growing in the "Crops of the World" section of the
UC Botanical Garden.
As some of you know, this is one of my favorite plants, since I got to know it in the mountains of western NC where it is still (sometimes) cultivated for the purpose of making "sweet sorghum syrup", aka "molasses", a country answer to a food sweetener where and when granulated sugar was not available. Some communities still hold 'sorghum festivals' where the canes of this plant are crushed in special mills to extract the clear juice (akin to sugar cane) and the result is boiled down in open pans until it becomes a rich, sweet brown syrup. I expect the seed heads and the spent canes were fed to the hogs, who would have appreciated the sweetness, too!
In many parts of the world, the plant is grown for its seed heads. The grain is the 5th most common cereal crop worldwide, after rice, wheat, etc.
Thanks for looking.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorghum
My album on the subject:
www.flickr.com/photos/melystu/albums/72157674915250014
Tags: molasses cane sorghum sweet grain cereal food important crop botanical world nutrition monochrome garden farm syrup sweetener traditional summer UCBG demonstration
A cultivated grass, related to corn. It is grown in warm climates in many parts of the world. In the American South the stalk is traditionally pressed for the sweet juice, which is boiled to make "sorghum syrup", our native "molasses". It's delicious and you can hardly find it in any store. I have put together a tiny recipe booklet. If anyone's interested, please write to me on Flickr.
Sorghum is the fifth most popular grain consumed in the world, despite the fact that much of the Western world is not familiar with it in the 21st century.
wholegrainscouncil.org/whole-grains-101/sorghum-june-grai...
Tags: crop field sorghum cane stalk seeds seedhead sweet farm NC historic grain food geotagged sorgo
A mule turns the cast iron mill in the center, extracting the juice from sorghum cane. Big Ivy Heritage Festival--several years ago. Once boiled down/reduced, the clear juice produces a thick, sweet, amber syrup much like molasses. Sorghum was used as a sugar substitute in the early days.
Read more here!
mountainx.com/food/food-news/100913molasses-bear-stew-and...
Tags: mule sorghum heritage festival NC South America oldtime farm country BuncombeCounty SP500UZ
Cut for breakfast.
Remember, Elizabeth David, British expert on bread, wrote:
"It is rare for homemade bread to be wasted, whereas a very large proportion of bought bread ends up in the dustbin, because it is not valued or in any way respected."
Tags: loaf bread homemade sourdough Aga artisan wholegrain multigrain wholewheat sorghum flour 2013 longrise
along with the usual whole wheat and white flours to make a couple of extra-large loaves for daily enjoyment at our house. 50 minutes on the floor of the Aga's hot oven. Homemade sourdough starter.
Unusual color thanks to Aviary! Just fooling around. . . .
Tags: effects Aviary processed unnatural frame bread homemade loaf sorghum flax wholewheat food health mystuart 2012 tweaked natural linseed sourdough