All About Foxtail Millet: 3 Tips for Cooking With Foxtail Millet

Foxtail millet (Setaria italica, also Chaetochloa italica), or Italian millet, is a widely cultivated strain of cereal grass from the Poaceae family. Foxtail millet has roots in Northern China and India going back at least 8,000 years and is named for the tapered tail-like panicle (an inflorescence, or clustered flower, with many branches) containing its seeds. Foxtail millet has been a staple food crop for centuries, especially in dry or arid regions, thanks to its dense nutritional profile. Foxtail millet is gluten-free, high in protein, calcium, iron, dietary fiber, and vitamin-rich, particularly in B12, which aids the heart and nervous system.

Foxtail millet is one of many cultivars of millet grown for human consumption worldwide, alongside proso millet (Panicum miliaceum), finger millet (Eleusine coracana), great millet (Sorghum bicolor), and barnyard millet (Echinochloa esculenta). Yellow foxtail (Setaria pumila) and green foxtail (Setaria viridis), so denoted for the color of their bristles, preceded foxtail millet in the wild before cultivation but are not considered economically viable.

There are a few ways to get the most out of cooking foxtail millet seed:

1. 1. Soak repeatedly before using. As with rice preparation, washing the millet before cooking will remove any debris and break down the outer husk. Millet seeds, like all plant seeds, contain phytic acid, an “anti-nutrient” that can impede the body’s ability to absorb the nutrients contained inside. Soak the millet three to four times, swishing your fingers through the bowl or swirling it before straining until the water runs clear.
2. 2. If not soaking, toast. While some cooks prefer to wash their millet, some don’t—and in that case, you can toast the millet in a sauté pan before you start cooking to bring out a subtle level of nuttiness to their flavor profile.
   
3. 3. Add more liquid to change the texture. You can also prepare foxtail millet with a lighter, looser texture similar to couscous or make it into a porridge. The difference lies in how much water you use: for a lighter preparation, use a 2:1 ratio of water to millet. For a creamier result, increase to 3:1 or more to preference.

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