These Sweet Ingredients Were Cowboy Cooking Essentials On The Trail

Throughout the Wild West, when cowboys and the cattle they herded roamed across the Great Plains from Texas to Montana, sugar was hard to come by. This was especially true out on the trail, when sacrifices had to be made and supplies planned carefully. Granulated white sugar was expensive, heavy, and perished easily. But that didn't mean cowboys had to give up sweetness all together. So hardier substitutions were made, such as molasses and sorghum syrup.

A little-known truth of molasses is that it is actually a byproduct of the sugar refining process. But it keeps better than white sugar — a single jar could sometimes last for an entire cattle drive for cowboys. It was added to beans, biscuits, corn cakes, pancakes, and coffee. Pretty much anything that needed sweetening, molasses was used.

Sorghum syrup is sometimes incorrectly called sorghum molasses. However, sorghum syrup and molasses are different sweeteners that taste roughly the same and were used similarly by cowboys. Sorghum syrup is made from a coarse grass called sorghum, not sugar cane or beets as molasses is. Sorghum syrup was and still is an excellent maple syrup alternative that has a deeper flavor, used for drizzling over pancakes and biscuits.

Just because we have easier access to white sugar today doesn't mean we can't enjoy some of the same foods the cowboys did back in the 19th century. Many readers may already be familiar with chewy molasses spice cookies that are a popular treat during the winter holidays, but have you tried adding molasses to your pancake batter? You'll be surprised by the new flavor, as well as how well the cakes brown in the pan. For a savorier flavor, try Boston baked beans, which use molasses as the signature ingredient.

Sorghum syrup is lighter than molasses with a sweeter, more caramel-like flavor, making it a great syrup for pancakes. You can also try using it as you would honey, drizzling it over biscuits and cornbread. It also makes a nice addition to sweeten barbecue sauce or baked beans. Like other sweeteners, sorghum syrup can also be used as a sugar substitute in baked goods, such as cookies and cakes.