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The Grains We Eat "Father Millet"
The Grains We Eat "Father Millet" Millet, one of the oldest grains used by man, has been important as a grain and cereal crop from prehistoric times to the present. With nature on the side of the man, birds and the winds allowed millet seeds to spread easily. This small-seeded grass has been used as food and fodder long before the greatest invention, the plow, came into being. Millets do not like the cold climates and are principally a food source for people living in semi-arid parts of the world. This pulp-faced ancient grain is a loyal provider of nutrition providing as much protein as wheat. Today millet's most important species are proso, foxtail, barnyard, browntop, and pearl. Millet is an annual grass that grows with hollow stems ranging in height of 40 to 50 inches with a maturing time of 70 to 90 days. The maturing time was very important to early man. This meant that in one growing season that man could move into an area, harvest the millet, and move on. This did not deplete the land and most likely the prehistoric man was simply following the herds of animals that were using the millet as a food source. Prehistoric man got a double bonus, the millet as a food source to be enjoyed then or later, and the meat from their meat source-- the herd. Millet was very much a wild plant then, and the herds of animals were possibly only moving to a food source, and man followed and used the same food source as food. Millet is a mid-June to mid-July crop and is very sensitive to frost. The millet seed germinates at between 60 degrees Fahrenheit to 89 degrees Fahrenheit. The ability of the millet grain to grow well in areas of low moisture make it an excellent catch crop where other plants and crops would fail, due to low rainfall. Due to its low moisture content, Millet will spoil with the least amount of moisture. A moisture level above 13% will lead to spoilage. The spoilage of millet by moisture may be the very reason why prehistoric man kept coming each year to collect it. Not for food in the sense of eating but in the sense of drinking the food. Milk or water added to millet allowed to set in the warm days of summer, and you have a millet beer. Interesting and possible. Why would prehistoric man need millet? There would be plenty of food sources available during the time that millet is maturing. The process of beer making and bread making appear to be the same with a different result. Beer to consume to replace bad water and bread to consume at a later time. It was not unusual to use bread to make beer. All the ingredients to make beer are contained in the bread with only water or milk needing to be added to produce a drinkable beer. The development of beer and bread seem to have developed side by side. Beer was probably viewed as a medicine. The baking of the grain into bread, which could be made into medicine for use on the cold wet days to come during the winter months of the year, must have been a great joy to prehistoric man. The millet grain in the form of unthreshed heads can be kept for as long as five years insuring a food source for the prehistoric man in times of food scarcity. Prehistoric people do not appear to have had as aggressive a nature as later peoples. Could the ability of the millet to produce a beer of low alcohol be part of this equation? It isn't until the coming of barley as a grain source, do we begin to find a more aggressive nature in man. The people that ate millet do not appear to have had great wealth or be warlike. To this day the Mongol and Khirgiz nomads of Central Asia are consumers of the millet grain. In China the cultivated millet grain can be found as early as 2800 B.C. It is in India where the Aryans became masters of the land that the battle of millet and barley begins. A contest of the taste of millet and barley , djavas, began with the stronger barley emerging as victor. It is to Egypt we have gone for the adventure of barley as a main cereal grain of man. Millet was cultivated and cooked into a porridge, made into breads, into beer; and now is an excellent replacement of wheat made products for those who have allergies to wheat and wheat flour. “Enjoy millet often with this easy-to-prepare recipe. Serve with a crisp tossed salad, steamed vegetables, and millet whole grain bread. MILLET WITH SPICY TOMATO SAUCE 1 C. (237 ml) millet grains
1 t. salt
3 1/2 to 4 C. (835 to 960 ml) water
1.Combine millet, salt, and water in a 2-quart (2 liter) saucepan.
2.Cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Turn heat down to low and steam for 15 minutes.
3.Remove from heat, and set aside for 15 minutes without lifting lid.
Tomato Sauce
2 lbs. (1 kg) Roma tomatoes, chopped (Italian plum tomatoes)
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 to 3 dashes ground cinnamon
1 or 2 dashes ground cloves
1 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. chili powder
1/2 to 1 t. salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
Garnish
1 T. chopped fresh chives, basil, or thyme
2 T. toasted pumpkin seeds
1.Combine tomato sauce ingredients in a large skillet. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until soft and broken down, about 12 to 15 minutes.
2.To Serve: Spoon millet into a large bowl or casserole. Ladle some of the tomato sauce over the top.
3.Garnish with fresh herbs and pumpkin seeds, and serve remainder of the sauce at the table. Serves 4 to 6.”
Recipe From: http://www.vegparadise.com/highestperch29.html
Additional Sources:
Make Your Own Malt - Malting http://byo.com/feature/284.html
Homebrew, Bobo Style http://thembsterstravels.blogspot.com/2007/01/homebrew-bobo-style.html |
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This intel was contributed by The MUSEUM
The MUSEUM
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May, 2012
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