Harvesting pearl millet right now.
When I was a kid, millet was what you gave to the budgie! Later I discovered a health-food cookbook from the 1930's that had a recipe for millet souffle that I made often, so I was pleased to try and grow some millet.
It grows easily, and very quickly, reaching a height of 3 metres in a couple of months.
Once its cut and dried, then the hard work of threshing must be done.
For all the pseudo-religious waffle one hears in Japan about rice, its worth noting that for most of Japanese history most Japanese ate little rice. A porridge made of 5 grains, rice, wheat, 2 types of millet, and "beans" was the staple, and of these millet has the longest history in Japan. It was grown by the Jomon a thousand years before the Japanese came to these islands.
We use it added into bread, and it also makes an excellent broom!! This one is still good after a years use.
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Thank you for helping to dispel the "rice culture" myth. In Japan, there's always been folks in the hills who weren't rich or privileged enough to eat rice.
ReplyDeleteCheers!