In this edition of Appalachian Moments, and in the Fall of the year, we have a tasty test to determine how Southern you are, all you have to do is answer a simple question, stay tuned.
This question is a bit more involved than the you say ‘potato, I say pototo’ kind of deal.
Is it sorghum or is it molasses? Folks “of a certain age” in the South know that sorghum comes from sorghum cane and molasses comes from sugar cane.
Over time the two words have been combined or even become interchangeable…sorghum, molasses or sorghum-molasses.
Ask any old-timer and they’ll tell you that a sorghum stir off in the Fall is/was one of the best times of the year. If one of your friends asked if you wanted to go the stir-off, you said, when/where? Besides sharing in the labor they also shared in the fun and dancing as local musicians came to play as did many of the single folk who used this as an opportunity to meet and court.
We’re not certain when, but we believe sorghum cane came over from Africa. And until a couple of generations ago it was a primary sweetener in the South and thus an important part of our Appalachian heritage. When cheap refined sugar became available the hard work and labor made making molasses obsolete.
Technically speaking, sorghum is a grass but looks kind of like bamboo. The first thing you do during harvest is cut the stalk, which grows as high as 10 feet and remove the leaves. Then you take the stalks to the mill where rollers wring them to release the “squeezins” or juice.
Often a horse or mule (see the photo from our friend Jimmie Daniels in Avery County!) was harnessed and walked in a circle to power the rollers.
Unappetizing green foam skimmings are removed during the boiling down process as the liquid gradually turns amber brown. And it’s a bit like cooking alchemy to achieve the perfect sorghum molasses. Remove it from the heat and evaporation pans too soon and it’s not done, remove it too late and it’s thick and bitter.
For those of you keeping nutritional tabs at home, one tablespoon has a third of a gram of protein, a little calcium, magnesium and phosphorus…meaning, sorghum’s good for you!
Most folks I know say the best way to enjoy sorghum in baking is to add a “gullup” or two out of the jug or a spoon full onto hot buttered biscuits. Coming in a close second might be sorghum molasses cookies or Shoo-fly Pie. My personal favorite is a spoonful on vanilla ice cream. Please feel free to share your molasses memories in the comments section below!