Proso Millet

Proso millet is an annual grass 30 to 100 centimetres high, with a loose, drooping seed head. The grains are small, about 2 millimetres, smooth and round, and range in colour from cream to yellow, red or brown. Hulled grain cooks into a fluffy, mild-tasting dish with a slightly corn-like flavour. It matures quickly, in as little as 60 to 90 days, and uses little water, making it a useful crop in dry regions and a quick-growing second crop.

Proso millet was domesticated in northern China, with finds at Neolithic sites of the Yellow River region dated to around 10,000 years ago, making it one of the earliest cultivated cereals. It then spread across Eurasia in prehistory. Today, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, China, India and the United States grow it, and the Great Plains of North America are a notable region for production, mainly for birdseed and livestock feed.

Proso millet fed early farming communities in northern China, and by the Bronze Age it had spread west into Europe and the Near East, where it was grown before many other cereals. Remains have been found in many Neolithic and Bronze Age European sites, and it was a staple in parts of Eastern Europe and Asia for thousands of years.

Over time, wheat, rice and maize replaced millet in most regions, but it persisted where drought and poor soils favoured it, and as the basis of dishes such as Russian kasha and Chinese millet porridge. In recent years it has regained interest as a gluten-free grain and climate-resilient crop, and it has been grown in the US for human food as well as birdseed.

Hulled proso millet is cooked like rice or porridge, toasted and simmered in water or stock, and used in pilafs, stuffed vegetables, patties and puddings. It can be ground into flour for flatbreads, gluten-free baking and thick porridge, and fermented into beers and other drinks in parts of Asia. Puffed millet is used in cereal bars. Rinse the grains and toast them in a dry pan before simmering for 15 to 20 minutes to improve flavour and texture.

Proso millet provides complex carbohydrates, protein, and B vitamins, along with magnesium, phosphorus and manganese. Like other millets it is naturally gluten-free. The protein is lower in lysine than legumes, so combining the grain with beans or lentils improves the amino acid balance. Its polyphenols and fibre are being studied but strong evidence of specific health effects is lacking. It is a reasonable alternative to rice or couscous.