Sorghum Processing Technology
Processing of sorghum entails applying suitable grain, milling and malting procedures, which will not only maintain nutritional value, but also lead to minimal grain losses with improved marketability of the end products. The process goes through primary processing which involves cleaning, dehulling (decorticating), pounding and milling. Then comes the secondary processing, which involves turning material into food, i.e. cooking, blending, fermentation and roasting. Both traditional and industrial processing methods are employed, which may involve the partial or complete separation and/or modification of the three major constituents of the cereal grain, i.e. the germ, the starch-containing endosperm and the protective pericarp (or Testa). Industrial methods of processing sorghum though not well developed as that of other cereals have had significant impact on the food security of the country. Industrial processing is inmost cases, geared towards production of grit, malt, meal/flour and sometimes germ, with bran and germ-cake as by-product for feeding animals. Two main methods usually employed in sorghum processing are dry-milling and wet-milling.
Cleaning In traditional systems, grain cleaning is achieved by winnowing, while washing in water will remove most dust and stones. In mechanized systems, forced air (aspiration) is used to remove lighter materials, while most stones, dust and other material are removed as the grain passes over a series of screens. Ferrous metal are removed by a permanent magnet placed in the flow path of the grain.
Small Scale Dry milling of Sorghum The production of virtually all sorghum foods first comprise of two major operations: 1)Debranning (dehulling)- removal of the unpalatable, sometimes tannin-rich and highly pigmented bran and the rancidity causing fat-rich germ; 2) Size reduction (grinding)-converting the endosperm into meal or flour. Traditionally in Africa, sorghum milling has been done using a pestle and mortar for dehulling and saddle quern for grinding or size reducing the grain, methods still used in many African communities. Today, mechanized milling is becoming the norm, creating a milling industry and the opportunity for manufacture of more versatile sorghum food products to meet growing world food demands. Probably the most common method of mechanized sorghum milling in Africanis by abrasive debranning (also known as decortication or dehulling), followed by hammer milling of the endosperm material.
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