Sorghum Syrup

Sorghum Syrup: Nutrition and Culinary Guide

Sorghum syrup is produced from sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), a tall grass related to but distinct from grain sorghum, grown specifically for its sweet juice-filled stalks. The stalks are crushed to extract the juice, which is then boiled down to a thick syrup in a process closely analogous to cane sugar syrup production. Sweet sorghum was an important crop across the American South and Appalachia from the mid-nineteenth century through much of the twentieth, providing an affordable local sweetener for communities that could not access expensive imported sugar. Sorghum syrup has a complex, slightly sulphurous, molasses-like character — not identical to molasses but with similar dark complexity alongside its own distinctive flavour notes. It is still produced in small quantities by artisan producers in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and neighbouring states, where it is used in traditional recipes and has experienced a revival through the Southern food renaissance. Sorghum syrup contains meaningful iron, calcium, and potassium.

Nutritional Value and Uses

Sorghum syrup provides 290 kcal and 74.9 g of sugars per 100 g. Use on biscuits, pancakes, and cornbread in the traditional Southern manner. Use in gingerbread, dark cake, and molasses-style preparations as a substitute for molasses or treacle with its own distinctive character. Add to barbecue sauce. Use in baked beans. Available from specialty food suppliers and increasingly from online retailers serving the Southern and Appalachian food heritage market.