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Sorghum's Food Characteristics
Functional/Health Food
- Gluten Free
- Antioxidant Dense
Other Attributes
- GMO Free
- Absorbs/Enhances Flavors
- Environmentally Friendly Production
Processing Possibilities
- Baked Goods
- Popped
- Malting
- Grits/Couscous
- Chips
Nutrional Information
Source: USDA
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Nutrient Per 100 g Serving
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Sorghum
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Corn
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HRW Wheat
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Durum Wheat
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| Total Calories |
339
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365
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327
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339
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| Calories from Fat |
29.70
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42.66
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13.86
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22.23
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| Total Fat (g) |
3.30
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4.74
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1.54
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2.47
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| Saturated Fat (g) |
0.457
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0.667
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0.269
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0.454
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| Protein (g) |
11.3
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9.42
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12.61
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13.68
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Recipes
From muffins and bread to chocolate chip cookies and pizza, you will be sure to enjoy gluten-free recipes.
Where to Buy Food Sorghum
Please e-mail or call us if you would you like to link your company's grain sorghum-based food products.
About Food Sorghum
By definition, food sorghums are varieties of grain sorghum that contain a white berry, have a tan glume and are grown on a tan plant (white/tan/tan sorghums). Yellow and red sorghums do not qualify as food sorghums. Some varieties of cream color grain sorghums are also excluded.
White/tan/tan sorghums have a bland taste that is synergistic with other flavors. It has limited wilting characteristics in cereal and produces a white meal or white flour. Portions of the food quality sorghums are currently being used in snack food applications in the U.S. and Japan.
The whole or decorticated kernels of the white/tan/tan sorghums can be extruded, flaked, popped, puffed and micronized to produce ingredients in snacks, granola cereals, granola bars, baked products, dry snack cakes and other products.
White/tan/tan sorghums can be used as a substitute for wheat flour in a variety of baked products including cookies, breads and other related products. Sorghum flour is being used as a wheat flour substitute by replacing up to 50% of the wheat, without affecting texture and flavor, in several commercial bakeries.
Because grain sorghum does not contain the same gluten as wheat, it can replace wheat as baking flour for people who need a wheat gluten-free diet. Applications for gluten-free diets are Celiac-Sprue Disease, and autism. Currently, research into diverse health applications for grain sorghum is under way.
White/tan/tan sorghums are high in insoluble fiber with relatively small amounts of soluble fiber. The protein and starch components of grain sorghum are more slowly digested than other cereals and slow the rate of digestion for products made from white/tan/tan sorghums. Slower rates of digestibility are particularly beneficial for diabetics.
Many populations in Africa and India have consumed sorghum for thousands of years. Their cultures actually developed the original white/tan/tan sorghums for making porridges and flat pancakes. The darker sorghums are not used in this ancient market.
There are many other health characteristics currently being researched and we are on the verge of re-discovering their true benefits.
The National Sorghum Producers Certified Food Sorghum program identifies the varieties approved for food in the United States. Each variety is grown, tested and certified through this program.
Scientific Journal Cites Sorghum's Antioxidant Properties
Tannins, the substances that are most commonly found in red wine and tea, are also found in some types of grain sorghum. These tannins also contain compounds that are called antioxidants. Antioxidants are those compounds that protect against cell damage which are caused by molecules called oxygen-free radicals, which are a major cause of disease and aging. In fact, according to a publication in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, some types of sorghum contain antioxidant levels equivalent to or in some cases even higher than blueberries, which are considered the gold standard for antioxidant levels.
Ironically, we have tried for years to remove high tannin sorghum from US sorghum hybrids due to their negative effect on feed efficiency and weight gain in animals, and we have worked hard to isolate these sorghums from the mainstream of our grain industry, says Dr. Jeff Dahlberg, NSP Research Director.
But, in the last couple of years, research results on sorghum tannins have appeared in several important health and chemistry journals.
As Americans become more concerned about their health and what they are eating, specialty sorghums that contain high levels of antioxidants could become important sources of ingredients for use in functional, healthy foods, says Dahlberg. We are also learning more about how regular, non-tannin sorghums may be healthier for you as well, he adds, noting that sorghum starch may take longer to digest than other cereals, and this has positive implications for diabetics. We are also a gluten-free cereal, and this makes sorghum a good choice for a wheat flour substitute in individuals unable to digest glutena condition known as celiac-sprue, adds Dahlberg.
