Discover the versatility of sorghum in our February #GrainsExplorer Challenge 2024. Learn all about this gluten-free grain!
Sorghum: The Gluten-Free Grain You Need to Know About
Sorghum is a fascinating grain that is incredibly versatile and has a rich history. In this article, we will explore what sorghum is, how it is used, and the different types of sorghum available. Sorghum is a gluten-free ancient grain that offers a variety of nutritional benefits, making it a great addition to any diet.
From its origins to its modern-day uses, sorghum has a lot to offer. Whether you are looking for new grains to incorporate into your cooking or simply interested in learning more about ancient grains, sorghum is definitely worth exploring. Stay tuned to discover the many ways in which sorghum can be incorporated into your meals and why it has become a popular choice for those looking to diversify their grain intake.
Sorghum: The Golden Grain of the Gluten-Free World
It’s another video for our grains Explorer challenge for 2024 and for February our grain that we will be focusing on and exploring is sorghum hey y’all welcome back to grains and grit my name is Felicia and on this channel we talk all the things real whole grains from a Biblical perspective.
So as mentioned this video is kind of a meet the grain to introduce the grain that we are doing for the month of February that we’re exploring for our grains Explorer Challenge and if you’re not sure what that is it is a challenge that we are doing on this channel for 2024 so each month I’ll be introducing a grain and we’ll be focusing on that for.
That month so challenge yourself to actually use these grains and on the first Friday of every month is whenever a video comes out introducing you to the grain that month anyone can follow along but for the full adventure with a guide extra recipes extra videos and a huge community of fellow grainy be sure to join the grainy bunch in order to have.
The full adventure for yourself so for all the details about the grains Explorer Challenge and even to join the grainy Bunch just go to grains and grit.com grain Explorer for all those details some of y’all may be familiar with sorghum because it’s become a bit popular in um for the those who are.
Following a gluten-free diet because Orum is a gluten-free grain with many many benefits or maybe you’ve only heard of sorghum in re in regards to sorghum syrup well do not it actually is a grain and we’ll be exploring that today so what we’ll cover about sorghum is we’re going to do a general overview about sorghum and its history nutritional.
Benefits what sorum is used for the different types of sorghum that you can find and buy and then of course kind of an overview of how to use sorghum in your own kitchen first up let’s talk about the history and an overview of sorghum sorghum is believed to be one of the first domesticated grains it originates and archaeologists believe.
About 5,000 years ago in what we known as modern-day Sudan it was actually the staple grain for the kingdom of Alodia I believe it’s how it’s pronounced which was founded sometime after the kingdom of kush if you’re a cc parent you probably just had the Kush AER you know you know the kingdom of kush fell around 35080 is when this Empire.
Rose and then after that um that’s where they found archaeologists have found evidence of sorghum being that long ago and then we believe that it went from Africa spread up into India and China and then into Australia first known record of sorghum in the United States may actually surprise you she comes from Benjamin Franklin in 1757 who wrote.
About its application in broom production so as I mentioned it is an ancient grain but it’s also a naturally occurring gluten-free grain as well it’s actually the fifth most produced grain in the world with the United States being the top producer in fact we have What’s called the Sorghum belt here in the United States that consists of.
Kansas Texas Colorado Oklahoma and South Dakota Kansas being the number one producer of sorghum it is known its praise for being a sustainable crop and good for the environment and that is because that it is when used for feed every bit of it is actually used it’s drought resistant and able to be grown in harsh conditions where many other.
Plants would fail and its versatility and flexibility makes it not only available in the food and the feed industry but also in other Industries as well like building materials and packing peanuts and many other places now back in the 1960s sorghum was really threatened by mildew and other diseases that I’m not even going to try to.
Pronounce but fortunately scientists were able to produce a hybridization of sorghum to help combat these diseases and let us pause there for a second yes I said sorghum it’s hybridized I’m here to wait for all the Wheat Belly people the anti-heat people to now freak out about soron being hybridized oh wait nobody.
Okay moving on again if you’re not sure of if hyperz is good for us I’ve done a video for you I’ll link it up here last but not least it is also a non-GMO grain there is no genetically modified Sor gam or anything like that so it is gluten-free and ancient grain it has been hybridized like everything and surprisingly the United States is one of.
The top producers of it pretty cool right next up is the nutritional benefit of sorghum so on top of the typical whole grain benefits like highend B vitamins magnesium iron phosphorus pottassium as well as fiber so long it’s in its whole grain form is actually really high in antioxidants and it’s actually high in protein for a grain so.
About the fiber to kind of give you an idea half cup of cooked s sorum provides about 7 gram of fiber which is 25% of the daily recommended dose so an excellent way again to get in fiber as is most whole grains in its whole form but what it surprised me was actually that it was high in protein comparable to quinoa which is another grain we will.
Be exploring in the grains Explorer challenge this year a half cup of cooked sorghum which isn’t that much actually contains a whopping 11 grams of protein and if you’re not sure how much that is one large egg equals six grams of protein so for a little bit of this grain you can get the equivalent of two eggs in protein so if you’re wanting to.
Increase your amount of protein you love whole grains um or even plant-based and you’re looking for a higher plantbased food that’s high in protein this is a good one to use and of course another nutritional benefit is the fact that it is gluten-free so it is safe for those with celiac disease to or any other gluten allergy or gluten intolerant to.
