Eragrostis tef

Teff

Family Gramineae (or Poaceae)

Eragrostis tef (= E. abyssinica), teff (E. tef 1)., is an annual grass, 40-80 cm tall, with erect culms and loose open panicles with long slender branches (E. tef 2). The grains are extremely small.

Distribution
Ethiopia is the only country where teff is grown as a cereal from time immemorial. It has been introduced into many warm countries, but has never been adopted as a cereal outside Ethiopia. It did achieve some importance as a hay crop in South Africa.

Use
Teff is ground into flour and used to make a sort of pancake, which forms the basic diet. As it hardly contains any gluten, it is not usable for making leavened bread.

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