Millet is native to the Yellow River Basin in northern China, Inner Mongolia and Northeast China, mainly concentrated in Chifeng and Tongliao. China was the main grain crop in ancient times, so Xia and Shang Dynasties belonged to "millet culture". Millet grows drought-tolerant, and there are many varieties, commonly known as "millet is colorful", including white, red, yellow, black, orange and purple millet and sticky millet. The earliest wine in China was also made from millet. Millet is suitable for growing in arid areas without irrigation. Its stems and leaves are hard and can be used as feed. Generally, only large livestock such as cattle, horses and sheep can digest them.

There is also a kind of imperial millet originated in Africa, also called "Pearl millet", which is often confused with millet in English.

Huang Zhai Town, Yangqu County

Empress Dowager Xiang Xiaomi (also known as dryland millet). Yangqu County, located in Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province, is a typical hilly dry farming area, which is suitable for the production of small miscellaneous grains. There are many varieties and large areas of minor grains. It is a major county of minor grains in history and a well-known "minor grains kingdom". In August, 2009, the millet produced locally is rich in five vitamins needed by human body, which is higher than that of similar products in other places.

It is said that in the 26th year of Guangxu reign of Qing Dynasty, Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Beijing, and Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu fled to Xi 'an, which was called "the inaugural ceremony of the boxer in the west". One day I went to the ground of Yangqu in Shanxi, which was at noon, but it was time to have meals. The empress dowager ordered Li Lianying, the general manager of Ouchi, to find an inn and arrange for him to stay there. Soon, manager Li reported back to the queen mother, and when everything was finished, he asked the queen mother to move to have dinner with the emperor. When the shopkeeper of the restaurant saw that it was the queen mother and the emperor, how dare he neglect and clean up the dining tables? Endless delicacies and birds and animals. Who knows that Taitai's back is as heavy as water, and he doesn't move chopsticks. Just say that the emperor has meals, and there is no need to mourn for his family! At that time, the shopkeeper of the restaurant was sweating like a pulp and trembling, and I didn't know why. Hurriedly went to find the red man around the Queen Mother, and Li Lianying, the manager of Ouchi, went to ask a careful question. What was the bad service? As for this? Li Lianying told the story, but you didn't know that Galeries Lafayette today doesn't use so many fishy smells, and the chef's cooking is very light. When the shopkeeper heard this, he had a brainwave and quickly told the kitchen to cook a good millet porridge and present it to the Queen Mother. The queen mother was puzzled and said, what is this? One of the entourage, a physician, got up and said, The Queen Mother didn't know that this millet, formerly known as millet, is cool and sweet, so it can be used to cook porridge, feed the abdomen, replenish deficiency and open the stomach. It also has the effect of protecting face, and it is really a specialty of Shanxi and a good thing in Shanxi. When the Queen Mother heard this, she looked at it repeatedly, but she saw that the millet porridge was bright and lustrous, and Huang Chengcheng was golden and lovely. It is really different from ordinary millet. At present, the index finger moves greatly, and it is very sweet to use. After the meal, the day after tomorrow, Yan Dayue, the shopkeeper of the restaurant, presented him with five hundred taels of sycamore, and listed the local millet as a tribute, which was cultivated for generations and paid tribute every year. So there is today's "Empress Dowager Xiang" millet. Later generations have a poem to praise this story:

The Empress Dowager of the Golden Millet Fragrance once tasted the round beads and let out the glow.

I don't envy Yi Ya's taste and admire Li Shen's busyness, but now the queen mother is famous all over the world.

Nanfang village

Guangling Xiaomi has a nice name: Dongfang Liang. Oriental Bright Millet has been well-known in Beijing since it was dedicated to the court in Xuande period of Ming Dynasty, and has always been the "Gong Mi" of the court. During the reign of Emperor Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty, it was said that diligent Emperor Kangxi used "Gong Mi" to boil rice soup to drive away tiredness every time he read official documents in the middle of the night, until the East turned white, hence the name "Oriental Bright". "Dongfang Liang" millet is bright and clean with golden color. After boiled into millet porridge, it is sticky, smooth, mellow and delicious. After local women give birth to children, millet porridge is often regarded as the best tonic. If any new mother doesn't have enough milk and is not good enough, then the woman who is waiting for the next month is not accused of not cooking enough millet porridge and not being good enough. For hundreds of years, Guangling people have always entertained distinguished guests with oriental bright millet and drank a bowl of sweet millet porridge, which made them feel refreshed. When guests say goodbye, they always scoop bowls of good millet from the jar, so that distant guests can bring mellow and sweet taste to all corners of the country.

