How Do You Cook with Sorghum?

If Americans are familiar with sorghum as an edible plant, they probably know it as sorghum syrup.

This is a molasses-like sweetener that is still used on pancakes, grits, "mush," and other hot cereals. It's a good source of manganese, magnesium, copper, zinc, vitamin B6, and potassium. It has real nutritional value, but as a source of sugar it is primarily an energy source.

Sorghum grain has many more uses. Here are just a few:

• Four parts of sorghum flour added to one part of tapioca starch (not tapioca flour) and one part of potato starch (not potato flour) makes a gluten-free flour substitute that can be used for cookies and cakes that don't require a "stretchy" dough. This can be used for brownies, quick breads and American-style (savory) biscuits, and gluten-free pizza dough, as well as cinnamon rolls. It doesn't have the gritty texture of some other gluten-free flours.
• Popped sorghum (similar to popcorn) serves as a crunchy topic for creamy soups.
• You can use sorghum to make gluten-free tabouli salad.
• Steamed sorghum kernels go well with steamed green beans and walnuts or almonds.
• Steamed sorghum kernels match radish and steamed asparagus.
• Chilled grilled vegetables with feta make a hearty salad with steamed sorghum grain.
• Steamed whole grain sorghum adds flavor and stick-to-your-ribs caloric content to Greek salads made with feta, tomatoes, cucumbers, dill, and olives.
• A combination of steamed sorghum and sweet corn can be used to stuff bell peppers for a change from rice and meat mixtures.

Sorghum is also the grain most often used to make gluten-free beer. In North America and the UK, brewers depend on sorghum to make Redbridge, New Planet Tread Lightly Blond Ale, Bard's Tale Dragon's Gold, Dogfish Head Tweason' Ale, Green's Discovery English Amber Ale, among others. Other brands use the traditional barley with the gluten extracted from it to make a more traditional-tasting beer, but sorghum beers have fruit and berry notes that aren't found in beers made with any other grain.

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• Steamed sorghum grain, black beans, quinoa, and avocado are a tasty alternative to quinoa bowls.
• Sorghum grain can be served warm with apple, fennel, and/or kohlrabi.
• Cranberries, ginger, and sorghum make an interesting hot cereal. Sweeten to taste with sorghum syrup.
• Add precooked sorghum to your pecan pie.
• Sorghum syrup makes a great glaze for steamed carrots.
• Sorghum syrup and butter whipped at room temperature (preferably in a chilled bowl) make sorghum butter, which can be used as an ingredient in baked goods or as a sweetener for sweet potatoes or nuts. Cinnamon, cloves, and/or maple syrup add depth of flavor to the sorghum butter.
• Steamed sorghum grain is a good side dish for chicken or pork.
• Steamed sorghum grain can be added to stir-fries.
• Add steamed sorghum grain to Brunswick stew or burgoo.

Sorghum is also the main ingredient in high-quality (and not-so-high-quality) gluten-free beers. Popular brands of gluten-free beers that depend on sorghum for their mash include Redbridge by Annheuser-Busch, New Planet Tread Lightly Blond Ale, Bard’s Tale Dragon’s Gold Brown Ale, Dogfish Head Tweason’Ale (which has a fruit flavor), and Green's Quest Belgian Treipel. Sorghum beers don't taste quite as "beer like" as beers that are made with barley that has had the gluten removed, but they and fruit and berry flavors that aren't found in any other beers.