Capitalizing on a double crop: Recent advances in proso millet's transition to a food crop

Abstract

Across the globe, strategies to adapt food production to a changing climate as well as to unforeseen events (such as a pandemic) are needed, for example, if farmers miss planting times due to abnormal weather patterns or harvests are lost. Such food security considerations represent reasons for why proso millet deserves a more prominent place at the table. It has one of the shortest growing seasons and water requirements among cereals and is already grown in rotation with other crops, for example, in the American Midwest. Yet, most consumers in the Western world are unfamiliar with it, which limits its market potential. Introducing proso millet to consumers requires development of products with acceptable textural and sensory attributes as well as convincing selling points. These can be found in its nutritional profile, as it is a gluten‐free “ancient” grain and millet‐based products frequently have low glycemic indices. This review presents a synthesis of recent studies that utilized processing strategies to advance proso millet functionality. Results are put into the context of the most frequently addressed compositional and functional attributes, organized in clusters. Diversity across varieties in amylose to amylopectin ratios presents an opportunity to utilize proso millet for foods with specific pasting requirements, as in bread versus pasta. Hydrothermal or pressure treatments may further adapt its functionality for baked goods. Bitterness remains an unsolved issue, even when decorticated material is used. In addition, heating dramatically lowers in vitro protein digestibility, whereas starch digestibility appears to be matrix dependent (more than raw material dependent).

Unveiling the Nutritional Spectrum of Millet: An In-depth Review

“…In Europe, millets like Foxtail and Proso are grown, albeit in limited quantities, mainly as a niche health food or for specific culinary applications [34].…”

Structural analysis, nutritional evaluation, and flavor characterization of parched rice made from proso millet

“…is an annual herbaceous plant in family Poaceae, that is widely grown in subtropical regions of Asia, Europe, and China. It has a high photosynthesis capacity and can withstand cold and drought ( Marti & Tyl, 2021 ). As a traditional grain, proso millet is rich in nutrients and bioactive substances such as starch, protein, essential minerals, unsaturated fatty acids, and phenolic compounds ( Saleh, Zhang, Chen, & Shen, 2013 ).…”

“…As a traditional grain, proso millet is rich in nutrients and bioactive substances such as starch, protein, essential minerals, unsaturated fatty acids, and phenolic compounds ( Saleh, Zhang, Chen, & Shen, 2013 ). Proso millet is a gluten-free grain with numerous potential applications in human nutrition and food safety ( Marti & Tyl, 2021 ; McSweeney, Seetharaman, Ramdath, & Duizer, 2017 ). However, the lack of refinement and processing limits its extensive use and acceptability.…”