Making Molasses

[herofan]

We've had a thread about tobacco, and not everyone has had experience with it. I thought of another one I haven't seen in years: has anyone raised sugar cane and made their own molasses? It's not exactly back breaking work, but it is time consuming and takes a lot of preparation. It was an activity that drew in the community when I was growing up. There was always plenty for the family, and plenty to sell. People loved good molasses when I was a kid.

One needed a cane mill. Some were electric, and some were powered by a tractor or horse. It was cooked in a pan similar to a hog-scalding pan, and it sat on a block furnace. A lot of people used cedar slabs to fuel the fire. They were long and could keep the fire even under the pan.

If i remember correctly, It usually cooked for about 6 hours. During the cook, people had to keep the green skimming off with skimmers on long handles. When it was close to being done, the skimming would turn yellow, and we would get a piece of cane and dip it in the skim bucket and eat them.

 

[jltrent]

Helped a neighbor make Molasses. He had the mill and we grew the cane. We had about an acre of cane and when it was ready you had to top and beat the leaves off, if the leaves were left on they would make the Molasses bidder. Once topped and the leaves off we took tobacco knives, cut down and tied in bundles. His mill, a mule would go round and round and you got under the pole and ran the cane through to mash the juice out. Once the juice was out it was cooked down (a lot of skimming) until ready. Probably started out with about a 100 gallon of cane juice and after done cooking maybe 20 gallon left. A long day and way into the night before the molasses was ready.

 

[kenny thomas]

Remember it well. Trying to beat the frost sometimes became an issue.

 

[hurleyjd]

We've had a thread about tobacco, and not everyone has had experience with it. I thought of another one I haven't seen in years: has anyone raised sugar cane and made their own molasses? It's not exactly back breaking work, but it is time consuming and takes a lot of preparation. It was an activity that drew in the community when I was growing up. There was always plenty for the family, and plenty to sell. People loved good molasses when I was a kid.

One needed a cane mill. Some were electric, and some were powered by a tractor or horse. It was cooked in a pan similar to a hog-scalding pan, and it sat on a block furnace. A lot of people used cedar slabs to fuel the fire. They were long and could keep the fire even under the pan.

If i remember correctly, It usually cooked for about 6 hours. During the cook, people had to keep the green skimming off with skimmers on long handles. When it was close to being done, the skimming would turn yellow, and we would get a piece of cane and dip it in the skim bucket and eat them.

Sorghum Syrup was mainly made form the sorghum plant. http://www.maasdamsorghum.com/ Ribbon cane was used in my area to make Ribbon Cane syrup. Molasses is the heavy syrup left after removing th sugar crystals from the syrup of the sugar cane juice.

 

[sstterry]

It is funny how the locality makes a difference. I never even saw it made aroung here unless it was at a fair. We could get it, but no one aroung here made it. And and as Mr. Trent and Kenny know, we are not that far apart.

 

[Caustic Burno]

My grandpa made it, well ribbon cane syrup anyway.
Put up 365 gallons a year for the family and what was left would go to the needy with a tow sack of pork.
My grandma made a pile of biscuits every morning. With Ma,Pa, eight kids and throw in some grandkids bellying up to the table three times a day you needed that much.

That red mule reminds of the one at my grandparents. I got in some of the worst trouble of my childhood over that mule.

 

[jltrent]

It is funny how the locality makes a difference. I never even saw it made aroung here unless it was at a fair. We could get it, but no one aroung here made it. And and as Mr. Trent and Kenny know, we are not that far apart.

A guy down the road from me just across the Tennessee line made it every year and there was usually a pretty good gathering for the stir off as unfortunately he is now deceased. His sisters son made it a few years after that and he was the one I helped make it. He had a fancy cane mill you could hook a tractor PTO to for a while, but the gear box went bad and it was back to the mule round and round. He is still alive and recently I talked with him about making molasses as he is not able to make it anymore, but has a world of knowledge of the process. I have the rollers on a bog hare for a cane mill and it is on my bucket list to one day fix and use them, but it is at the very bottom of my bucket.

 

[hurleyjd]

My grandpa made it, well ribbon cane syrup anyway.
Put up 365 gallons a year for the family and what was left would go to the needy with a tow sack of pork.
My grandma made a pile of biscuits every morning. With Ma,Pa, eight kids and throw in some grandkids bellying up to the table three times a day you needed that much.

That red mule reminds of the one at my grandparents. I got in some of the worst trouble of my childhood over that mule.

The ribbon cane stalk that I remember was purple and the joints about six inches long. https://www.localharvest.org/ark/purple-ribbon-sugar-cane

 

[sstterry]

That red mule reminds of the one at my grandparents. I got in some of the worst trouble of my childhood over that mule.

Care to elaborate and tell the story?

 

[Caustic Burno]

That red mule reminds of the one at my grandparents. I got in some of the worst trouble of my childhood over that mule.

Care to elaborate and tell the story?

I rode off one day, wasn't supposed to about a mile from the house some dogs got after the mule. The mule ejected me from the operators station and took to the woods.
When I got back to the house no one was really concerned with my well being only the location of the red mule.
This was one of those times my dad said son it's much easier to plow the field if you have the mules attention.
My attention and attitude button got reset after the mule was recovered.

 

[JMJ Farms]

Good many people still make cane syrup in old kettles around here. Almost all of them add some Karo syrup to sweeten it some. Not sure what kind of cane is used. I just always called it sugar cane.