IVORY TEFF: Ancient Grain

Ancient Grain Becomes a Modern Staple Teff is a fine grain—about the size of a poppy seed—that comes in a variety of colors, from white and red to dark brown. It is an ancient grain from Ethiopia and Eritrea, and comprises the staple grain of their cuisines. Ground into flour, teff is used to make the traditional bread, injera: a flat, pancake-like, fermented bread that complements their exotic spices.While it grows predominantly in these African countries, with fertile fields and ecologically-sensitive farming methods, Idaho also produces some of the best quality Teff in the world. The Tiny Grain with Big Health Benefits: Teff leads all the grains – by a wide margin – in its calcium content, with a cup of cooked teff offering 123mg, about the same amount of calcium as in a half-cup of cooked spinach. Teff is high in resistant starch, a newly-discovered type of dietary fiber that can benefit blood sugar management, weight control, and colon health. It’s estimated that 20-40% of the