Panicum miliaceum

Millet

　　Millet

　　Millet, a member of the Poaceae family, genus Setaria, is also known as shu, ji, or heji

　　and mi. It has a short growth cycle and is drought- and poor-soil-resistant, making it a staple grain in arid and semi-arid regions as well as one of China’s major grain crops for milling.

　　Millet is divided into soft millet and hard millet. The flour produced from soft millet is called soft rice flour, which is used to make the famous northern Shaanxi rice wine. Soft rice flour can be pressed into dough to make cakes, and both fried cakes and date cakes in northern Shaanxi are made with this type of dough. Hard millet is milled into what is called yellow rice or millet.

　　Millet contains about 12% protein, which can go as high as over 14%. Its starch content is around 70%, with glutinous varieties at 67.6% and non-glutinous varieties at 72.5%. Glutinous varieties have very low levels of amylose, and premium glutinous types contain no amylose at all. In non-glutinous varieties, amylose typically accounts for 4.5%–12.7% of total starch content, averaging around 7.5%. The fat content is about 3.6%, and it also contains various vitamins such as β-carotene, vitamin E, and vitamins B6, B1, and B2, along with rich minerals including calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, and copper.