Sorghum in foods: Functionality and potential in innovative products

Figures & data

Table 1. Sorghum grain production in the 10 leading sorghum-producing countries globally from 2018 to 2021 (USDA-FAS 2021).

Country	Sorghum production ('000 metric tonnes)
	2018–2019	2019–2020	2020–2021
USA	9271	8673	9474
Nigeria	6721	6665	6900
Ethiopia	4932	5200	5200
Sudan	4953	4000	5000
Mexico	4700	4300	4500
India	3475	4733	3850
China	2909	3600	3550
Argentina	2500	2500	3200
Brazil	2177	2254	2100
Niger	2100	1970	1900

Table 2. Sorghum foods from around the world.

Food type	Food name	Country of origin	References
Part of the main meal	Couscous Annam (Sora) Kaoliang mi fan Lehata wagen Nufro Okababa	India & Sahel India China Botswana Ethiopia Nigeria	Ratnavathi and Patil 2013; Young et al. 1993; Worku, Woldegiorgis, and Gemeda 2015
Confectionary or sweet	Rawa laddu Kesari	India India	Ratnavathi and Patil 2013
Bakery products	Roti Bhakri Dosa Kisra Injera Mantou	India India India Sudan Ethiopia China	Ratnavathi, Seetharama, and Chavan 2008; Ratnavathi and Patil 2013; Bai and Liu 2010
Porridge	Sankati (Mudda or Kali) Kanji (Ambali) Bogobe Ogi Tô Nasha Aceda Ugali	India India Botswana Nigeria West Africa Sudan Sudan Uganda, Rwanda & Tanzania	Ali, Merra, and Malleshi 2003; Boling and Eisener 1981; Ratnavathi, Sailaja, et al. 2008; Tunde Obilana 1981; Mukuru, Mushonga, and Murthy 1981
Beverages	Rabadi Pito Baijiu Obiolor	India Nigeria & Ghana China Nigeria & Ghana	Hussain, Garg, and Pal 2014; Modha and Pal 2011; Djameh et al. 2015; Ajiboye et al. 2014
Breakfast	Upma Idli Noodles	India India China	Ratnavathi and Patil 2013
Snack foods	Popped sorghum	India	Mishra et al. 2015

Figure 1. Sorghum kernel structure. Reprinted from Earp, McDonough, and Rooney (2004) with permission from Elsevier.

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