Popped Sorghum Balls
One of the more interesting offerings by Baker Creek is a sorghum variety whose seeds pop like popcorn. But, because they are smaller, the popped sorghum is only ¼ the size. One of Jeff’s early childhood memories is his family making popcorn balls out of sorghum syrup for holidays. On a whim we thought it would be fun to create miniature balls out of the tiny popped sorghum. We really liked the result, as the popped sorghum is a bit more flavorful that popped corn, and the tiny balls are just the right size for an after work snack. We freely adapted a dark syrup recipe based on molasses found in the 1946 edition of Irma Rombauer's The Joy of Cooking. 7 cups popped sorghum, sieved to remove unpopped grains Pop sorghum just as you would popcorn, being careful to always shake the pan so that the small grains won’t scorch. Because perhaps 1/3 of the grains won’t pop, we sieved ours through a steamer basket to reserve only fully popped grains for the balls. Unlike popcorn, unpopped sorghum is not hard and makes a wonderful nibble on its own right. We suspect they would be a wonderful addition to home-made granola.
Now make the syrup. Stir oil, sorghum, and sugar together in a heavy sauce pan. Heat gently, stirring constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. Stop stirring the mixture, and let come to 250° F. – or a medium soft-ball stage.
Pour hot syrup over the popped sorghum, and quickly stir to evenly distribute all the ingredients.
Form 2 tablespoon units into small balls as soon as the mixture is cool enough to handle. You'll need to work quickly to make sure that all the balls have been formed before the syrup cools and you may want all hands on deck at this stage.
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