Hi, I'm growing foxtail millet. The problem is, I cant dehull it good. It either cracks or it is just intact. Does someone knows a solution? Greetings, Matis
Dehull? To save seeds cut the mature seed cluster from the stem... ..the mature seeds will be swollen and release easily from the cluster by simple rubbing. They are very small, roundish with pointed ends and light wheat color. Allow the seed head to dry for a few days to facilitate easy removal of the seeds. Putting a bag over the seed head helps against losing seeds. Once the seeds are released from the stem allow them to dry for a few more days before packing.
Oh I know how to do that. But after you've done that, you will have the seeds. And there is a hard coat on the seeds, which make them gritty after cooking. So I don't know how to remove those. I really like millet as a crop since it is capable of growing on poor soils and makes a good humus layer when not dug. But the hull annoys me and because of this I am not shure if I wil grow them again. Greetings Matis
Not the same plant, but this may help you. [video=youtube;e0hoAOWsR7U]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0hoAOWsR7U&feature=share&list=UUUnFheTbVpASikm0YPb8pSw[/video]
Hmm, I can't really do anything with that. There is a hull on the seed that is on every seed, and it's hard. So like a strong capsule over every seed. If you cook the seeds the hull is still on it, and they are gritty.
Oh for cooking! Allow the seed to soak in filtered water for 8 to 24 hours. This will make the millet easier for the body to digest by jump starting the enzyme process. Drain the millet and boil it in water. Use 2 to 2.5 cups of water for every cup of soaked millet. Your millet is ready when it changes from dark yellow to more of a pale yellow color. This can take 15 or more minutes, depending on how much you're cooking... ..at least this is my understanding of how to eat it. However, I am unsure how safe this is, I understand it messes with a persons thyroid pretty heavily and has been known to cause Hypothyroidism. Generally I grow this for my chooks.
Matis, removing the seed coat from millet is a pain. It's a nice grain and useful as a bird seed but for human use on a small scale other grains are easier to deal with. There are plenty of wheats, barleys and oats that are easy to thresh on a small scale. If you have to avoid the Pooideae sub-family of grains, corn is very easy to deal with. Even sorghum is probably easier to deal than millet.
I have an idea. Use 2 wooden plates. Glue a rubber sheet on them. Make a hole in 1 plate in the middle. Make a hollow handle. Put a cut bottle in it to lay the seeds in. Then move 1 plate over the other with a turning movement. The rubber will rub the millet/rice hulls off. Will this work?
I even have a better idea. I have a small but powerfull engine, so I can move the plate. And put weight on the plate on top.
I have a corn grinder- looks sort of like a meat grinder, I'm wondering if the removeable plate attached could have a rubber disc attached to it in order to rub rather than grind. I'm having similar problems dehulling Buckwheat.
There are some ideas online about how to dehull millet at home, but I'd probably try and find out what is done in parts of Africa, where millet has been a staple for a very long time. Is it a variety issue? Technical issue?
With a big wooden pestle, but I don't have a wooden one so I tried it with a stone pestle, I crushed the seeds, the ones that weren't crushed were intact...