Millet vs. Millet flour

[Tjar]

I'm a new vegan and new to the forum. If someone could answer this question for me that would be great! A recipe called for Millet. At the health food store I ask for millet and they gave me millet flour. Is it the same thing or does it come in different forms. Thanks.

[Astrid]

If the recipe says millet, it most probably means (hulled) millet seeds.

Congrats on going vegan btw. :)

[Tjar]

Yeah, I did some research. I guess they just assumed I wanted millet flour for some reason. Thank you though. I have been veggie for 9 years and just went vegan on Xmas eve. It's been going great; a lot of learning but I love it. I already feel so much better about everything, physically and mentally.

[Roxy]

Hi Tjar and welcome :) What's the recipe? I've never used Millet, so I don't really know.

[Mzee]

Welcome, Tjar.

"Millet" refers to such a lot of different cereals from various parts of the world. Each species then has a large number of varieties of different colours, habits and flavours. I really think labelling should be more careful; it is difficult to know what you are getting!

Most millets have small grains, but Sorghum, which has large grains will sometimes be described as a millet.
Sorghum and Bulrush Millet like it hot and dry, so you may well find them on Colorado farms! I ate these when I lived in Africa, along with Finger Millet, which is possibly the most tasty and nutritious of them all!

Others include Common Millet, Little Millet, Foxtail Millet and Japanese Millet. In the UK these are most commonly known for their use in feeding pet birds(!), but they are all used for human consumption in various countries. I suspect that the millet sold in most health food shops in the West will be from these species.