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A tiny cereal grain from Ethiopia and Eritrea called teff is quickly gaining steam as an ingredient with chefs and consumers looking for healthy and sustainable ingredients — especially as climate change and disruptive weather threatens mainstream wheat crops.
The teff market is expected to grow 11% annually, from $1.5 billion in 2023 to $3.5 billion in 2030, according to market research firm IndustryARC. Much of that growth is being driven by an increased demand for gluten-free products and an expansion in teff cultivation worldwide.
Teff is an ancient grain believed to have been domesticated around 4000 and 1000 BCE. It can thrive in a variety of environments. It has been cultivated for thousands of years in Ethiopia, and is the main ingredient in injera, a spongy, pancake-like flatbread with a slightly sour flavor that is a mainstay of the national cuisine.
According to the United Nations, teff consumption accounts for two-thirds of the protein intake in the Ethiopian diet. In addition to injera, teff is also eaten as a porridge or feed, but as interest grows, food producers are finding new ways to use teff.
While 90% of the world’s teff crops are still grown in Ethiopia, farmers in North America, including Idaho, India, Australia and Europe have begun cultivating the grain. In the U.S., brands like Bob’s Red Mill and Maskal sell teff flour and grain.
Naturally gluten-free, teff seeds may be red, white or brown. They’re rich in protein, fiber and manganese, and contain moderate amounts of thiamin, phosphorus, iron, magnesium and zinc. Teff contains a lot of the attributes that are in demand by consumers these days. It is infused with iron, magnesium, fiber, calcium and protein and is gluten-free. Farmers in the Western U.S. tout its favorable environmental footprint compared to other grains, such as its low water use, as well as its ability to be rotated with other crops.
Teff is a hearty plant that could thrive and provide a more sustainable food source as climate change makes farming more challenging in some areas. In addition to being a nutritional powerhouse, it can be grown in diverse climates from sea level to high altitudes, and tolerate both drought and flood conditions.
Awareness of teff is expanding as advocates including American teff farmers and celebrity chefs like Marcus Samuelsson, a native of Ethiopia raised in Sweden, tout its benefits. Samuelsson recently highlighted the hardiness of the teff plant in a changing climate and ways he has used teff flour in recipes at home and at his restaurants for pancakes and biscuits.
Yet while interest is growing, teff is still not an ingredient in the mainstream.
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