1937 After the Lugouqiao Incident, the 359th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army 120 Division was stationed in Guangling. In order to encourage the soldiers to fight against the Japanese aggressors, the local people cooked small rice every day to receive the soldiers and cooked it into rice soup to feed the eighth route army wounded sent down from the front. In the eight-year-long War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, millet is the main food for the soldiers and civilians in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei base area, and Oriental bright millet has become the best witness of the fish and water situation of the soldiers and civilians. In the magnificent myth of "millet plus rifle", Guangling millet has become the strongest and most gorgeous touch. In 1950s, farmers in Nanfang Village (the original landmark protection area of Oriental Bright Rice) brought Oriental Bright Rice into Zhongnanhai for the first time, which was approved by Mao Zedong, then head of state.

In 2003, Guangling Xiaomi was certified as a green food. In 2008, Guangling Xiaomi was selected as the special rice for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games through the examination of the Olympic Organizing Committee, and once again entered Zhongnanhai.

mamiao town

Ma Po Jingu Xiaomi (also known as Mamiao Jingu and Jinxiang Xiaomi) is a famous specialty in Mamiao Town, Jinxiang County, Jining City, Shandong Province, and a geographical indication protection product of agricultural products in China, which is known as one of the famous rice in China. Mamiao Jingu rice is golden in color, sticky and delicious, hanging but not floating, not greasy, and smooth in entrance, which can coagulate rice oil layers many times. Its rice oil is extremely rich in nutrition and is known as "Daishen Decoction". Commonly known as "can pick seven layers of skin." Known as one of the "thirteen eccentrics" in history. Kangxi period in Qing Dynasty was listed as a tribute. 1959 National Day 10 anniversary, Premier Zhou used "golden rice" to entertain foreign guests. 1996 mamiao town was named "the hometown of golden valley in China" by the Ministry of Agriculture.

Ma Po Jingu (also known as Mamiao Jingu) is rich in nutrition. According to the determination, the starch content is 66.85%~69.76%, the protein content is11.2% ~13.4%, and the fat content is 4.5%~5.85%, which is slightly higher than the ordinary one. The content of protein and fat is higher than that of rice and flour. Eight kinds of amino acids necessary for human body are rich in content and coordinated in proportion. Such as lysine 0.22% ~ 5.24%, methionine 0.4%, tryptophan 0.25%, leucine1.87%, threonine, isoleucine and valine 0.42% ~ 2.88%. The content of vitamins is also rich, and the content of crude fiber is the lowest among several major food crops. It is a nourishing product for lying-in women, children and the elderly.

Ma Po Jingu and Premier Zhou Enlai

Zhou Enlai's nephew Zhou Baozhang 196 1 had a New Year's Eve with the Prime Minister in the West Flower Hall. On that day, the Prime Minister invited relatives, staff and their families in Beijing to the West Flower Hall, and even adults and children crowded the West Flower Hall, and three tables were fully set. Everyone was seated, only to see the staff serving steaming buns and Huang Chengcheng Jingu millet porridge. So the New Year's Eve banquet began. After a burst of applause, the Prime Minister greeted everyone with a big smile and thanked everyone for their hard work for a year. Deng Yingchao, the host of the banquet, said meaningfully, "Why do you invite everyone to eat millet porridge and steamed buns today? First, because the China revolution was made by millet and rifles; Second, this millet is not ordinary millet, but Jingu millet in Jinxiang County, Shandong Province, the first of the four famous millet in China. Jingu millet has always been a tribute, and it is rare to taste. Why do you eat steamed stuffed buns? It is because China * * * Producer Party and Chairman Mao led us to overthrow three big mountains and build a new China. People's lives have improved, so we can eat meat buns today. We cannot forget the kindness of China * * * Producer Party and Chairman Mao. " As soon as Deng Yingchao's words were finished, applause immediately sounded in the hall. 1959 When the People's Republic of China 10 celebrated, Premier Zhou used "golden rice" to entertain foreign guests.

Allusions of Ma Po Jingu and Kangxi;

1684, Kangxi and Zhang Yushu, the illegitimate son of Shangshu, made a private visit to the south, and passed by Ma Po area of Mamiao (Mengzhuang). It was already midnight, and almost all the villagers closed their doors to sleep. Only a farmhouse in the east of Zhuangdong was still lit, and Emperor Kangxi, riding a white horse, ordered his entourage to open the door of that family. The hospitable farmhouse let Emperor Kangxi stay at home, and the hostess cooked a bowl of millet porridge for him. The origin of Jingumi was also named Bai Mapo because Emperor Kangxi was riding a white horse.

