"Millet" is the name of a cereal supposedly originating in Asia. In common parlance, it embraces various species belonging to the family of Poaceae (Grasses); those used for avian feeding are mainly the Panicum miliaceum and the Setaria italica; then exist the Indian mile or Eleusine coracana and African apple millet o Holcus sorghum.
Its cultivation does not have particular needs for soil or irrigation but always requires a warm temperate climate. In Italy, millet is part of the so-called minor cereals and its crops are limited to certain areas of Southern Italy (where it takes the name of Volpioca). On the contrary, it is produced in abundance in both Asia and Africa.
Millet flour
It is said that the millet destined for human nutrition (the Panicum miliaceum) boasts several noteworthy nutritional properties; the flour obtained from it is mainly used in a mixture with wheat powder for bread making, while the pure one lends itself essentially to the formulation of dry biscuits.
Millet is harvested before full ripeness and "should" only be ground before consumption. This clarification is fundamental, since its abundant content in lipids (contained in the germ) significantly limits its conservation. Millet flour is therefore a wholemeal product, obtained from the grinding of whole seeds, only partially sifted to eliminate impurities.
To tell the truth, on the market there are products named in a rather different way (generally of the BIO type), but always having a higher cost than wheat flours (about € 3.30 / kg). In fact, we should ask ourselves why the production of a minor cereal, not very valuable and which does not require special treatments (irrigation or fertilization), reaches the retailer with a high cost rather than a low one; but let's move on.
Some companies offer wholemeal millet flour, others hulled millet flour.
Organic Millet Flour (shelled)
Organic Whole Millet Flour (partially sifted)
As can be seen, the reported values are not identical but not totally discrepant either.
The nutritional properties of millet are the same as most cereals. Despite being praised as a qualitatively "excellent" food, millet contains roughly the same chemical values as wheat; rather! In the second table, although it translates to a wholemeal millet flour, a fiber content comparable to that of a type 00 soft wheat flour (therefore refined) is highlighted. Obviously, the accuracy in calculating the nutritional content of these products is not the best.
According to other sources, the "supply of mineral salts" should "be appreciable for the good content of iron and potassium, while that of vitamins" could "boast discrete concentrations of thiamine (vit. B1) and niacin (vit. PP).
It should also be specified that, although it is a flour obtained from a gluten-free cereal, most companies produce it in the same factory where gluten-free cereals are processed. This means that these millet flours are contaminated and no longer suitable for feeding for celiac disease.
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