Teff Takes Off
The ancient grain, a staple of Ethiopian cuisine, finds footing in the U.S.
Down the hall from a morning yoga class for seniors at the Ethiopian community center in South Seattle, Surafel Techane was in the commissary, setting up a food processor and assembling a handful of ingredients — almonds, cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, and a fragrant mix of Ethiopian spices — on a small stainless steel prep table.
Techane — a New York University undergrad studying business, home in Seattle for the summer — wasn’t there to prepare the post-yoga lunch for the seniors down the hall. He’s a budding entrepreneur producing Ethiopian-inspired energy bars to sell at farmers markets in Seattle.
The critical ingredient is teff, a highly nutritious ancient grain that’s unfamiliar to most Americans but culturally significant to Ethiopians. Despite its relative obscurity in U.S. food culture, teff is gaining recognition outside the traditional communities that have consumed it for generations. It is most often used to make injera, the spongy sourdough flatbread used both as a platter and utensil to scoop up the delicious, flavorful stewed meats, lentils, and greens commonly associated with Ethiopian cuisine.
“It’s a cool grain you can use in different ways, and I wanted to be someone who could be part of that…