Restaurateur/Food Writer Jesse Cools Grain Sorghum Dish, Experiences Featured at Sorghum
Industry Conference in Albuquerque
Populations in Africa and India have grown and consumed grain sorghum for thousands of years, but many U.S. grain sorghum farmers consumed the gluten-free, non-transgenic, grain for the first time during the 2003 Sorghum Industry Conference in Albuquerque, when they sampled a dish prepared by California-based restaurateur and food writer Jesse Cool. Cool is one of the first chefs to feature grain sorghum in the U.S. and is helping NSP promote the healthy grain's advantages and possibilities.
Grain sorghum is a drought-tolerant, versatile grain with many varieties, some of which can be used in the cereal, snack food, baking and brewing industries. These and other varieties of grain sorghum have traditionally been used in the U.S. for feed, petfood and ethanol.
Consumers who know about grain sorghum can't wait to sink their teeth into products made from the grain due to its antioxidant content and other health benefits, including its absence of wheat-type glutens thought to aggravate celiac sprue and other wheat gluten allergies.
NGSP is working with food and health opinion leaders such as Cool to help U.S. consumers re-discover the benefits of this healthy, earth-friendly grain, while increasing markets and profitability for grain sorghum farmers. She discussed her experiences and views on grain sorghum just before a luncheon that featured a grain sorghum salad prepared from one of Cools recipes. Additionally, grain sorghum flour-based waffles were part of a breakfast buffet served each morning during the conference.
Public and private research efforts continue to work on improving white, food-type sorghum varieties both from a yield and processing standpoint. Food-type grain sorghum is a comparable substitute for other carbohydrate sources, and starch found in grain sorghum is similar to that of corn. When milled into flour with natural additives, sorghum flour can be substituted for wheat flour in baking.
Nutritionally, grain sorghum is comprised of 11.3 percent protein and 3.3 percent fat. Breads produced with grain sorghum bran can provide approximately five grams of dietary fiber per 56 gram slice. Food-type sorghum is high in insoluble fiber with relatively small amounts of soluble fiber. The protein and starch in grain sorghum are more slowly digested than other cereals, and slower rates of digestibility are particularly beneficial for diabetics.
Antioxidant rich sorghum varieties currently being studied offer high levels of phenols and tannins, which are two compounds that have been linked to cancer prevention and improved cardiovascular health. Early results from studies being conducted by two independent labs suggest that certain grain sorghum varieties may be a powerhouse of cancer-fighting, heart-healthy compounds on par with blueberries and cranberries.
But, for consumers, finding grain sorghum products on the grocery shelf can be a challenge. NGSP currently is working with the food industry to introduce food products made from grain sorghum.
Grain sorghum produces bland-tasting flour that takes on other flavors very well, and flakes made with the grain tend to stay crunchy in milk. Grain sorghum kernels can be extruded, steam-flaked, popped, or puffed to produce snacks, granola cereals, granola bars, baked products, dry snack cakes and other products. One of the largest snack chip makers in Japan began test marketing a product made from sorghum in Tokyo convenience stores.
Grain sorghum, also known as a water-sipping, rather than water-guzzling camel-crop, allows farmers to use one-third less water than similar crops such as corn because sorghum has the unique ability to go into a more efficient, low-water-use mode as necessary.
NSP has initiated a program to identify sorghum varieties for various purposes such as food, and fuel (ethanol). By definition, food-type sorghum varieties contain white berries with tan-colored plant parts and glumes, or the husk that surrounds the berry. Yellow and red grain sorghumand even some varieties of cream-colored grain sorghumdo not qualify as food-type grain sorghum, but can be used for traditional feed or ethanol processing.
NSP represents U.S. grain sorghum producers nationwide. Headquartered at Lubbock, Texas, in the heart of a U.S. grain sorghum belt that stretches from the Rockies to the Mississippi River and from South Texas to South Dakota, the organization works to increase the profitability of grain sorghum production through market development, research, education, and legislative representation.
Jesse Cool is the proprietor of three restaurants: Flea Street Caf and jZcool Eatery & Catering Company in Menlo Park, California, and the Cool Caf at the Stanford University Cantor Arts Center. She has authored five cookbooks and written articles for many magazines, including Cooking Light, Food & Wine, and Shape. She has served as spokesperson for eight organizations and programs, including Stanford University Medical School, Stanford Cardio-vascular Nursing School, Second Harvest Food Bank, Small Planet Foods, and Ecumenical Hunger Program. She has made many television appearances, including segments on the Discovery Channel, Fox Network, Food Network, Bay TV, and PBS.
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