Grain
Millet
Millet is a family of small-seeded warm-season cereals including proso, pearl, finger, and foxtail types. Mild and slightly sweet, millet cooks fluffy like couscous or creamy like porridge and mills into gluten-free flour. A staple across parts of Africa, India, and East Asia, it is also used as birdseed and specialty health grain in Western markets. Toast lightly before boiling to deepen nuttiness.
Also known as: Bajra / Ragi / Jowar-adjacent millets, Xiao mi
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History
Foxtail and broomcorn millets were domesticated in northern China as early dryland staples.
Pearl and finger millets became foundational cereals across the Indian subcontinent and Sahelian Africa.
Colonial grain economies often sidelined millets, though they remained vital regional foods.
Nutrition and climate-resilience interest revived millet in global specialty and traditional markets.