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Sorghum Butter

Puts honey butter to shame.
difficulty:
yield:

About 1 cup

time:

About 5 minutes

introduction

Very roughly speaking, sorghum is to the South as maple syrup is to the North: a dark, sweet seductive syrup with warbling, smoky notes you want to pour on everything. Of course, unlike maple syrup, sorghum syrup is processed from a crop—an important crop, as a matter of fact, in the rotation of cereal grains. Sorghum works to suppress nematodes (nasty pests) under the soil, and keeps future plants healthy. Its secondary role is to provide many delightful iterations of sorghum syrup, some so rich that none spills from an inverted container. Great sorghum is said to have the flavor diversity of great wine: a persistent floral, citrusy tang that dances above the predictable caramel and molasses flavor—and a bright mineral balance. The best sorghums, and we mean few and far between, are evaporated over live fire in an open black iron kettle. Made with good sorghum, sorghum butter is unsurpassingly magnetic in its appeal– and irresistible on hot cornbread.

Resources

If it’s good sorghum you’re after, look no further than Sandhill Farm and Townsend Sorghum Mill.

equipment mise en place

For this recipe, you will need a hand or stand mixer with the flat-beater attachment and a rubber spatula.

    • 4
      ounces (8 tablespoons) unsalted European-style butter, room temperature
    • 2
      ounces (about 3 tablespoons) sorghum syrup
    • Pinch of fine sea salt
  1. Using a hand or stand mixer, whip the daylights out the butter until it is fluffy and satiny-soft. Reduce the mixer speed and drizzle in the sorghum. Add the salt. Increase the speed and beat until the sorghum is fully incorporated, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Turn the butter into a small bowl or a large ramekin. Serve soft with hot Black Skillet Cornbread, Blue Corn Johnnycakes, Graham Biscuits, or any other hot pancakes, griddlecakes, or biscuits that suit your fancy.