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The Triumph, Defeats, and Ultimate Victory of the Sorghum Syrup

Most people don’t know sorghum syrup, but it’s an American classic, as woven into our culture as the stars and stripes, but with a longer history. Its story sounds much like the cane sugar: it dates back to the early 1700s; was closely connected to slavery; grows in tall stalks with a plume on top, primarily in the South; and requires a process of milling and boiling. Its story involves haunting political, economic, and moral factors, remarkable people, triumphs and defeats. Above all, the sorghum is the peoples’ sugar – homegrown and affordable

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 Sorghum Speaks With a Sweet Drawl

Unlike molasses, a byproduct of sugar production, and cane syrup, which is boiled down from sugar cane juice, sorghum syrup comes from squeezing the green juice from the tall stalks of a cereal grain and boiling it in open pans until it’s thick and golden.

 Swap in Sorghum: Anything Maple Can Do, This Syrup Can, Too

A Southern staple, sorghum syrup brings nutty, complex sweetness and a hint of sour twang to everything from biscuits to vinaigrettes.

Articles of Interest

Eat This Word: Sorghum

Before refined sugar was popularized in America around the time of World War I, sorghum syrup was a common sweetener that was used on pancakes or in baking. Its use was so widespread that it was known as "the sugar of the Plains."

Here’s Why Syrup Made from Sweet Sorghum Could Be the next Big Health Food

Sweet sorghum is a multi-purpose crop. It produces food (grain from its ear head); sugary juice from its stem, which can be either made into table syrup or fermented to produce ethanol; and the bagasse and leaves make excellent fodder for animals. There is no other crop which produces food, fuel, and fodder from the same piece of land.

Nutrional Facts About Sorghum Syrup

Sorghum syrup is prepared from the juice of crushed sorghum cane, a type of grass native to Africa. Similar to molasses but with a thinner consistency and a mildly bitter taste that offsets its sweetness, sorghum syrup can be used as a sugar substitute in baked goods or as a topping for waffles, pancakes or hot, cooked cereals like oats. Sorghum syrup contains no fat, cholesterol or protein and is a rich source of nutrients like manganese, vitamin B-6, magnesium and potassium.

Sorghum Syrup vs. Molasses

Why choose sorghum syrup over molasses? It has similar quality and consistency to molasses. It is sugar, so it still provides carbohydrates. The nutrient iron is one unique benefit to consuming sorghum syrup. According to the USDA Food Data Central database, sorghum syrup has 3.8mg/100g and molasses has 4.72 mg/100g. Calcium and potassium are also in these syrups.

Sorghum Syrup: A Sweetener with Actual Nutritional Value!

Sorghum syrup comes from a plant usually called “sweet sorghum,” a plant popularly grown in climates too hot and dry for corn. It originated in Africa before traveling to Asia, Europe, and North America. Other varieties of sorghum are grown for grain or livestock use, but sweet sorghum has a juicier stalk. Sorghum syrup is made by cooking the juice from the stalk of the plant, evaporating the water and concentrating the sweetness. Sorghum syrup retains all minerals, and it should never be cut with anything or need any chemicals to produce.

Sorghum Travels From The South To The Mainstream

A Web search for sorghum syrup brings forth musings from people who are now scattered across the states but fondly remember their Southern grandma's tendency to swath sorghum syrup over pancakes and waffles, drizzle it on biscuits and bake it into cookies. Sorghum, according to the National Sweet Sorghum Producers & Processors Association, can be substituted cup for cup in any recipe that calls for molasses, honey, corn syrup or maple syrup.

Sorghum: The High-Fiber, Gluten-Free Ancient Grain You Need to Know About

Historically, aside from being grown to make edible sorghum grains or flour, the grain has also been used to make sorghum syrup, (also called “sorghum molasses”), animal feed, certain alcoholic beverages and even energy-efficient biofuels. The healthiest type of sorghum flour is made with 100 percent ground sorghum that hasn’t been bleached, enriched or refined.

Sweet sorghum could be Missouri's new cash crop

As sorghum makes a comeback, Heckemeyer farms in Sikeston works to make sweet sorghum the future.

Sweet Sorghum Syrup, a Southern Tradition

Sorghum syrup -- sometimes called sorghum molasses -- has long been a favorite sweetener in the South, and it was particularly popular during the 1800s and early 1900s. Around the end of World War I, refined sugar products became more readily available and less expensive, thus causing a decline in the use of sorghum as a sweetener. Still, many Southerners have fond memories of sorghum drizzled over their biscuits, pancakes, and cornbread.

Tastes Like Home: Sorghum Syrup

If, like me, you were born in the Southern Appalachians, you also know that sorghum syrup tastes of home and hollers. It tastes of gold-and-crimson autumn, and a wood fire under an evaporating pan, the air filled with the laughter of children and the talk of neighbors. It tastes of community and tradition. And once you understand its history and persistence in the Mountain South, you will understand that sorghum syrup also tastes of independence.

The Difference Between Sorghum and Molasses

While both sorghum and molasses arrived in the United States during the 17th century, they have very different origin stories. The sorghum plant, which is a grass, arrived with the African slave trade and spread throughout the American South due to its resilience against hot temperatures and dry conditions. The syrup was then developed as a sugar and molasses alternative. Molasses, on the other hand, was brought to the U.S. from the Caribbean, the epicenter of the sugar cane industry, to be used in rum production. Up until the 19th century, molasses was even more popular than sugar due to its cheaper cost.

What Does Sorghum Syrup Taste Like? Does It Taste Good?

Sorghum, also known as great millet, is a grass species. It’s mainly cultivated for its grains, but the plant’s stalks are super high in sugar content, which makes them ideal for syrup production.

What is Sorghum Syrup?

Sorghum syrup is a similar consistency and color to molasses, but is made using a sorghum cane rather than sugar cane. For generations, sorghum served as the table sweetener of choice for Southern homes. It fell out of favor in the mid-1900s, as refined white sugar, once a symbol of affluence, became much more widely available and affordable. Today, sorghum syrup can be difficult to find.

Why Is Sorghum The Best Alternative To Sugar?

Cane Sorghum is a healthier alternative to your everyday sugar. Unlike sugar, it is not made from simply calories from head to toe and has a serious nutritional punch. It is extracted from a tall broadleaf plant that resembles corn.