RA 00110.pdf - OAR@ICRISAT

Introduction
Pearl millet (Pennisetum americanum) is a staple
human food in both Asia and Africa. Rachie and
Majmudar (1980), Hoseney et al. (1981), Hulse et al.
(1980), and Hoseney and Varriano-Marston (1980)
have presented reviews on the physical, chemical,
and processing properties of pearl millet. The review
by Hulse et al. (1980) is especially comprehensive.
The objectives of this paper are to review the
traditional methods of preparing foods and to discuss
the structural, physical, and chemical characteristics
of pearl millet that affect food quality. An
understanding of the food quality of pearl millet is
improving, although progress is relatively slow.
Traditional Millet Foods
The classification scheme (Table 1) for major classes
of traditional foods is similar to that proposed in the
1981 Sorghum Food Quality Symposium ( I C R I -
SAT 1982), which was based on efforts by Vogel and
Graham (1979) It has facilitated efforts to identify
critical factors affecting pearl millet food quality.
Other schemes for classifying traditional foods are
based upon the viscosity of the foods (Dako 1985).
Literally scores of dialectic names are used to refer to
these traditional food products. Some are presented
in Table 1. In general, pearl millet, sorghum, and
other cereals are used to make these products.
Steinkraus (1983) has presented considerable information
on the major native foods produced by fermentation
around the world.
Milling of Pearl Millet
Food products are produced from whole, cracked,
or ground pearl millet. Many consumers decorticate
(dehull) the kernel before grinding it into various
particle sizes for use in different products. Pushpamma
and Rao (1981) found that two-thirds of the
consumers in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh
decorticated grain. In most areas of Africa, a significant
portion of the pearl millet is decorticated.
Pearl millet is generally decorticated by washing
the clean grain in water. The water is removed and
the grain is crushed using a stone mortar and
wooden pestle. The bran is removed by washing or
winnowing the sun-dried, crushed material. The
endosperm chunks can be boiled like rice, or they
can be ground into flour by additional pounding in
the mortar, hand stone grinding, or grinding with a
mechanical stone or plate mill. Decortication is
sometimes accomplished by using rice dehullers or
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