Sorghum Production: Milling and Cooking

By George Kuepper
Published on November 1, 2012
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You'll be surprised at how tasty sweet sorghum syrup can be.
You'll be surprised at how tasty sweet sorghum syrup can be.
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Part of sweet sorghum syrup production is the day of milling and cooking the juice from the sorghum canes. A group effort, especially for the cooking and skimming process, makes producing this homegrown natural sweetener a fun, community event with a sweet end result.
Part of sweet sorghum syrup production is the day of milling and cooking the juice from the sorghum canes. A group effort, especially for the cooking and skimming process, makes producing this homegrown natural sweetener a fun, community event with a sweet end result.

Covering a modern homesteading tradition in his book, Sweet Sorghum (Lara M. Ervin, 1992), George Kuepper discusses ways to transform this natural sweetener from plant to plate.  Sorghum production is a practice used by many farmers to produce sorghum syrup. Sorghum is a natural sweetener that benefits health, body and food. This excerpt is from Chapter 12 and Chapter 13; it describes milling and cooking methods of sorghum production.Learn more about growing and harvesting sweet sorghum by reading Growing Sorghum: A Natural Sweetener.

You can purchase this book through Kerr Center Publications: Sweet Sorghum.

Sorghum Production: Mills

The three-roller mill has become the standard in extracting cane juice. It was invented by Pietro Speciale, the Prefect of Sicily, in 1449. The rollers were fastened vertically, and this type of mill supplied almost all of the world’s sugar for close to 350 years. The design is typified by horse- or mule-driven mills, commonly seen in very small sorghum operations and in traditional demonstrations at festivals and fairs. They are still easily found in the South and Midwest. Many have been adapted to gasoline engines or electric motors. Larger and more modern mills are of a horizontal design but still have three rollers. Power is usually supplied by stationary engines, electric motors, tractor pto, or hydraulics.

Most small- and medium-scale producers purchase and refurbish old mills, although a few have built new ones. The major problems with using old mills are metal fatigue and the difficulty in finding replacement parts. While most foundries have the capability of making them, the cost is often prohibitive. Like row binders, get a second mill for backup, or keep several old mills of the same model for parts. Maintaining a mill requires the same common sense applied to other equipment upkeep. Because bearings work at low speed, lubrication can guarantee a long life if not otherwise abused. Running the mill at a correct feeding rate and speed will make it last longer and decrease downtime. It is important to use only food-grade grease on any portion of the mill where the lubricant might come into contact with either stalks or juice. This includes all roller bearings. Food-grade grease can be bought from most apiary (beekeeper) supply houses and from suppliers to the food industry.

Milling Sorghum

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