Contents
Uses of millet as food
What does millet taste like?
Millet has a neutral and soft flavor, slightly reminiscent of butter, although its sweet smell remembers walnuts.
Millet uses in food
Millet tolerates a wide range of cooking ranging from boiling to frying in the oven, but it can also be eaten raw.
Multiple elaborations can be performed with this cereal, both sweet and savory, such as:
- Soups and stews
- As an accompaniment to a dish
- Substitute for pasta or rice
- Germinated, in salads either cooked or sprouted buds,
- Breakfast cereal in flakes, either with fruits or dairy
- Powder to make bread or pies and multiple types of cakes and pastries, etc…
- As with most cereals, alcoholic beverages can also be produced when subjected to fermentation.
Is millet good for infants?
Millet flour is not commonly used for feeding infants, although pure foods from this cereal are also made.
How to cook millet?
Dish of cooked millet
To cook millet, it is preferable to pour water twice the desired amount of raw millet and pre-wash it prior to cook to remove impurities.
Cooking time varies from 20 to 45 minutes.
It has a very high density, if density is desired to be decreased and a lighter preparation to be made for consumption, millet can be mixed with other lower density cereal.
How to preserve millet?
Millet conservation depends on the type of product obtained from this cereal we want to keep:
- Conservation of millet whole grain: Thanks to its very low water content, millet gives great facility for preserving and lengthen its life. Of course, this will be possible as long as it remains stored in proper conditions and without external contamination, that is to say, in a properly closed container at cool temperature, without being to sunlight and in a dry environment.
Photo of millet grains
- Conservation of millet flour: Depending on whether the flour obtained after hulling and milling the grain contains or does not contain part of its germ, it will tend to become rancid more or less easily.The germ contains the little fat part of this cereal which, if preserved, will be more prone to become rancid and will shorten its life.
Flour always has a shorter storage period than the whole grain, being more subject to external contamination.
Elaborations made with millet
– A cereal in the diet for coeliacs
– Millet bread: If bread is only made with millet, it does not contain gluten. Consequently, it does not rise, getting a very dense texture, like a low-rise cake. Usually, if volume is desired, it will have to be combined with some other cereal that has gluten, such as wheat.
More information on millet.
