Figure 2 in the Jaasree Joshi, et al article is a diagram entitled "Technologies for the value addition of millets." I've taken the opportunity to make a small modification to the diagram, namely the addition of "Grits" as a product of milling. Here's the thinking behind this: A lot of our thinking about grains is fairly binary - they're either more or less whole or they're ground down into flour. Intermediate milling to produce "cracked" grains, grits, or semolina, is certainly known, but doesn't seem to be discussed much.
From my experience as a consumer of millets in West Africa and the US, these intermediate conditions between intact grain and flour are particularly significant for sorghum and pearl millet ("major millets"). There can be coarser grinds (using a coffee bean reference) such as cracked sorghum cooked and served with a sauce, to a finer cracked grain of pearl millet cooked into a porridge (both of those examples from Mali), or yet finer as rava idli in Indian cuisine (rava apparently translates roughly as semolina). Finger millet is also milled for rava idli in India.
Personally, I'd reiterate the thought that in the US, at least, one might experiment with coarser milling treatments of sorghum and consumer interest. Since proso starts much smaller, the main (only?) potential might be a kind of semolina grind? Teff, of course, is practically there already. Don DO, EL, MI, US NAMA On Sun, Nov 24, 2024 at 10:21 PM Don Osborn <don@milletsalliance.org> wrote:
Two items to share related to millets processing:
1. Jayasree Joshi, Sivaranjani Shanmuga Kumar, Rahul Kumar Rout, and Pavuluri Srinivasa Rao, 2025, "*Millet processing: prospects for climate-smart agriculture and transition from food security to nutritional security*," Journal of Future Foods, 5(5): 470-479. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfutfo.2024.08.004 (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772566924000582) Abstract: Millets, which are small-seeded grains, are classified under the Poaceae family and are known for their high nutritive content. Millets are a viable option for the global population in light of growing concerns about climate change due to their exceptional tolerance to a variety of abiotic stresses, such as drought, salinity, light, and heat. They have short growing periods and can be sustained in adverse weather conditions with less irrigation requirements. They encompass morpho-physiological, molecular, and biochemical characteristics that confer superior resilience to environmental stress. The millet grains have the potential to contribute to health and nutrition, rural employment, household incomes, rural and national economies, and sustainable environmental management. They are a rich source of both macro and micro nutrients. They contain a significant amount of bioactive substances, along with minerals such as iron, calcium, phosphorus, and zinc. Millets need to be processed for consumption and preparation to improve its nutritional and sensory properties. The major challenge in millet processing is due to the lack of proper processing machineries, presence of antinutritional factors and the poor shelf life of the flour due to high lipase activity. This limitation can be mitigated by using the appropriate processing methods. This article gives an insight into millet processing and value addition and its role in ensuring nutritional security through climate-smart agriculture. Keywords: Millets; Climate resilient crops; Smart agriculture; Food security; Value addition
(Thanks to Hikmet Boyacioglu for posting this on LinkedIn. NB- The year in the citation is indeed 2025. One surprise for me was the discussion of electrical pulses as part of processing.)
2. Shobana, S., Mohanraj, K., Malleshi, N.G. et al. "Impact of debranning on the nutritional, cooking, microstructural characteristics of five Indian small millets." Discover Food 4, 136 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44187-024-00209-1 Abstract: Background: Millets are underutilized grains rich in nutrients. This study aimed to investigate the impact of debranning on the nutritional, cooking, and microstructural properties of five Indian millets namely foxtail, little, kodo, barnyard, and proso millet.
Methods: The proximate composition, mineral content, cooking properties (cooking time, solid loss, water uptake, alkali score), Fourier Transform Infra Red (FTIR) spectra, X ray Diffraction (XRD) and microstructural characteristics (Scanning Electron Microscopy) of dehusked and debranned millet samples were examined and analysed.
Results: Debranning resulted in decrease in protein (except for little and barnyard millets), dietary fibre, fat, mineral and phytate content in all the millets while enhanced available carbohydrates and amylose content. The cooking times for dehusked millets were significantly higher while the solid loss and water uptake during cooking of debranned millets were higher. On debranning, Fourier Transform Infra Red (FTIR) spectra showed changes in the pattern with increase in the intensity of amide II (1363 to 1367 cm−1) and amide III (1215 to 1231 cm−1) bands in the debranned foxtail, little, and kodo millets. The X-ray diffractogram (XRD) showed decrease in relative crystallinity on debranning. Scanning Electron Microscopic (SEM) examination revealed that debranning resulted in the loss of seed coat, aleurone layer and partial loss of germ in the millets.
Conclusion: Dehusked millets are nutritious and should be promoted in Indian diets to improve diet quality, debranned millets are nutritionally inferior, can increase the glycemic load of Indian diets.
(This is a topic I've personally wondered about. In some approaches to processing are we losing some of the benefits of millets that we are touting?)
Don Osborn, PhD (East Lansing, MI, US) North American Millets Alliance
