How to press sorghum and making syrup

Steffen Mirsky, former evaluation and trials manager at Seed Savers Exchange, walks you through pressing sorghum and making syrup in this video from the Resilience Garden video series.

[@jsa-z1722]

Your farm looks like a slice of paradise, by the way. So green and lush, with maples starting to get their autumn colours. You must have the most wonderful climate.

[@georgewilkey5283]

enjoyed the video. i was actually thinking of buying that same crusher so it was good to see it in action. just a few things, although great for animals, sorghum grain (seeds) is used quite extensively as human food especially in india and africa. it is the 5th most human consumed grain in the world. the leaves, although great for mulch, are even better animal food. i never met a cow or horse that didn't like sorghum leaves, i assume do to the high sugar content. also, back in the day, all that foam you threw on the ground would have been saved, fermented, and distilled into a rum type alcohol (strictly for medicinal purposes.). the old timers didn't waste anything.

[@danielsterling4918]

I wondered about the foam, figured there's probably a good use for it and most likely alcohol to be specific lol

[@kalebmcdaniel9147]

It’s just chlorophyll

[@danieljordan4320]

Not just chlorophyll, all sorts of stuff can be floated up - that’s when you can skim all the floats. Let it sit to thicken

[@KeoniKoa]

Thank you so much for this video!

[@FC-xc3zy]

Wow...amazing. Much thanks for taking the time out and making a video about the syrup.

[@staceyrashkin2609]

You can cook the seeds too. Humans can eat them also. Not just livestock. They taste like wheat berries.

[@yatizain1013]

I did porridge

[@VincentAmanorBoadu]

Thank you for the education. Excellent presentation.

[@Sunshinebandit285]

I remember doing this as a kid when it was a community endeavor!! We still have a “Molasses Festival” in late September in Arnoldsburg, WV.

[@surendersingal9122]

Great video in learnin some basics of making syrup.

[@CherylLynnColwell]

Thank you for showing another way to use sorghum

[@jsa-z1722]

Thanks for an informative and interesting video!

[@towerproclimber]

Loved the video. Scientifically explain the mask.

[@DROKMELCHISALEM]

Thank you so much for this video Mr. Steffen Mirsky and your team. Your teaching is very simple and to the point. Is the Presser custom made, where can I find one for purchase?

[@jeffcokenour3459]

Excellent video - thank you!

[@rontropics26]

Sorghum is an underappreciated crop I think. I'm trying popping sorghum for the first time this year.

[@sonyainmichigan1403]

Great video. thank you

[@taunusfarmboy7530]

This is very very cool.

[@eshetiejone613]

Good job!

[@olviraballo5380]

muchas gracias , que video tan lindo, muy rico!,

[@patrickakalulwa311]

Good show with an indication of recoveries...12 gallons of juice of 20 degrees brix give 1.5gallons of syrup after 6 hours boiling to 212 degrees Fahrenheit....what is the brix of syrup?

[@try2diy1styoucandoit65]

A year late but did you calibrate the refractometer? That could be why it reads a bit higher than you expected. Great video!

[@dannyreasons6070]

heat sorghum to crack temp. and pour on freshly popped corn.

[@frogjunk]

Do you press the stalks a second time? I would recommend doing it.

[@lunahilberg2451]

Thank you so much for this video! Sorghum grows well for me, and had done some juicing with a juicer and added to our home beer brew.. but so tedious..and not sure if the sugar cane juicers would work, but this looks like it does just fine :) and worth investing in. Excited about doing the boil down process and making syrup! Thank you so much. :) Also, how is it stored once a syrup? cheers.

[@georgewilkey5283]

because of the high sugar content, sorghum syrup is highly acidic so it does not promote the growth of microbes. the same is true for other things high in sugar such as honey, maple syrup, even jams and jellies. it is shelf stable almost indefinitely, just jar it up and stick it in a cabinet.

[@wholecirclehomestead2529]

Great video! Where did you get the press? Been looking for one for a while....

[@indoorsandout3022]

it looks like the sugar cane press I have in my shopping cart on amazon.

[@wholecirclehomestead2529]

@@indoorsandout3022 found it! Thanks for the help.

[@ochiengolum2808]

@@wholecirclehomestead2529 please let me know where you got it from. I grow lots of Sorghum in Kenya for cows and grain and would certainly like to add this value. Thanks.

[@brandond3291]

@@ochiengolum2808 Here is the item I found on Amazon. www.amazon.com/dp/B07MNSSFW3/?coliid=INY0NMUTZVEZJ&colid=3EEWXTTKW8QD&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

[@ochiengolum2808]

@@brandond3291 Bless you!

