[Sca-cooks] Millet question

[Decker, Terry D.]

Millet is a fairly common grain originally grown in China and Ethiopia from
about 2000 BCE on.  There are about 60 species of panic grasses I am aware
of and there may be more.  The two most commonly mentioned are panic
(Panicum capillare or Panicum italicum) and millet (probably Proso millet,
Panicum miliaceum).  They were eaten by both man and beast.  While wheat and
barley are common for bread, millet makes decent polenta and porridge.

Sesame, millet, panic, wheat and barley are mentioned together in Xenophon's
Anabasis, Charlemagne directs the planting of both millet and panic in the
Capitulare de villis and Columbus refers to maize as a form of millet in his
Diario.  Considering those three sources, you are looking at a span of 1900
years where the grain was known and used.

Jose de Acosta in his Historia natural y moral de las Indias of 1590 states,
"...for they have no kind of wheat, barley, millet, panic grass, or any
grain such as is used in Europe to make bread. Instead they have other kinds
of grains and roots, among which maize, called Indian wheat in Castile and
Turkey grain in Italy, holds the first place."

That kinda what you lookin' fer.

Bear


> Michael and Neathery de Safita (mka the Drs. Fuller) are with
> the Barony of
> Three Rivers, and they're great folks.  Michael just asked me about
> consumption of millet; apparently analysis of bones is
> turning up certain
> trace elements that only appear when millet is part of the diet.
>
> Now, I've read the Florilegium articles on grains and found
> the references
> to Taillevent, Platina, and Granado, but can anyone come up with more?
> Specifically, was millet considered animal fodder and famine
> food, or an
> acceptable part of the diet?  The references already mentioned seem to
> indicate that millet was acceptable, although not necessarily popular.
>
> Brighid, do you know if that agricultural manual is still up on
> cervantesvirtual.com?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Vicente