Sweet Sorghum

An antique sorghum mill, worked by a horse turning a long wooden sweep, crushed sorghum stalks between close-set upright rollers so the bright green juice could drip into a barrel, then be strained and poured into a large evaporating pan, where an experienced sorghum maker kept a slow fire burning underneath, stirred constantly, and skimmed off impurities as the juice cooked for three or four hours without boiling or scorching until it thickened and turned a dark, clear amber syrup. In the early 1900s, farm families used sweet sorghum syrup like molasses in baking, on biscuits, and to make candy, gingerbread, and pudding, and it was often called sorghum molasses even though it came from the sorghum plant rather than sugarcane or sugar beets. Sorghum, which originated in Africa and came to the United States during the slave trade, resembles a cornstalk without ears, with a large cluster of tiny seeds at the top, and today varieties grow about four to fifteen feet tall; farmers usually plant it in May or June and harvest near the first frost, using the leaves and seeds mainly to fatten livestock, with some seeds also used for bird food or ground into flour, while syrup is made only from the stalks.

Forest Heights, Maryland · United States