Millets sometimes have a bitter aftertaste. What are the causes and how to deal with them?

We had a short discussion offline, and Gary Wietgrefe's thoughts with regard to proso in particular wee detailed and specific. I'll  copy them in a reply to this email, for your information.

First, if I may, I personally haven't noticed problems with the millets I consume, apart from one batch of little millet (our millet-of-the-month in February, by the way) which became musty - I think the batch was a bit old to begin with.

In any event, bitterness is an issue that consumers do bring up, and it stands in the way of wider use and acceptance of any grain or food (apart from those always bitter by nature, like bitter melon).

In millets, bitterness may be related to issues like premature harvest or poor grain quality. In some cases, I understand that the variety or cultivar of a millet may be naturally more bitter than other varieties of the same grain.

Don