhibitor and probably should not be consumed in great quantities by those with thyroid disease. Thyroid peroxidase or Thyroperoxidase (TPO is an Enzyme mainly expressed in the Thyroid that liberates Iodine for addition onto Tyrosine The thyroid is one of the largest Endocrine glands in the body
Preparation
The basic preparation consists in washing the millet and toasting it while moving until one notes a characteristic scent. Then five measures of boiling water for each two measures of millet are added with some sugar or salt. The mixture is cooked covered using low flame for 30-35 minutes.
References
- ^ (1996) "Annex II: Relative importance of millet species, 1992-94", The World Sorghum and Millet Economies: Facts, Trends and Outlook. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 92-5-103861-9.
- ^ Tarannum Manjul. "Millets older than wheat, rice: Archaeologists", Lucknow Newsline, January 21, 2006. Retrieved on 2008-04-14. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 43 BC - Battle of Forum Gallorum: Mark Antony, besieging Julius Caesar 's assassin Decimus Junius Brutus in
- ^ "Oldest noodles unearthed in China", BBC News, 12 October 2005. Events 539 BC - The army of Cyrus the Great of Persia takes Babylon. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
- Crawford, Gary W. Paleoethnobotany of the Kameda Peninsula. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1983.
- Crawford, Gary W. Prehistoric Plant Domestication in East Asia. In The Origins of Agriculture: An International Perspective, edited by C. W. Cowan and P. J. Watson, pp. 117-132. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, 1992.
- Crawford, Gary W. and Gyoung-Ah Lee. Agricultural Origins in the Korean Peninsula. Antiquity 77(295):87-95, 2003.
External links
- "Millets", Alternative Field Crops Manual.
- Vegetarians in Paradise: Millet History, Millet Nutrition, Millet Recipe.
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