Be able to eat and no problem there number three what sorghum is used for and this actually surprised me when I was doing the research about this grain so basically what it’s used for is the four big FS food Feed fod and Fuel yes fuel crazy enough 30 to 40% of the United States sorum production is actually used for ethanol and the reason.
Why this is praised is because it produces the same amount of ethanol per bushel of sorghum as other grains that are used but it uses a third less water so so it’s a little bit better for the environment that way the second thing that it’s used for is for food obviously you can eat it moving on third that it’s used for is for feed so it is actually.
Very prominent in animal feed be it Dairy um be it dairy animals cattle swine poultry and it’s also used for pet food as well um like dogs and fish Etc and it’s also used for fotter this is actually the stems and foliage are used for things like hay and various things like that um so that’s what makes it such a great crop to grow is because the.
Entire plant can actually be used for all the all the different things all right next up types of sorghum sold as in if you were to go buy sorgum what do you what what are your options out there so like quinoa it actually comes in many different colors but each color every color kind of has its own usage so it comes in white tan orange red bronze and.
Black varieties now here’s how that actually breaks down and how they’re typically used red orange and bronze sorghum is versatile to versatile enough to be used from animal feed all the way to regular human food and even to fuel tan cream and white grain um tends to be ground up and used for sorum flour for the food industry burgundy and black.
Sorghum are actually the highest in their antioxidants now a newer variety that was developed by Texas A&M is actually Onyx sorghum it’s related to the ancient black and high tannin sorghum varieties and it’s designed to be super high in antioxidants that was another fun fact there is a different colors kind of varries on what they’re.
How they’re used in in our markets today now let’s see what’s actually used in recipes so first of all you have the whole grain sorghum that has the Brin The Germ the endos sworm it is the whole grain sorum uh do note this is the type that we will be using for our grains Explorer challenge it’s your typical whole grain sorghum you also like Barley.
Have a pearled sorghum and just like barley that means that it’s been stripped of its brand and some of its germ and then finally y’all probably heard it before sorghum syrup comes from the stocks of sweet sorghum that is grown and it is the sweetener that is very similar to molasses in fact if you have a recipe that calls for molasses.
But you’re wanting to use sorum syrup it’s generally can be substituted a one toone substitute again what we’re using for the grains Explorer challenge is the whole grain sorghum um it can be found on Amazon Azure standard I’ve been told now has it back in stock whenever I was buying it they did not have it in stock and you may actually be able to find it.
At your local grocery store the same AIS as the quinoa and the B bulgar wheat now last but not least how to use sorghum again all the extra specific recipes videos all those things will be available to the grainy Bunch so y’all be sure to be checking that out if you’re my grainy but going to give you a few ideas to get you started on this.
Challenge first of all um sorghum can just be used as a replacement for rice or quinoa you just boil it up and then you can pop your mashed potatoes or gravy or whatever it is that you like um just treat it as you would rice or quinoa and sorghum can be used instead you of course can also Mill it into your own flour it’s actually very common to.
Find sorghum in gluten-free flour mixes and for those of you who have sucker’s hom ground flour cookbook there actually is a gluten-free Mix recipe in there that you can actually Mill yourself so for those of you if for whatever reason you are wanting or needing to be gluten-free I do recommend to make your own gluten-free mix by Milling those.
Grains yourself for the maximum benefit her cookbook actually does have a recipe using sorghum among other grains to make a gluten-free flour mix now you also can try to substitute sorghum in some of your recipes usually a one: one ratio when it’s calling for a wheat flour just know being a gluten-free grain it does not have that binding agent that gluten.
Gives you that’s why it usually has to be combined with something like xantham gum or corn starch so be mindful of that I would maybe start with muffins um things like that again I am just know I am pre-recording this before I’ve actually experimented myself to kind of get ahead so I experiment with you guys I’m walking this journey with y’all now.
The surprising thing about sorgum is you can actually pop it like popcorn which is crazy I’m so excited to try because I love love popcorn and I’m excited to actually pop sorghum myself to actually see how easy it is usually you just do it like you pop popcorn on the stove’s top so if you know how to do that pop it it is smaller I do know that.
Azure standard actually sells popped sorghum and it is it it’s pop sorghum in its whole grain form I’ve looked at the ingredients so you can check that out as well or just do it yourself at home but how cool is that and it’s more nutritional um and maybe even be easier on the stomach than typical popcorn and last but not least you can flake sorum.
Just like you do barley or oats and then you can use that in making your own type of hot cereal like o like equivalent to oatmeal um or you know throw it in your special granola recipe so there you go you have been introduced to sorum um again I just love researching all of these grains this has been such a great challenge for me to get out of my.
Comfort zone because I’ve literally had sorghum on my shelf for a while and I’ve never once used it um so I will definitely be having fun experimenting this month with this grain and I hope you do too again if you ever post any recipes or anything like that on social media be sure to tag me and use the hashtag grains Explorer.
So I can see your wonderful Creations if you have been following us thus far on a grains Explorer challenge let me know how it’s going in the comments below and be sure to check out here for the play list so you can jump in at any time during this year in 2024 to jump in and challenge yourself to explore new grains as always I hope youall have a wonderful.
Day and I will talk to y’all next week bye