[@RobCalhounPGH]

The maple tree behind him: Am I a joke to you?

[@everettsartin7556]

Good job we make surup u told the process well we cook too 230 thicker syrup but u have too stay right on top of it not too scortch it

[@iniquitousman8251]

Thanks! Wouldn't you use a scythe?

[@ROWsciencechannel]

In nepal we plant these for seed which is just like popcorn for roasting.tasty like popcorn

[@jeffschmidt8491]

Could you use an osmosis to remove the water before boiling it like maple syrup

[@josephhinton5489]

Enjoyed the vid but tuned in originally to learn a method of separating the seeds so I could put them in the bird feeder that spawned the dozens of stalks that germinated in my front yard in the first place.

[@ugochinwaeze-pm2sh]

I enjoyed watching your video. Your teaching was simple and straight to the point. My question though is ,are there other uses for Sorghum molasses apart from feeding livestocks. What are the business opportunities? And also, can you produce molasses/syrup from corn stalks?

[@orangemoonglows2692]

people make sorghum syrup that they eat with pancakes, bisquits, etc.

[@orangemoonglows2692]

they make sorghum juice, like sugar cane juice.

[@willowlaken6303]

Where can I purchase a press like you used?

[@LG-gw6xw]

I grew sorghum by accident but now I want to utilize it thoroughly. Just a small little crop of it due to feeding the birds. Do you think it will be okay for me to do the same and make syrup from? Also is there a particular time I should harvest the seed pod? I saw that the moisture content is supposed to be low (both the seed pod and stalk) but I have no way of measuring this. I can fairly easily work the seed off the plant right now so I was wondering if this was dry enough? Or will the seed spoil because it is too green? Some are green and some are brown. I would like to feed this to the birds again.

[@kalebmcdaniel9147]

If you smash one seed between your fingers if there is a white Milk substance then it is not ready but if you press it and it is soft and doughy then it is ready for syrup but you have let the seed dry till it turns red or whatever color it’s supposed to

[@verngib9041]

Do you think a steam juicer or a tomato miller have a similar juice release? I planted about five stalks and i don’t think that warrants me spending money on an expensive piece of equipment. I want to try making syrup.

[@kalebmcdaniel9147]

Five stalks isn’t going to make very much syrup maybe a quart

[@elephantcup]

If I were there, I'd cook it with some hops, dump a pack or two of clean wine yeast into it and make some beer. Some of that beer would get inoculated with a vinegar mother to make vinegar, but I'd drink most of it. If it has starch in it, some amylase to break it down to sugar. Wondering if I can grow that in hot dry southern California and how much one of those cane presses costs. And could I DIY one. ;-)

[@teagranola]

Hi, I know your comment is old but I grew a lot of sorghum this year in hot, dry Oklahoma. We are zone 6, I believe. Clay and rocky soil. I didn't even water it once it got past the sprouting stage and we only had a couple days of rain

[@TheBaconWizard]

What does the juice taste-like fresh off the press?

[@sdfft820]

Can you put spices in the sorghum sap and drink it as a chilled beverage? In India people regularly drink spiced sugarcane sap

[@Melissa-gn3dv]

I heard that it is bad for you until it is cooked.

[@user-sk6ch9jo9c]

My friend, please satisfy my curiosity: This is sweet sorghum, right? The taste of this "juice" extracted is somewhat similar to sugar cane juice (in taste and texture)? Thank you so much in advance!

[@Sunshinebandit285]

It’s molasses.

[@georgewilkey5283]

sugarcane has a neutral sugar taste. sorghum juice has a very distinct molasses taste that gets stronger the more you cook it. some folks like, some don't. you can buy "blackstrap" molasses at most stores if you want to try it. if you dissolve about a tablespoon of it into 8 oz of water it will give you an idea of what the fresh juice tastes like.

