Hufschmid's main page
Part 11 of this series
Philosophy page

 
A supplement to Food and Society
Millet and Corn

16 July 2011


 
 
1) Millet corn casseroles
 
 
The photo below shows some millet seeds. Millet is similar to rice in that it takes a few hours to cook. However, unlike rice, which retains its shape, the millet seeds swell and burst, creating a paste, but the paste is not sticky. It has a very nice consistency.

Since the millet seeds burst during cooking, you could crush the millet seeds in a coffee grinder, creating a powder which will cook at a slightly faster rate. The end result is virtually the same.

I put some millet seeds in a glass bowl with some water, and then put the cover on the bowl, and let it sit in very hot water -between 80°C to 92°C (180°F to 200°F) - for a few hours. The result is below. All of the seeds have burst open, and the consistency is soft and delicate.
Millet has a faint flavor, so when I eat it plain, I add only a small amount of salt and mild olive oil. However, it is also good with butter, cheese, meat, spices, and certain vegetables.

Millet has a very faint flavor, but it reminds me of corn, and I love the taste of corn, so that might be why I also love the combination of millet and corn. I added some water to the millet in the above photo, and I added some white and yellow corn kernels, and then put the container back into the pan of hot water for a while.

The result is below. We could describe this as a millet corn casserole. Unlike wheat, oats, and most other grains, millet doesn't have a sticky texture, so though the casserole looks solid, it actually has a very soft, pleasant texture. This casserole is delicious with a little butter and/or olive oil, and some salt. Is also good with various sauces, pieces of meat, and spices.


 
2) Millet corn breads
 
With some gluten, millet bread is practical
If you add a bit of wheat flour to the millet corn casserole, it will have the strength to form muffins, pizza crusts, and breads.

The more wheat you add, the stronger the bread will become, but whole-grain wheat has a strong flavor, so if you don't want the flavor altered, add refined white flour or gluten instead of whole-grain wheat.

One of the justifications for producing refined wheat flour is to provide strength for the grains that don't have the ability to form breads.

The photo below shows some of the millet corn casserole on a baking sheet. I added some additional raw corn kernels to the very top surface. The casserole was already cooked, so now all I have to do is toast it.
 
I can toast it until it is completely crispy all the way through, but I prefer to toast it so that only the top and bottom surfaces are crispy, and the inside is still moist, and the corn kernels remain juicy.
The outside surface of the millet and the outside corner kernels are dry and crispy

When I break open the muffin, you can see that the inside is moist, and the corn kernels are still juicy.

 
In the photo below, I put some pieces of raw, ground beef on top of a flat piece of millet corn bread, and then I toasted it until the meat was cooked. I think ground beef tastes good on this type of corn bread. In the photo below, I'm cutting a piece out with a fork. You don't need a knife to cut millet breads.

Here is a close-up of the inside of that piece I cut out with the fork in the photo above.

As you can see, the corn is still crispy and juicy, and the upper portion of the millet muffin has soaked up the beef juice.


 
 
3) Millet Corn crumbles
 
If I add some water to the millet corn casserole at the top of this page, pour the casserole onto a baking sheet, and then toast it at a low temperature until it becomes crispy, I end up with a thin layer of crispy millet and corn kernels.

It resembles corn chips, but the inability of millet grains to stick together causes the sheet to break apart into little pieces, creating what we could describe as millet corn crumbles

By varying the temperature and the toasting time, you can create different textures. At one extreme, you could toast it until the chips are very dry and crispy, and at the other extreme you can toast it very quickly, causing the top surface of the millet to become crispy, while the bottom remains moist, and the corn kernels retain most of their juiciness.


 
No matter how you toast it, the inability of millet granules to stick together will cause these chips to break apart very easily, thereby making them impractical to eat by picking up your fingers. It's better to let them break apart, and then sprinkle them onto other foods, such as pizzas, sandwiches, salads. They make a delicious and crispy topping. If you want to make chips that you can pick up, you have to add wheat flour or gluten to give them some strength.
Millet corn crumbles have an intense corn flavor, and so you might enjoy just putting them into a bowl, adding a bit of salt, olive oil, or butter, and then eating it with a spoon, as I am doing in the photo below.