Shishe town

Shishe Township, located 40 miles southeast of Qingyang City, is rich in millet and is known as "Shishe Golden Millet", which is well-known throughout the country.

Millet has been cultivated in Dong Zhi's original place for thousands of years. Millet, called "grain" in ancient times. Shuowen said: "Wo, Jia Gu also. Born in February, mature in August, and in the middle of time, it is called the grain. " Or millet, which later refers to cereal crops. In fact, peeling is called millet, that is, millet today.

Shishe Township's topography is inclined to be high in the northwest and low in the southeast. In spring, it is less affected by the north wind, with sufficient sunlight, the ground temperature rises rapidly, and the land is fertile, so the soil organic matter content is particularly suitable for millet growth. The yield of Shishe millet is not high, but its quality is excellent.

Shishe Xiaomi, with its golden-bead-like Huang Liang color and round and full particles, gives people a beautiful vision and is loved by everyone. More importantly, its nutritional value is higher than that of millet in other places. According to the analysis of National Grain Testing Center and Gansu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the nutritional indexes of Shishe millet are: protein14% ~16%, fat 3% ~ 4.6%, soluble starch 37%, carotene 0. 12%, VB0.99%, and/kloc.

The porridge boiled by Shishe millet is orange-yellow, the snowflake-like rice grains are evenly suspended and sticky, and the bright rice cream oil floats on the floor. Smell the aroma and make people feel very sweet. If you put some red adzuki beans, stew them into millet porridge, and then eat them with salted leeks pickled by farmers, the taste is better, the aftertaste is endless, it is easy to digest, suitable for all ages, and it has the effect of medicinal diet.

Shishe Xiaomi has a long reputation. According to legend, after Jiajing, Shishe Xiaomi has been a tribute to the palace, and it has been enjoyed by the royal family and the country, making Shishe Xiaomi famous in China. With the progress of the times, the development of food science and the improvement of people's living standards, people attach great importance to the pharmacological effects of millet, and the edible value of Shishe millet has been sublimated. Millet has the effects of nourishing yin, removing dampness, invigorating spleen, stimulating appetite, calming and sleeping, nourishing liver and promoting blood production, etc. Especially, drinking a bowl of millet porridge before going to bed at night for the elderly is easy to digest, and can promote sleep, improve sleep quality and ensure energy in the future.

In the early stage of millet production, industrious and intelligent working people could not make a scientific analysis of the nutritional value and pharmacological effects of millet, especially Shishe millet, but they had practical experience and summary. I don't know when and when it will be passed down, but whenever a pregnant woman is confined to a confinement, her mother-in-law should cook rice porridge with assorted millet as much as possible, bake some dry hoes and let her daughter-in-law eat and drink. It is believed that millet porridge is easy to digest and rich in nutrition, so maternal milk can be produced quickly and with high quality, which can make babies strong and willing to grow. In addition, millet gruel can also nourish the liver and replenish blood for pregnant women, and the body will recover quickly. In this way, Shishe Xiaomi has become a unique product in Xiaomi with its outstanding edible value, and it has also become a necessary gift for Shishe people to entertain and give gifts to relatives and friends.

During the revolutionary war years, the people of Shishe sent the best millet to the front to comfort the people's soldiers, and many central leaders also ate Shishe millet at that time. After liberation, Geng Biao, Zhang Caiqian and others came to Qingyang for inspection, and they didn't forget to bring Xiaomi with them when they left.

As early as the 1970s, with the assistance of relevant scientific research departments, Shishe Township began to further improve and popularize millet in a large area. Today, with the rapid development of commodity economy, the adjustment of industrial structure has been paid great attention to, and the production and processing of Shishe millet has been gradually pushed to industrialization and commercialization. The planting scale of Shishe millet has gradually expanded, new and superior varieties have been popularized rapidly, and farmers' planting income has been increasing. Today, Shishe Xiaomi has appeared in the commodity markets inside and outside the region with better quality, exquisite packaging and thoughtful service, and has become a popular commodity that people are scrambling to buy.

