meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
The Food Programme

Ethiopian Teff - An Ancient Grain

The Food Programme

BBC

Food, Arts

4.4977 Ratings

🗓️ 16 September 2014

⏱️ 28 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Teff has been grown in Ethiopia for Millennia. Traditionally, it's ground, milled, mixed with water and fermented for days to make the sour staple flatbread injera.

Cultivation of this mysterious and tiny grain has been concentrated in Ethiopia for thousands of years. But now that's changing as the health-conscious Western world realise the nutritional secrets this crop might bestow.

In this edition of the Food Programme, Sheila Dillon meets UK entrepreneurs bringing foods, normally seen as Ethiopian to new diners, and speaks to experts to hear how the rise in popularity of teff is affecting the farmers back home.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

You don't need us to tell you there's a general election coming.

0:04.6

So what does it mean for you?

0:06.4

Every day on newscast we dissect the big talking points,

0:10.1

the ones that you want to know more about.

0:12.3

With our book of contacts, we talk directly to the people you want to hear from.

0:16.8

And with help from some of the best BBC journalists,

0:19.4

we'll untangle the stories that matter to you.

0:23.0

Join me, Laura Kunsberg, Adam Fleming, Chris Mason and Patty O'Connell for our daily podcast.

0:29.0

Newscast, listen on BBC Science. Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia is Boom City, a place where millionaires are created at a faster rate than in any other city in Africa.

0:48.0

But for all the new money and the skyscrapers that money has spawned, the heart of the place is still the most money. the heaving maze of alleyways and stalls where cars and donkeys jostle with hawkers,

1:06.0

dealers, sellers and thousands of shoppers.

1:09.0

Can I taste it?

1:11.0

The company is all?

1:12.0

But military? He thinks it's spicy.

1:17.0

Almost everything's on sale, including in its own distinct quarter, a simple grain that's been part of Ethiopian identity for millennia.

1:26.0

Teff, and why this tiny grain is so prized by Ethiopians, and now increasingly prized by the West is the story we're

1:35.6

about to tell.

1:36.6

Tef is the most important for any Ethiopian.

1:42.2

The basic is Teff.

1:43.4

In terms of cultural values and Teff is, I don't know, like whiskey and porridge oats to the Scots.

1:50.1

I see Teff coming out into the spotlight, of the shadows and it will be interesting to see how that trend takes off.

1:57.0

We're wishing it to be a household name.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.