You might have come across a recipe and are now asking yourself how to cook millet. We will help you out and also give you a little bit more background info about what millet is and from where it comes.
What is millet?
Millet is from the grass family Poaceae and refers to a variety of grains. It is tiny and round and can come in different colors. The gluten-free grain costs only half of you would pay, for, eg. Quinoa and is, therefore, a very economical alternative. You will mostly find hulled variants at supermarkets, and you can buy it as flakes or flour.
Where does millet come from?
Millet has a long history and is originally from Asia. It grows fast and is highly productive under dry conditions. Hence 99% of the world’s millet production comes from developing countries. It made its way over Russia over Europe to America. Today it is especially prevalent in Russian and Polish cuisine.
Millet nutrition stats are outstanding
Millet becomes more and more popular, given its fantastic health benefits. It is considered one of the world’s healthiest foods. People value millet as a gluten-free alternative to wheat, rye, and the like. Also, the grain is rich in minerals such as phosphorus (228mg), magnesium (91mg), iron (2.4mg), zinc (1.4mg), and manganese (1.2mg) in 1 cup of millet (~80g). Therefore it is particularly interesting for all nutrition-conscious foodies. Last but not least, millet contains essential amino acids, which makes it an integral component of a healthy diet. Given the Millet nutrition stats, it has plenty of health benefits:
- Heart-protective Properties
- Development and Repair of Body Tissue
- Substantially Lower Type 2 Diabetes Risk
What is millet used for?
Recently we came across more and more millet recipes across our favorite blogs. You will find endless variations on how to prepare millet from cooked millet over sidedish for veggies to baking with millet flour. There are no limits set to include millet in your favorite recipes.
Our favorite millet recipes:
How to cook millet?
To cook fluffy millets is not complicated, but requires you to follow some easy steps that are pretty unusual compared to rice or pasta. There are different ways to
Follow the step-by-step guide below, and you will shortly enjoy fluffy millet yourself. 🙂
- Rinse millet thoroughly under cold running water.
- Put 1 cup millet & 2 cup water (1:2 ratio) in a medium pot. Bring to boil and cover the pot.
- Reduce the temperature to low for 15 minutes.
- Remove the pot from heat and let stand covered for another 10 minutes.
How to store millet?
As with all other grains, you should store millet air-tight in a cool & dark place. Such as your pantry, fridge, or refrigerator, where it can be last for up to 2 years. In case you are planning to store it this long, it is always a good idea to place in the fridge for one week to kill potential little insect eggs that might hatch later.
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