SORGHUM

Perhaps because it is turning cold, and I am fascinated by hibernation and the self-regulation of personal fat stores, I find my first choice of conversation to be Sorghum. . . or sweet sorghum,  to be more specific. Once a domestic competitor to its sister grass, sugarcane, sweet sorghum was the darling of the American South and its Midwest neighbors from around 1850 through the very early 20th Century .  Drought resistant, competitive, and  tough-as-nails, the sweet sorghum grass only yields its 20 or so percent sugar through backbreaking harvest, prickly de-leafing, repetitive crushing through mill rollers, and slow, hot evaporation.  It was intended to be an alternative to expensive, imported sugarcane and the monopoly of slave driven plantations in the South, but sweet sorghum would not lend its contents to dry sugar, and soon lost the battle to the well-seeded and wealthy machine of sugarcane.

Delivering a depth that often only comes from hard won history and broken promises, sweet sorghum meets our hypothalamus' secret sugar addiction with an adult-sized shot of bitter and herb.  It has hints of worchestershire and raisins and the rounded edges of resin but none of these notes ever push the tongue tingling fructose and dextrose team out of center stage.  A pitcher of it is a rich companion for the low country buttermilk biscuit , though it is rarely found on the contemporary breakfast table.  Tradition has given way to less declamatory accompaniments and so I find myself exploring other avenues for sorghum's communion. . . I have a feeling this entry might trail on over a few weeks . . .

sorghum donuts

Like a biscuit, these critters will fill your home with mouth watering smells, but like a pound of bacon, the scent of fried donuts will linger perhaps a bit longer than you'd like after the last crumb is licked.    Frying under a strong exhaust hood will help limit the miniscule oil particals' spread or if you have an outdoor setup, there's nothing better than frying a delicious wad of sweet dough under a crisp Autumn sky . . . hundreds of State Fairs can't be wrong!

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INGREDIENTS:

5 CUPS - sifted AP flour
(scant) 1/2 CUP - sugar
2 tspn - salt
1 tspn - baking soda
1/2 tspn - cinnamon
1/2 tspn - ginger
1/2 tspn - cardamom
1 - egg (large)
1 CUP - sweet sorghum
1 CUP - buttermilk (good and fatty if you can find it)
1 Tbspn - melted organic shortening

​Oil for frying



HOW TO:

1.  Sift all your dry ingredients together.
2.  Beat together your egg, sorghum, buttermilk, and shortening.
3.  Add the wet to the dry.
4. Mix until all ingredients are fully incorporated, but don't overmix - you don't want the gluten to get too developed.
5.  Form it into a ball, wrap it up, and throw it into the fridge to chillllll for at least 1/2 an hour
6. Heat up the frying oil in a deep heavy bottomed pan (or fancy fry-daddy).  Canola or Peanut will do.  It's  ready when it reaches between 325 and 350 degrees F, or when it starts to make little bubbles around the surface of  an inserted wooden spoon handle.
6.  Roll out the dough into about 1/2" to 3/4" thickness sheet.  I find I like the 3/4" thickness, but you might want to start out with the 1/2" variety.
7.  Use two biscuit cutters - one large one small (or if you have some thin-walled drinking glasses, feel free to go that route) to make the donut shape we all know so well.
8.  Put on some long sleeves or some good oven mitts and gingerly lay those dough rounds into the oil until they turn a nice crispy golden brown. they will need to be flipped once so that both sides get the oil's attention.  Times will vary depending on what you are frying in, what oil your using, and how many you are frying at time.  Try not to crowd the donuts, and don't let the oil start smoking - it'll leave a bitter taste.
9.  Once cooked, pull the donuts out and lay on something to catch the excess oil.  you can use paper towels, or cloth towels, or put them on a cooling rack over a sheet pan.