Pseudocereals: Teff Characteristics and Properties as Novel Food Ingredient

Abstract

Teff is a pseudocereal native of East Africa that has been the basis crop of the local population diet over the centuries. The typical Ethiopian flat pancakes “injera” made with teff flour still a provides livelihood for around 6.5 million small farmers in the country. In recent years teff has also raised increasing interest in the Western world, in particular for its nutritional and environmental sustainability characteristics. Thanks to recent studies that evidenced its high nutritional value and technological properties also as an ingredient for the production of novel food products, industry and consumers are now appreciating its good sensory properties and important health benefits. This article illustrates the teff compositional, technological, and nutritional characteristics. After a historical introduction, the nutritional features and health issues associated with the crop consumption are presented. Finally, the issues related to environmental sustainability of teff production are described.