A SORGHUM HARVEST

By Celia Burns

Harvest time for the Hollan Brewster family of Mt. Summit means making sorghum molasses. This annual event has become a tradition that is eagerly anticipated by the entire family. Brewster’s brother, his children and their spouses, his grandchildren and even his great-grandchildren all help out.

After the cane is harvested, the stalks are run through a mill. The juice is then boiled for several hours until it reaches the proper consistency for sorghum molasses. Once it has been strained and bottled, the clear amber liquid needs no refrigeration and can be kept for many years. It would be unlikely to last that long at the Brewster home, however, as they find many uses for this delicious syrup. It’s tasty over biscuits or pancakes, in baked beans, or as an ice cream topping. Especially popular are Eva Brewster’s homemade cookies. Sorghum can be substituted cup for cup in almost any recipe calling for molasses, honey, corn syrup or maple syrup.

Hollan Brewster learned about sorghum as a boy growing up in Kentucky, where he helped his father in the cane fields. At that time sorghum was the family’s primary sweetener, a carry over from pioneer days when sugar was not readily available. Surprisingly, this hardy plant, which could easily be mistaken for a field of corn, has only been grown in the U.S. for about 150 years. A native wild plant from Africa, it is highly drought resistant and can withstand high temperatures. More nutritious than sugar, sorghum molasses actually contains calcium, iron and potassium and was often prescribed by doctors as a daily supplement before the advent of vitamin pills. 

When Brewster moved to Indiana, he wanted to continue raising sorghum, but had difficulty finding seed or a mill. Finally, through the aid of a friend who had a relative in Tennessee, he located a mill that he then moved to Indiana. That was 35 years ago, and the Brewsters have been growing sorghum cane ever since. At times the family has planted as much as an acre, but in recent years they’ve found a quarter acre sufficient. In an average year this produces about fifteen gallons of syrup, enough to enable Eva to produce delicious homemade goodies all year long.