Kassaby Sorghum

Sorghum bicolor   

Approximately 70 seeds per pack.

Germination ~ 94%  Aug 2024 (Packed for 2025)

A beautiful heirloom sorghum, 'Kassaby' was collected by the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture in the mid-1960s. It originates with the Shilluk people of the war-torn city of Malakal, South Sudan. 'Kassaby' is a great white-seeded grain sorghum, but also an excellent sweet sorghum for making syrup. The seeds can be popped like popcorn, boiled or steamed like rice or barley, ground into flour (for excellent cookies, pancakes, biscuits, etc.), brewed into beer, or cracked and cooked like polenta.

Harvested when the grains are still green, they can be hand-threshed and cooked almost like a green vegetable (akin to sweet corn), producing a chewy, sweet, savory delight. This preparation is considered a delicacy in South Sudan. (In India, green sorghum is also a delicacy, called "ponk", and often combined with chickpea flour to make special fritters.)

'Kassaby' is drought resistant and grows well in marginal soil. It can be prone to lodging (falling over), but when growin in a large stand the plants will support each other. Like other sorghums, even plants that fall over will often still ripen, sometimes making anchoring roots from nodes a few feet up the plant, allowing the plant to bend itself back upright. Its resilience echoes the resilience of the Shilluk people who developed it!