Wheatless Wednesday: Ethiopian Teff from the Pyramids to the Present
Many people have never heard of teff, but this unique gluten-free grain dates back to the age of the pyramids. Most often ground into flour to make injera, a fermented flat bread, teff has served as a primary food source in Ethiopia and Eritrea since approximately 3000 B.C. Despite its enduring history as an African staple, teff’s presence in America is less than forty years old. In the 1970s, an entrepreneurial farmer observed a parallel between the weather of Idaho’s Snake Valley and Africa’s Great Rift Valley, and began successfully cultivating teff in the United States.
Individual grains of teff are extremely small, just 1/150th of the size of a kernel of wheat. When cooked as a hot cereal, the tiny grains – comparable to the size of a poppy seed — create a deliciously smooth texture. In fact, the taste and consistency of teff porridge is more like cream of wheat than any other gluten-free whole grain I’ve prepared.
When you see teff’s impressive nutritional profile, you’ll see why it provides a compelling case for adding this gluten-free grain to your diet.
