Southerner's have long appreciated the virtues of Sorghum, but this sweet syrup is creating quite a bit of buzz in kitchens nationwide! Our favorite comes from Kentucky's Bourbon Barrel Foods. Estate grown, hand harvested and processed by a 5th generation sorghum grower, this sorghum is about as good as it gets. But what exactly IS sorghum?
Sorghum, a tall broad-leaf plant, resembles corn in the field, but the grain crop is best known for its end product: sweet sorghum syrup. That’s different than plain old sugar cane, which yields molasses, or, for that matter, the trees that yield maple syrup. FarmFlavor.com >
Sorghum cane is typically harvested during September and October. Many sorghum syrup producers extract the juice from freshly cut plants right in the field. The bright green juice then goes back to the mill, where it is kept, heated, in a holding tank. To avoid spoilage and produce the best syrup, they cook it the next day, thickening into light amber syrup that is then bottled. Ten gallons of raw sorghum juice yields about 1 gallon of syrup. FarmFlavor.com >
To store sorghum, tuck it into a dark kitchen cupboard at room temperature. Like raw honey, you can microwave in a safe container to combat any unwanted crystallization. Southern Living >
To use sorghum straight from the container, try a drizzle over ice cream or hot cornbread. Make your own vinaigrette with sorghum syrup or purchase Woodford Reserve Sorghum Vinaigrette for a fall salad that will impress the most discerning tastebuds.
