Sorghum syrup ✦

Sirop de sorgho

What it is

Sweet sorghum reached American farms in the 1850s and became the upland South’s own sweetener: cane pressed by a mule walking a circle, the juice boiled down that same afternoon in a long open pan. It is reduced juice and nothing else, where molasses is what is left after the sugar has been taken out — which is why sorghum stays pourable and never sets.

In the kitchen

Swap it for honey volume for volume in a batter, then cut the baking soda back: sorghum is acidic and lifts on its own, and an excess of soda tastes soapy. It runs thinner than molasses, so take out about a tablespoon of other liquid per cup.

Goes with

Butter Pecan Buttermilk Ginger Apple Black pepper

Same species

Shanxi aged vinegar Sorghum

In season alongside

Red cabbage Apple Arbutus berry Beetroot Blackberry Borlotti bean

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