Millet Panicum miliaceum Family: Poaceae

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Photo © Steven Foster

Introduction

Panicum miliaceum, common millet, is an annual cereal grain that grows to a height of 4 feet producing bright green leaves and small seeds.^1,2  Depending on the variety, millet can vary in maturation time, seed size, and seed color, being either creamy white, yellow, orange, red, black, or brown.^2,3  Millet originated in North Africa and the East Indies, but has been cultivated throughout the Middle East, India, and Africa since ancient times.⁴  In the United States, millet grows mainly in the central and northern Great Plains.³  

History and Cultural Significance

The English name millet is derived from the Latin word mille which means thousand and refers to the plant’s abundant seed production.⁵  In the U.S., the term millet refers to proso, one of the earliest cultivated strains of millet, commonly found in birdseed and health food stores. In other countries the word millet is a more generic description for five small, unrelated cereal grains. Proso is believed to be older than wheat, barley, rice, or rye. It was noted throughout the New Testament, thrived during the Roman Empire, and was utilized in the Middle Ages before modern wheat became the principal food crop.⁵  

In ancient Egypt, millet meal was used for bread making.⁴  It is widely used in the Eastern Hemisphere and is renowned as a staple food of the long living Hunzas of the Himalayas. It was a vital crop in China even before rice was introduced.⁴  In India, ground millet is baked as chapatti (a type of Indian bread eaten in South Asia ), and in the northern parts of China and Manchuria, it is steamed after being ground and shaped into balls.²  Even today the ancient grain provides a versatile food source in regions of Africa and Asia by being made into unleavened bread, gruel, and porridge.⁶  

Millet is said to be the most complete protein of any of the true cereal grains, and to be especially rich in essential amino acids, iron, phosphorus and B vitamins.^2,4,5  It is gluten-free and easily digested.⁴  In Europe, a warm millet poultice is used to ease pain.⁵  

Modern Research

One study suggested that bread made from millet in combination with other gluten-free flour and selected lactobacilli, employing a long fermentation time, may be helpful in decreasing gluten intolerance in humans.⁷  

Future Outlook

It is difficult to project future world trade in millet because it is a small market, much of the trade is unrecorded, and supply and demand are uncertain.⁸  Average world millet production in 1992-1994 was 28 million tons and was expected to increase to 33 million tons in 2005. Developing countries were expected to experience the most growth at approximately 1.4 percent per year. The highest growth rate was expected to occur in Africa at 2.4 percent per year. Primarily, millet will continue to be used as human food in semi-arid areas in the developing world.⁹