RA 00110.pdf - OAR@ICRISAT

Food Quality and Consumer Acceptance of Pearl Millet 1
L . W . Rooney 2 and C M . McDonough 3
Abstract
The major classes of traditional foods from pearl millet are unfermented bread, (roti); fermented breads,
e.g., galettes; thick and thin porridges; steam cooked products, e.g., couscous; nonalcoholic and alcoholic
beverages; and snacks. Relatively little information on the specific types of pearl millet that have optimum
properties for each of these food systems is currently available. Specific pearl millet cultivars with known
good and poor quality attributes for major products are required.
The pearl millet caryopsis contains a high proportion of germ which in part explains the higher level of
fat and protein in the grain. The germ is difficult to remove during milling because it is embedded inside the
kernel. Dry milling of pearl millet by traditional hand decortication and pounding often produces low
yields of flour with poor storage stability. Differences in dry milling properties among cultivars exist.
Varieties with large, spherical, uniform, hard kernels produce the highest milling yields. The color,
hardness, pericarp thickness, and other kernel characteristics vary, but have not been documented systematically.
Standard terms to refer to kernel characteristics need to be defined to facilitate information exchange
among pearl millet improvement programs. The breeding of pearl millet cultivars with improved dehulling
properties is critically important to the crop 's long-term utilization potential.
The starch of pearl millet is similar to sorghum and maize starches. The lipids of pearl millet have fatty
acid contents similar to sorghum and maize. Pearl millet has a higher protein content with more desirable
levels of essential amino acids than sorghum. In general, its digestibility is better than sorghum. Pearl millet
contains less cross-linked prolamins and more salt-soluble proteins than sorghum. Overall its nutritional
value is good, but removal of the germ during milling decreases the nutritional value.
Breeding pearl millet cultivars with better color, flavor and dry milling properties will increase the
utilization of the crop. The lack of information on heritable kernel properties as they relate to end use quality
is a major handicap. National and international millet research should emphasize the acquisition and
documentation of critical factors affecting pearl millet quality. Considerable progress can be made using
relatively simple procedures to characterize properties that affect grain quality. Continued expansion in
national and international efforts to improve pearl millet should include a high priority for food quality
research.
1. This research was done under existing Texas Agricultural Experiment Station project Hatch-6676 (Sorghum Quality Improvement). It is
supported in part by the INTSORMIL Title XII Sorghum and Millet Research Program, which is sponsored in part by Grant
AID/DSAN/XII/G-0149 from the Agency for International Development, Washington, DC 20253.
2. Professor, Cereal Quality Lab, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas, 77843- 2474,
USA.
3. Technician in the same department.
ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics). 1987. Proceedings of the International Pearl Millet
Workshop, 7-11 April 1986, ICRISAT Center, India. Patancheru, A.P 502324, India: ICRISAT.
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