[@kalebmcdaniel9147]

It is not molasses it is sorghum syrup two different things

[@kalebmcdaniel9147]

Sorghum syrup is not Molasses and is way sweeter than molasses it’s almost a mix between honey and molasses

[@user-sk6ch9jo9c]

@@kalebmcdaniel9147 Thanks a lot. But I mean the juice. Pure juice. Not molasses, not syrups, cause, to make those two, we must boil the juice, and, I was wondering about the pure juice all alone . My curiosity is: Let's say that some plague destroys the entire sugar cane species from Planet Earth... and, the most similar thing we have now is sweet sorghum... sugar cane juice is consumed in many, many countries around the world, so, the juice extracted from sweet sorghum is similar enough in taste and texture, to be a decent substitute to the sugar cane one? I've made this question in more than 8 countries that produces both sugar cane and sweet sorghum and IT LOOKS LIKE NOBODY has this answer. In Brazil they make lump of brown sugar (brown sugar candy) and cachaça (sugar cane liquor) from sugar cane juice AND they also do the same with the juice extracted from sweet sorghum and the final product looks pretty much the same, but i've asked for 4 producers there and, or no one has the answer OR they don't give a damn about it (sugar cane production turns the soil MISERABLE, sorghum production, on the other hand,.not so much... and, it grows faster... but it is smaller and has less juice if compared to the same amount of sugar cane). Anyway, Thank you so much for trying to help, you guys!

[@egtrsonlinebizchannel6663]

Hi stefen....i am interested to have some seeds. Can i buy some of shorgum seeds. Thanks.

[@georgewilkey5283]

if you google sorghum seeds, there are a lot of seed companies that carry them.

[@bronwynesterhuizengreensha5294]

Can you direct me to an online seed shop for this variety "sugar drip". I am in the Bahamas. We grow it as a staple cereal much like in west Africa. Yes, we eat it. Pearl millet is a sorghum better suited for animal feed as it has higher omega fatty acids especially for layer chickens. But sorghum or guinea corn is recognised as a super food in india and africa. Much healthier than Americas staple and much less intensive to grow.

[@kalebmcdaniel9147]

Southern exposure seed exchange has sugar drip sorghum

[@christopherbrownlee8154]

Did you have to put sugar into your syrup or is sorghum naturally sweet already

[@inharmonywithearth9982]

Sorghum is of course naturally a intense sugar making grass itself. No additional sugar needed ever.

[@brendalee8394]

When do you harvest the canes to juice?

[@PatientMoney]

When the top part of the seed head is brown and the lower half is still sorta green.

[@jsa-z1722]

Birds always eat my sorghum seeds before they're ripe enough to harvest. How do you stop bird thieves?

[@bronwynesterhuizengreensha5294]

Alternative source of seeds for birds and a scare crow that moves with the wind.

[@kalebmcdaniel9147]

Put paper bags over them or cut them off and let them dry

[@zhp500]

Ever try to make taffy from your sorghum.

[@Ableurself]

Can you drink it raw like sugarcanejuice!? How come you did not drink what was in the glass!?!?

[@Melissa-gn3dv]

Another video said there is cyanide in it until it is cooked.

[@inharmonywithearth9982]

@@Melissa-gn3dv what they are fear mongering as cyanide is actually prussic acid. The acid is only present during major stress, such as when a person sprays a herbicide toxin on this species of grass and a foraging animal consumes very large amounts of the herbicide stressed grass while still attached to their roots. Once cut from it's roots the prussic acid quickly evaporates within hours and it is completely safe even if it was severely stressed. The prussic acid is also only in the green leaf blades of the live plant never stalks or roots or grain.

[@Melissa-gn3dv]

@@inharmonywithearth9982 Thank you for your reply. I fed a little to my chickens and they lived so I will try more. I wanted something to feed them since the store feed is expensive. I also made syrup, but I don't know that I like it enough to make it again.

[@kalebmcdaniel9147]

Prussia acid only affects ruminant animals anyways so chickens can eat as much as they want

[@rogerscottcathey]

Eat sorghum sprouts!

[@cupidjrrobianto]

11:50 look like honey

[@truthseeker5496]

Why are you wearing masks outside?

[@Fit.For.A.Firefight.]

Awesome! But You guys are young and healthy. Take off your masks while outdoors ya dorks

[@mikedaddydotcom6875]

I couldn’t get past the face masks outdoors 🤷‍♂️

[@nikolayminchev6282]

Good video but (useless mask -you need to read some books about virus/bacteria )don't be lazy and give bad name of permaculture

[@kdavidson6771]

Oh brother! You are all outside with masks. Good grief!!! Moving on to another video.

[@joeburns5318]

love the video. Hate the mask. Not needed.

[@armymobilityofficer9099]

Mature sorghum is high risk for infection. I guess.

[@indoorsandout3022]

your rudeness is not needed.

[@Sanecrist]

Thank you for speaking up. Two weeks to stop the spread has gone on for 18 months. It needs to be said. They were already outside in the sun. Nothing "rude" about not enabling munchausen syndrome by proxy.

[@FlylightD]

Super smart folks wearing masks in a field 😂 🤡🌎