Backcountry Sweetnin' -- Making Sorghum Molasses
Sunday, February 14, 2010 at 11:02AM ;)
Break time at sorghum molasses operation in Racine, WV. Library of Congress.
In Southern Appalachia, sweetnin' refers to sugar in its various forms, including white sugar, brown sugar, honey, and sorghum syrup. For almost a century following the introduction of sugar sorghum to the United States in 1857, sweet sorghum -- popularly known in the region as "sorghum molasses" -- was the sweetnin' of choice.
Although cane sugar and molasses were widely available in Colonial times, these were store-bought items, and relatively expensive compared to current prices. Backcountry settlers had a strong preference for making their own anything and everything, and so for decades sweetnin' meant honey, maple syrup, and maple sugar. Sugar-sorghum culture was eagerly adopted and in nearly every community there was at least one farm engaged in its production.
;)
Racine, WV -- syrup boiler on left, cane grinder or "gin" on right. Library of Congress.
Sorghum cane was harvested in late summer or early fall. The equipment for making sorghum molasses typically consisted of a mule-powered press or "gin" for squeezing juice from the cane and a boiler for reducing the juice to a molasses-like state. As the juice was simmered to reduce moisture content, in went through a series of pans or kettles. A greenish residue developed on top of the syrup and was skimmed off. At the end of the run of pans or kettles, the syrup was poured or ladled into buckets. After it was cool, it was put into crocks or Mason jars for long-term storage.
;)
Breathitt County, Kentucky -- home-built sorghum syrup boiler. Library of Congress.
;)
Anderson County, Tennessee. Mule-powered cane grinding operation. National Archives.
;)
Racine, WV -- Mule-powered press in operation. Library of Congress.;)
Feeding cane into the press. Library of Congress.
;)
"Ginning" cane in Kentucky. Library of Congress.
;)
Stoking the boiler. Library of Congress.
;)
Man on right pours raw sorghum juice into a holding barrel while man on left tends the boiler. Library of Congress.
;)
Tennessee syrup-boiling setup under canopy; barrel for holding raw syrup is on the left. National Archives. ;)
Kentucky -- home-made boiler in operation. Library of Congress.
;)
Skimming the syrup as it boils down and thickens. Library of Congress.
;)
Farmer tends the boiler while quality-control division samples the finished product. Library of Congress.
In the picture above, notice the wooden dowel inserted in the side of the apparatus, to the farmer's right. In the next picture, the dowel plug has been removed to permit the syrup to flow into a bucket.
;)
Stirring thickened syrup with a paddle to keep it pouring into a bucket.
;)
In Tennessee, straining the syrup through cloth. National Archives.
;)
Kentucky -- director of quality control samples a batch. Library of Congress.
;)
Relaxing in Racine when the work is done. Library of Congress.
When I was a young lad spending summers on my grandparents' farm in Whynot, NC, I had occasion to assist with molasses-making. A neighbor, Clarence Cagle, had a molasses-making setup; in this case, it was used for sugar cane, but the process was essentially the same. Sugar cane was processed in August, which made it hot enough work before the fires were lit under the cast-iron kettles. The kids were set to work toting cane to the grinder and taking turns at skimming, and were rewarded with pieces of cane to suck on. If you didn't have a sugar "high" by the end of the day -- well, you hadn't been working.
There are sweet-sorghum festivals throughout the Southern Backcountry; here are links to a few:
National Sweet Sorghum Producers
Georgia: Blairsville Sorghum Festival
Kentucky: Sweet Sorghum -- The Old Fashioned Way
Tennessee: Tipton-Haynes Sorghum and Scutching Festival
Virginia: Whitetop Mountain Sorghum Molasses Festival
West Virginia: Morgan County Sorghum Festival
RELATED ARTICLES:
View Printer Friendly Version
Email Article to Friend
Reader Comments (3)
" I likes molasses,good ol' country sorghum,
I eats 'em in the winter and the fall.
When they gets upon the flies.
They resembles raisin pies,
That's when I likes 'em best of all."
Jay, sadly it's been at least twenty years since I've heard of any of the neighbors here in Whynot firing up a syrup table. I havent seen cane in the fields either. Clarence was indeed a character. When I first met him he was milking a black angus cow who had lost a calf. Couldn't stand to waste the milk. We got two quarts a week until he decided to let her dry off.
Mark -- It's a labor-intensive operation, from hand-cutting the cane, to pulling the leaves for silage, and on through the "syruping." Blackstrap molasses from Federally-subsidized sugarcane growers can be had for $3.00 at the grocery these days -- way too cheap to induce anyone to put in the time needed to make it by hand. Sweet sorghum goes for about $8.00 per 24-oz jar -- it is seen more as a specialty item -- so a few producers have survived, usually with the purchase of a cane-cutting machine and an active festival schedule. See: http://muddypondsorghum.com/page/1e0yt/About_Us.html and http://muddypondsorghum.com/page/1e9mk/Festivals.html