When sugar was too expensive and artificial sweeteners were unknown, farmers satisfied their sweet tooth by using sorghum. Unlike sugar cane, sorghum is drought resistant, making it an ideal crop for this region. Rich in hard-to-find nutrients like iron, calcium, and potassium, sorghum was actually proscribed by doctors as a health supplement. However, it required processing equipment that not every farmer could afford. Gathering to make sorghum molasses created a social event while finishing an important farm task.