Millet is a common name for a variety of different grains that originated in Africa and Asia. The millet we commonly find in the healthfood aisle is proso millet, which originated in Eastern Asia. Millet is high in protein, amino acids and B vitamins, and proso millet contains no gluten.
Amaranth was first cultivated in Mexico approximately 7,000 years ago. The plant produces leafy greens, and its seeds contain lysine, an essential amino acid, and have a protein content of up to 18 percent. Amaranth seed is much smaller compared to either millet or quinoa, and it is often combined with other seeds and grains in cereal, bread or baked goods.
10 grain cereal comes from Bob's Red Mill. The grains are stone ground so that their texture is coarse. The cereal includes hard red wheat, rye, triticale, oat bran and oats, corn, barley, soy beans, brown rice, millet and flaxseed.
Black onion seeds go by many different names - nigella seeds, kalonji, calonji, chernushka, black caraway. The seeds are triangular, opaque black and ressemble onion seeds, although they are unrelated to the onion family.
They are used in the northern regions of India, where they are sprinkled on top of Tandoori Nan. The seeds are also used in rye breads originating from Russia.
Quinoa is a native American grain, cultivated in South America about 8,000 years ago. Quinoa is naturally high in protein, up to 20 percent. It is also high in B vitamins, iron, zinc, potassium, calcium and vitamin E. Quinoa's germ, which is the protective layer that surrounds the seed, is thin and uniform. When cooked the germ separates from the seed and remains whole and crunchy. The seed, though, softens as it cooks.
Quinoa contains a bitter outer saponin coating. Oftentimes quinoa is processed so that most of the coating is removed. Quinoa should still be rinsed before cooking to remove any remaining coating.
Because the seed is soft, it can be easily milled into flour. It is more common these days to find quinoa flour in specialty food stores.
