Teff is a fine-grained annual cereal native to the Ethiopian highlands, where it has been a dietary staple for thousands of years. The grains are among the smallest of any cereal — roughly the size of a poppy seed — and come in colours ranging from white to dark brown. Teff is the key ingredient in injera, the spongy, slightly sour flatbread that is central to Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine.
Because the grain is so small, it is almost always used whole rather than refined, meaning teff flour retains the bran and germ. Teff is naturally gluten-free, which has driven growing international interest as an alternative grain for people avoiding wheat.
Outside Ethiopia, teff is now grown in small quantities in Australia, the United States, and parts of Europe. In Australia, it is available as whole grain and flour in health food shops and some supermarkets.
How it's produced
Teff is grown as an annual crop, traditionally sown by broadcasting seed onto prepared fields during the Ethiopian rainy season. The plant is fast-growing and relatively undemanding, tolerating both waterlogged and dry soils better than most cereals. It matures in as little as two to three months.
Harvesting is done by cutting the stalks and threshing the tiny grains free. The small grain size makes handling and processing more challenging than with larger cereals like wheat or rice. In Ethiopia, much of the production is still done by smallholder farmers using traditional methods. Commercial teff farming in Australia is concentrated in parts of New South Wales and South Australia, using conventional cereal farming equipment adapted for the small seed size.
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