In the mountains of Appalachia molasses was used a a sweetner and sugar substitute since the early days. Too far north for sugar cane to grow, sorghum cane was grown instead, harvested in the fall, and rendered down by cooking over a low fire for hours before pouring off into jars to store and share. Farmers could grow a patch of sorghum and make molasses to use as a sweetener instead of having to buy so much sugar, which was expensive and could only be bought at the store with cash money, which was hard to come by.
Buster and Jessie Norton carry on this tradition of molasses making on their farm in the mountains of western North Carolina. They are two of the hardest working folks I know. About the time they plant tobacco in the late spring, they also plant a small patch of sorghum as well. In the fall, as soon as their tobacco is in the barn, they start making molasses using cane from their field. In this episode we join them and their friends to make a batch of molaasses, following the process from cutting the cane in the field, to stripping the leaves off the stalk, grinding it in a horse-powered mill, then rendering it down over the fire before pouring it off into canning jars.
Finding folks making molasses is rare to find today, but Buster and Jessie keep this tradition going. Join us for a fun and entertaining day. Be sure to check out our other episodes and our books about the area at www.barnwellphoto.com