What cereal is millet made from and why is it needed

When buying products, you want to know what they are made of. Among cereals for making porridge - common side dishes all over the world - there is a pattern in the names. And you don't have to be an expert to understand what kind of cereal is obtained from. Buckwheat is made from buckwheat, barley is made from barley, and rice is made from rice.

And what is millet made of? Among the cereals, there is no suitable name. It is worth figuring out what became the raw material for the production of the familiar sunny yellow porridge in order to understand what properties this product has, what benefits it carries and what dangers it hides.

The chemical composition of millet groats

Millet contains beneficial nutrients... Their content per 100 g of dry cereals is shown in the table below.

In 100 g of dry millet 348 kcal... Loose millet porridge contains 135 kcal per 100 g of product, which is 6.71% of the average daily calorie intake for an adult. One serving of millet porridge is 250 g, it replenishes the body's daily energy requirement by 17%.

Nutrient content per 100 g of dry cereals:

• carbohydrates - 66.5 g;
• fats - 3.3 g;
• proteins - 11.5 g;
• dietary fiber - 3.6 g;
• water - 14 g;
• mineral salts - 1.1 g

100 g of loose millet porridge without butter and sugar contains 4.7 g of protein, 1.1 g of fat and 26.1 g of carbohydrates.

For reference.The high nutrient content, varied mineral composition and low calorie content allow millet to be included in the list of dietary products.

What cereal is millet made from

Asking the question of which cereal is millet made from, we find the answer: millet is obtained from the fruits of cultivated species of millet.

Interesting! Millet (lat. Panicum) is a herbaceous plant of the Cereals family. On the territory of Russia and the CIS countries, 8 species of this cereal grow. Millet groats are mainly made from common millet.

Why is millet not called millet? The word "millet" itself comes from the Slovenian word "pšénọ", meaning "refined grain". By this name, you can guess that before millet turns into millet, it needs to be cleaned and processed.

Millet groats production technology

If you just collect millet grains, millet will not work. So what is millet and what grain is it made from? To obtain a soft-digestible, easily digestible product, millet grains are processed in several stages.

To turn millet into millet, first of all, the harvested grains are subjected to selection. For further processing, select large grains of light brown color without visible signs of spoilage. Weed seeds, pebbles and sand are also sifted out at this stage.

Then the grains are exfoliated, separating the kernels from the millet husk. This process takes place in rolling machines.

After that, it is required to clean off the aleurone layer from the nuclei - the outer film shell.This procedure is called grinding and takes place in a grinding or screw press equipment.

When receiving premium millet cereals are washed before packing in a stream of hot steam to remove process oils that clog the pores of the grains during grinding in contact with equipment. Technical oils impart a bitter taste to the finished cereal, which reduces the consumer properties of the product.

Interesting facts about cereals:

What is millet, how does it grow and where is it used

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How to drink oats to cleanse the body

Types of millet groats

Millet is not always fully processed... The more technological stages millet grains have gone through before getting on store shelves, the better and more expensive millet groats are obtained.

Types of millet:

1. Shingle. Such cereals are obtained after peeling off the coarse shell. Whole, shiny grains with a bitter taste are obtained. Millet-shingle porridge is cooked for a long time.
2. Polished millet. It goes through all the technological stages. The finished product looks like whole yellow matte grains. Polished millet cooks faster than shredded millet.
3. Crushed millet. It is a by-product of the production of millet, which is coarsely ground millet kernels that are crushed during the grinding process. Crushed millet is added to whole grain bread or further milled to produce millet flour.
4. Millet flakes. This is the most expensive millet product, as it goes through all the processing stages, including primary cooking and vacuum drying. Millet flakes are part of instant cereals.

Despite the differences in processing, each type of cereal has properties useful for the human body.

Useful properties of millet

Diversified chemical composition determines variety of useful properties of millet for the body:

1. Dietary fibers of millet adsorb excess fat in the intestines and remove them, thereby lowering the amount of fat, including cholesterol, consumed with food. Millet is useful for atherosclerosis and obesity.
2. Zinc and manganese contained in millet serve as coenzymes in the synthesis of insulin. Despite the high content of carbohydrates, the glycemic index of sugar-free millet porridge is 40 units. This indicator allows millet cereals to be included in the diet of diabetics in moderation.
3. The high content of B vitamins has a beneficial effect on the state of the nervous and cardiovascular systems.
4. Folic acid salts, iron, copper and cobalt stimulate blood formation, which is useful for the prevention of anemia.
5. The rich amino acid composition and a large amount of coenzyme minerals help to restore the liver after intoxication. A thick broth of millet groats restores the barrier function of the liver after alcohol poisoning and treatment with antibiotics and chemotherapeutic drugs.
6. Silicon, copper, fluorine and phosphorus strengthen bone tissue and tooth enamel, stimulate hair and nail growth, and maintain the elasticity and strength of blood vessels.
7. Chromium and iodine support thyroid function.
8. Molybdenum and vitamin E prevent the accumulation of free radicals, keeping the body young.

The positive effect of millet on the body makes it possible to use this cereal in folk medicine. Nutritionists include millet cereals in the diet of patients with dysfunction liver, kidney, pancreas, diabetes, obesity, atherosclerosis and other metabolic pathologies.

Read also:

How to make barley malt at home

The benefits and harms of a coffee drink made from barley and rye

Restrictions on the use of millet products

Despite the many positive effects from taking millet, like any product, millet has its own contraindications and limitations in use... Millet is not a panacea and requires moderation.

Precautions:

1. During pregnancy, you should limit the intake of millet and use it only according to the needs of the body, no more than 1 serving. A high content of biologically active mineral components can imbalance the formation of fetal tissues, and in the last trimester, excessive consumption of millet can provoke premature birth.
2. For inflammatory bowel diseases, you should limit the consumption of millet products, as millet can cause constipation and aggravate inflammation. This limitation applies only to shingle millet and polished millet. Millet flakes contain fewer coarse fibers that injure the inflamed intestinal mucosa.
3. Millet lowers the acidity of gastric contents, so it should be consumed in moderation for gastritis with low acidity.
4. While taking iodine preparations, for example, in the treatment of hypothyroidism, millet should be excluded from the diet in order to maintain a constant dosage of the trace element entering the blood.

Subject to the recommendations of doctors and restrictions, millet products will not harm the body... It should be remembered that millet is a food product, not a medicine. It can alleviate the patient's condition, but the doctor prescribes therapeutic measures for a complete recovery.

Conclusion

The familiar millet is refined millet grains. The word "millet" came into the Russian language from the Slovenian language, in which it was called any refined grain. In production, several types of millet are obtained, differing in the quality of purification of raw materials. The highest quality types of millet groats are millet flakes and polished millet.

All types of millet have beneficial properties and are rich in nutrients that support the health of the body. You should not use excessively millet products during pregnancy, intestinal inflammation, gastritis with low acidity and joint intake of iodine-containing preparations.