Teff

Teff is an annual grass growing 30 to 120 centimetres tall, with fine stems and loose, feathery seed heads. Its seeds are among the smallest of any cereal, around one millimetre across, and come in colours from ivory to deep brown and red. Because the grain is so small it is almost always milled whole, bran and germ included, which gives the flour a mild, slightly sweet and nutty flavour with a hint of molasses. The plant tolerates both drought and waterlogged soils and can be sown late in the season, which makes it a reliable fallback crop in the highlands where it is grown.

Teff is native to the Horn of Africa, and its centre of diversity lies in the Ethiopian highlands. Researchers generally consider that it was domesticated from the wild grass Eragrostis pilosa somewhere in this region, although the exact timing is debated and the archaeological record for small-seeded grasses is thin. Today the great majority of the world crop is grown in Ethiopia, with smaller plantings in Eritrea, and newer commercial acreage in places such as South Africa, the United States and parts of Europe. Several hundred local landraces are grown, adapted to different altitudes and rainfall patterns.

Teff has been part of Ethiopian agriculture for a very long time, and the oldest ways of using it have changed little. Flour is mixed with water and left to ferment for a few days, then poured as a thin batter onto a large clay griddle to make injera, a spongy, slightly sour pancake used both as plate and as utensil for stews known as wat. Teff is also cooked into porridge, baked into flatbreads and used for traditional drinks such as tella, a home-brewed beer.

For much of the twentieth century teff was almost unknown outside East Africa and among Ethiopian and Eritrean communities abroad. Interest grew in the 1990s and 2000s as gluten-free diets became more common and as nutrition writers began to highlight its mineral content. For a period the Ethiopian government restricted exports of the raw grain to protect local food supply, which encouraged growers elsewhere to start their own production. Teff is now sold as whole grain, flour and ready-made products, and it is also used as a forage and hay crop in some countries.

Teff flour makes injera, pancakes, waffles, muffins and flatbreads, and works well in gluten-free baking when blended with other flours. The whole grain can be simmered into a creamy porridge or polenta-like dish, cooled and sliced, or added to stews as a thickener. Cooked teff is also stirred into burgers, veggie patties and energy bars. Ivory teff is milder and used for lighter baked goods, while brown and red types have a stronger earthy flavour that suits savoury dishes.

Teff is a whole grain eaten with its bran and germ, so it provides fibre along with minerals such as iron, magnesium, manganese and calcium, and more calcium than most other cereals. The protein contains a useful amount of the amino acid lysine compared with many grains, although it is still not a complete protein on its own. Because teff contains no gluten it is a popular choice for people avoiding wheat. Fermentation, as in injera, can reduce phytic acid and may improve mineral availability. Nutrient values vary with variety and soil.