page_title: Teff
section_title: Uses
hierarchical_section_title: Teff / Uses
caption_attribution_description: English: Many Ethiopian families prepare and drink 'Tella', a traditional beverage a bit similar to beer during holidays and other celebrations. This photograph is of the few ingredients, 'Mashella' and 'Teff' used during preparations. This is an image of food from Ethiopia
context_page_description: Eragrostis tef, also known as teff, Williams lovegrass or annual bunch grass, is an annual grass, a species of lovegrass native to the Horn of Africa, notably what is today modern-day Ethiopia but also eaten in Eritrea. It was found in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. It is cultivated for its edible seeds, also known as teff.
context_section_description: Teff is a multipurpose crop which has a high importance for the Ethiopian diet and culture. In Ethiopia, teff provides two-thirds of the daily protein intake. It is not only important for human nutrition, but also as fodder for livestock, or as building material. Teff is the main ingredient to prepare injera, a sourdough-risen flatbread. During meals, it is often eaten with meat or ground pulses. Sometimes it is also eaten as porridge. Moreover, teff can be used to prepare alcoholic drinks, called arak'e or katikalla or beer, called t'ella or fersso. Finally, due to its high mineral content, teff is also mixed with soybeans, chickpeas or other grains to manufacture baby foods.
  According to a study in Ethiopia, farmers indicated a preference among consumers for white teff over darker colored varieties. As a nutritious fodder, teff is used to feed ruminants in Ethiopia and horses in the United States. It is a source of animal feed, especially during the dry season, and it is often preferred over straw of other cereals. Teff grass can be used as a construction material when mixed with mud to plaster the walls of local grain storage facilities.
caption: Teff (small grains) and sorghum (large grains), ingredients for tella
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