PS- Offlist, Gary guessed browntop correctly. PPS- I would not use the adjective "nutty" to describe the taste of either barnyard or browntop.
DO, EL, MI, US NAMA On Fri, Jun 19, 2026 at 12:12 PM Don Osborn <[email protected]> wrote: > The two millets are barnyard millet on the left, and browntop on the > right. Attached is the same image of the uncooked grains that I shared > earlier. (In that original email, the links were duds, but the attachments > worked.) > > The barnyard millet (which being from India I assume is Echinochloa > frumentacea, but might be E. esculenta) is from only my second purchase > (this one under tha brand name Manna). My first use of it was only 2-3 > years ago. > > The browntop was my first ever purchase (under the Danodia Organic label). > I had never tried it before this year.- it's harder to find. > > Both have grains about the size of proso or kodo. They were cooked in a > small rice cooker, with a water to grain proportion of about 2.5 : 1. > > Comparing the taste of barnyard and browntop, I found the former to have a > pleasantly flat or bland taste, but a slight "earthy" aftertaste that I > noticed in the olfactory sense. No bitterness or anything offputting. > Definitely will try again, but will seek another brand, preferably organic. > > The browntop (Uruchloa or Brachiaria ramosa), on the other hand, had other > subtle notes (such as rice, but not the same), and neither aftertaste nor > bitterness. The latter seems significant in that one report on browntop's > closest cultivated relative, Guinea millet (U./B. deflexa) was that people > found the grain bitter. > > (One note regarding perception of bitterness in foods: my tastebuds may be > unusual in that I like foods such as bitter melon and baobab leaf sauce.) > > It would be interesting to try both of these from domestic sources, > although since varieties in this part of the world are not intended for > harvest as food grains, I'm not sure what to expect in terms of size or > characteristics of grains. > > Notes on names: > 1. Barnyard millet is the catch-all term in international use for the 2 > main cultivated Echinochloa spp.: E. esculenta (Japanese barnyard millet or > in the US usually Japanese millet) and E. frumentacea (Indian barnyard > millet, and in the US often, billion dollar grass). > 2. Browntop millet is also called in the US, Dixie signalgrass. A variety > of this that we recently discussed on this list is called Chiwapa millet. > > Don > > DO, EL, MI, US > NAMA > > > On Sun, Jun 14, 2026 at 9:25 AM Don Osborn <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> Here is another comparison related to the previously shown millets. >> First, however, I apologize for the links in the middle of the previous >> email that were the result of my attempt to move the images in-line wth the >> text. Please access the attachments and ignore the inline links. >> >> Attached is a composite image of the water in which each of these millets >> was soaked. It is my practice to rinse whole grains before cooking, and in >> the case of millets also to soak them for a period of time (usually >> overnight or morning to evening). I then dump that into a strainer and >> rinse again before the actual cooking. >> >> In the case of each of these two millets, I saved the soaking water since >> the difference was so striking. This might not help in identifying the >> millets, but still might be interesting. I've retained the same "left - >> right" tags for reference. >> >> DO, EL, MI, US >> NAMA >> >> >> On Sat, Jun 13, 2026 at 10:28 PM Don Osborn <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >>> This is a hard one. Here are images of the grain of two millets, side >>> by side. These are small (minor) millets, imported from India. What are >>> they? >>> >>> The first image shows the hulled grains, uncooked. >>> >>> The second image shows the cooked grains. >>> >>> These images are at 20%. They occupy the same left-right positions in >>> both images. If anyone wants to look more closely I can send the full sized >>> ones. >>> >>> I mentioned these two recently to Joni and Gary, but they have not seen >>> the images yet. Nevertheless, if they want to respond, please allow a >>> little time in case others have guesses. >>> >>> Later I'll offer some comments on my personal taste tests of the two. >>> >>> Don >>> >>> Don Osborn, PhD >>> (East Lansing, MI, US) >>> North American Millets Alliance >>> >> -- Collab mailing list -- [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected]