Qin county

"Qinzhouhuang" millet, which is produced in Qinxian County, Changzhi City, Shanxi Province, is the most famous millet in China. Qinxian County is located in the deep part of the mountain, which is especially suitable for the growth and development of millet because of its special geography and climate. Therefore, "Qinzhouhuang" is rich in flavor, and the contents of plant fat, soluble sugar, crude fiber and protein are better than ordinary millet and rice. Regular consumption of this rice can treat spleen and stomach weakness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, etc., and also has the functions of nourishing yin, strengthening yang, clearing away heat, diuresis, etc., and has certain preventive and inhibitory effects on hypertension, dermatosis and inflammation. People with kidney disease should eat straight and often, and those with spleen and stomach deficiency should eat for a long time.

"Qin Zhou Huang" is also called "Wu Ge Lao", because Wu (Wang Dian), a great scholar who was an official in the dynasty during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, first discovered it and got this nickname. Qinzhou Yellow is not only golden in shape, delicious in taste, but also rich in nutrition. After identification by relevant departments, it contains more fat, protein and soluble sugar than ordinary millet. It is known as the "four famous rice" in China, together with Jinmi in Jinxiang County, Shandong Province, Longshan Rice in Zhangqiu County and Taohua Rice in Yuxian County, Hebei Province. Therefore, it is often exhibited in Beijing Agricultural Exhibition Hall, and has also won favorable comments at Guangzhou Fair and India International Expo.

In the southeastern part of Shanxi, there is a saying among the people: "Gold beads, gold beads king, gold beads will not be exchanged for Qinzhou yellow." Qinxian County in the southeast of Shanxi Province was called Qinzhou in ancient times. "Qinzhou Yellow" is a kind of millet produced here, which is small in grain and golden yellow, and is called "golden bead" by local people. It is the most special variety in the millet family, and it is precious because it refuses to be exchanged with real golden beads.

According to legend, 300 years ago, the people were in a state of chaos, and even the monks and ordinary people in the temple had no time to give evidence. In the ancient temple on Tanshan Mountain in Qinzhou, there lived a monk and several of his disciples, all of whom were suffering people. In order to produce food for a living, they reclaimed the barren hillside nearby and planted "rough valleys". Unexpectedly, after several years of domestication, the kind of rough grain has undergone magical changes, becoming beige and sallow, with round particles, crystal clear and bright, soft and fragrant. Unusually, this kind of rice is used to cook porridge, and rice grains are not hung on the side of the pot, and the food is chewed more and more fragrant when it is stuffy and steamed, hence the name "climbing the mountain rough". Wu Gelao, an official in the DPRK, heard that there was a "rough mountain climbing" in his hometown, so he wanted to taste it himself and confirm it. After he tasted it in Honolulu Temple, he really liked it, so he changed the name of "Rough Mountain Climbing" to "Qinzhou Yellow" and brought it back to the palace to pay tribute to Emperor Kangxi, who loved it very much. Empress Dowager Cixi also likes to eat eight-treasure porridge cooked with "Qinzhou Yellow". Since then, "Qinzhou Yellow" has gained great fame, becoming a tribute almost every year for the imperial court to enjoy.

The variety of Qinzhouhuang is special, because it has strong soil selectivity, and it is only suitable for growing in barren and arid land in mountainous areas. It is concentrated in more than ten natural villages such as Tanshan, Wangchao, Shishi, Chaogou and Dongzhuang, and cultivated on about 1333 hectares of land, with a yield of about 1500 kg per hectare. The introduction of Qinzhou yellow in other places will be completely degraded every other year.

Fenzhouxiang produced in Fenyang City is also a very good variety, with full grains, good taste and golden color. It is a millet variety planted in Shanxi Province. Millet is widely produced in central and northern Shanxi, but especially in mountainous areas. Local women often drink millet porridge every day when they are confinement to tighten their bodies.

Lu Cun Huang Xiao mi

On February 7th, 2009/KLOC-0, after "Visiting the Twin Family" filmed by CCTV's ten sets of "Approaching Science" was broadcast, after testing the water, soil and other related substances in Lucun village, it was found that the folic acid content in the essential millet in Lucun people's daily diet was very high, which was many times higher than other cereals. Studies have shown that women who take folic acid are nearly twice as likely to have twins as women who don't. As a result, Lucun and its Xiaomi earned their eyeballs, hence the name Lucun Xiaomi.

Lucun yellow millet is produced in red soil in Zezhou County, Jincheng City, Shanxi Province. The unique soil conditions, suitable temperature difference and sunshine make this product have the characteristics of high folic acid content, bright yellow color and full granules. According to the latest inspection and appraisal by the Grain Testing Center of the Ministry of Agriculture, all kinds of nutritional components are higher than ordinary millet, especially the folic acid content is higher than other millet, which is a good food supplement for pregnant women, infants and middle-aged and elderly people.