Such imbalances always happen with new markets. The truth is, that Americans have a very limited selection of popular grains. Popular precisely because they are processed to taste better.
But the truth is there are a bunch of grains out there we *could* be eating, not as unpalatable as health nuts would eat them, but far tastier once they, too, are processed.
And it’s important to keep in mind that more grains mean a more and varied cuisine: more tasty stuff to eat. If all you ate was the food at McDonalds, at first food at Taco Bell would seem very exotic, but in short order you would appreciate the variation. It doesn’t mean you would stop eating at Mickey Dees.
Some alternative grains we should take more advantage of in the future:
1) Amaranth. It is a “pseudo-grain” – like quinoa and buckwheat. It also has some ingredients, like Lysine, that are short in other grains, so it makes a good complement to them.
2) Barley. Great for beer, it doesn’t work so well for processing, but it is a great addition to stews and soups.
3) Buckwheat. Buckwheat is actually a fruit, but makes a tolerably good flour, and some varieties of buckwheat pancakes can be low carbohydrate.
4) Quinoa and Kañiwa. The former is making its way into the grocery store, and behaves somewhat like barley. They, along with Amaranth, were historical South American grains that supported empires.
5) Millet. Only a less popular type is grown in America, almost exclusively fed to animals, though different types are quite popular as a human food elsewhere. Its big advantage is that it grows in semi-arid regions with high temperatures, and has a short growing season. It is often blended with sorghum.
6) Oats. Definitely a common and pleasant grain that is seriously underused.
7) Rye. Not just for whiskey, it is a popular grain where it is cold and too wet for wheat. Still underused.
8) Sorghum. In the rest of the world, half of sorghum is consumed by people. In the US, almost all is used for animal fodder. Makes a good flour, and sorghum syrup is a good alternative to molasses.
9) Spelt. A now neglected sub-species of wheat that was harder to mechanically process, so went by the wayside. It is now regaining some popularity in Britain, tasting sort of like a lighter and sweeter variety of Rye, with a nutty flavor.
10) Teff. Pretty limited to Ethiopia, it has a lot of potential, especially with some selective breeding. It absorbs less common minerals from the ground, so makes a good complementary food. Somewhat like Quinoa, but with small seeds, so it cooks faster and with less fuel.
11) Wild rice. Actually not a rice, but a lake grass seed. It does make a good blend with other rices, though it is somewhat expensive compared to white rice.
12) Others. To include other, less common varieties of wheat and rice with different flavors and textures. While America produces almost exclusively long grain rice, short grain “sticky” rice is popular in Chinese restaurants. There is also medium grain rice, black “emperor” rice, and non-grain foods like chickpeas (hummus).
Just so you know your fact-based posts on any number of subjects are much appreciated. Is it all researched “pre-post” or just straight out of your brain? I expect its a little of both. Just curious. ;-)
Thanks!! I will look more closely at some of these - although I know I hate barley.
I love chick peas/hummus.
My daughter and her husband are starting a diary farm in upstate New York Otsdego County and I wonder if they could grow quinoa. They need a cash crop.