Say Hello to Sweet Sorghum Syrup

The distinct taste of sorghum syrup is difficult to put into words. In the rank of Southern sweeteners, it is milder than robust molasses, more complexly flavored than cane syrup, and less sweet than honey. If you ask Virginia chef and recent sorghum fanatic Ian Boden, “Sorghum [syrup] is everything that molasses wants to be but will never be.”

Unlike molasses, which is a sugar byproduct, sorghum syrup comes from the stalks of a cereal grain known as sorghum. There’s a common misconception that the two syrups are one and the same, but once you’ve tried sorghum syrup, you understand why Southerners have long been obsessed with the sweetener that’s finding a renewed role in modern kitchens.

The sorghum plant