xt7jm61bmn7h https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7jm61bmn7h/data/mets.xml   Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station.  journals kaes_circulars_004_559 English Lexington : The Service, 1913-1958. Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station Circular (Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station) n. 559 text Circular (Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station) n. 559  2014 true xt7jm61bmn7h section xt7jm61bmn7h   ..·.‘     ¥‘*E     ”i
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  PRODUCTION of  
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S Y R U P I
VB UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY
5M-6-as
Y COOPERATIVE EXTENSION
CARL E. HENRICKSON SERVICE
Agriculture and Home Economics

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FOREWORD ilw
This publication on the production of sorghum syrup is W (
issued as a cooperative endeavor by the Department of Botany the
of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Cooperative Extension abc
Service, University of Kentucky. The author expresses apprecia- Pm
tion to members of the Agricultural Experiment Station stafl who 1 al
` made various suggestions in connection with the preparation 0f ` if V
the manuscript. Special thanks are due Mr. Louis Songster ot Tha
Hardin county, who gave so willingly of his time, his knowledge.
and the use of his facilities for testing and developing many of the
procedures described in this circular. . i
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 . Production of Sorghum Syrup 3
 ` By Carl E. Henrickson
The yield of finished syrup from each acre of sorghum planted
i is determined by many diverse factors. Even under identical
· growing conditions, different varieties usually yield different
j quantities and qualities of syrups. Other factors such as the
type of growing season, degree of uniformity of stand, soil
fertility, and processing techniques make it impossible to predict I
l accurately the number of gallons of finished syrup which should .
be expected.
UP ll In Kentucky about 100 gallons or more of finished syrup to
Otanl 0 the acre is usually obtained, but many producers are averaging
?¤$l0H . above 140 gallons per acre. The duration of the syrup-making
lY€Cl*l‘ period is generally 50-60 days. It usually starts about September
lwlm land continues until about November 1, although occasionally
lm] Ol if weather conditions are favorable, it may extend almost to !
t€1`0l · Thanksgiving. I
fflfll . THE PROCESSING PLANT l
 . Many farmers can raise a good field of sorghum, but few I
· possess the equipment and skills necessary to produce a good
quality syrup from the crop. While there is still a limited market l
for dark, strong syrup, it is the light—colored, rnild—flav0red, clear l
. syrup which is desired by most consumers. Therefore, a profitable y
T future in the sorghum industry depends upon the establishment
 , of rnoderrr processing plants with adequate equipment and
proper supervision to produce a high quality syrup. For efficient ;
operation it appears that a plant is required which has an annual .
capacity of 10,000 gallons or more of syrup. A plant this size  
J may be owned by an individual or by a partnership. It may pro-  
A cess sorghum raised only by the owners or it may also process l
the crops of adjoining farms. Processing may be done on the l
S basis of shares or on a flat rate basis. Production of large quan—
tities of syrup opens avenues of marketing which are denied the
small producer. The principles and recommendations discussed
T 3

 4 .
in this circular have proved commercially feasible in large scale H tim
production. However, 1nany of the practices employed may alsa Wh
prove beneficial to the small producer who will probably con. l phi
tinue for many years to serve the local market. <>P<
· is r
Locution und Size of the Plunt T son
It is possible to discuss here only in a general way some ot
the factors which should be considered in the erection of a plant.
First, choose a site where space is not at a premium. The physical Pla
plant requires considerable room, and there must be sufficient thi]
yard space for the storage of cut stalks. The best location is as . juk
close to the sorghum fields as possible yet where electric power q DSU
and a plentiful supply of water are available. The plant probably . Sup
functions best when divided into three separate units. The first pm
unit is a crushing shed which houses the extraction mills and mt
their power sources. The second is a permanent structure con- Pm
taining the actual processing equipment. This building should
· be well ventilated to bring about rapid dissipation of the steam
which is given off by the evaporating pans. A well—screenerl
structure will also prevent the entry of the myriad of insects
which will be attracted to the sugary syrups and wastes. Another
permanent building, or an isolated section of the processing
plant, should be provided for the bottling and storage of tlrr
syrup until it is marketed. Unless the bottling and storage spacr
is separated from the processing plant it will be subjected to t
great amounts of moisture. In addition, the introduction of con-
taminants into the syrup may be caused by air movement stirred
up by the personnel and machinery of the processing area.
An abundant supply of clean water which meets State Health  it
Department requirements is a necessity. Thorough washing ai t
the plant and its equipment after each dayis operation is essen- _  
tial to maintain cleanliness. Special care should be exercised in  _ J
the washing of the evaporating pans to remove caramelized syrup .
which might impart undesirable discoloration in later batclro
of syrup. When a boiler is used to operate the CV2l]_)Ol't1lCOl'S,il ;
large quantity of water will be needed. If a boiler is not used.  
other means of supplying hot water for cleaning purposes should  .
be provided. · gu
Electric power is necessary to illuminate the plant for corr "`

 5
Scaje _ tinuous ()]_)€l`21llOH Zuid fO1` the Operation of the many pumps. i
,ajSO 1 which are likely to be found i11 a modern installation. Three- t
  uhase curre11t is hi l1l desirable, but €V€11 lar e 1nills can be
COI]- . l g y _ _ g
Q operated electiically on s1ngle—phase current if a phase converter
is used. It is feasible, however, to power tl1e crushing 1nills by
 . some t e of combustion en ine.
YP S
H6 Ol EXTRACTION PROCEDURES
Pla“l· . If tl1e supply of sorghum is sufficient, tl1e output of the
Ysml l plant is li111ited either by tl1e rate that juice can be carried
lcmul _ through tl1e evaporation pans or by the rate at which the raw
is its ‘ juice can he extracted. In good growing years the processing is. .
POWQY usually tl1e limiting phase, wl1ile i11 dry years tl1e mill 1nay not
tbabll supply sufficient raw juice to insure continuous operation of the-
9 fmt _- processing plant. Therefore, considerable thought must be given
S ml to the obtai11i11g of the proper balance between the mill and the
3 COD- - .   ] t
processing p an .
;hould gg_ .P__;._
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jh u I fir. \ M   \ é /;
M “’ z    ,,;QZ.Z;;L,J,1.Y#}1.._s _  
nf toni . jy,jw§@j,I|qT·E_j ;.@ wanna j .;;ts. l  1
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’ @2.       N i,;1,v/wr//r/’r"/"’" W G " _   . \
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ring tit  .  jj;/,1·j1,jl'*'.;;‘. {       j
are- 5  Qtllll jg! tt-1,-aa ;i·¥‘·gea1»       .
r 1 »     e   Eitlll/·¤— eared}; 1
ised M1  ‘ _  W   Wi?   {Y \ {
. . ~>a 1—|#<\1i·@ tea   ·1 ie] ¤
lsyum . ., -  ¥jjh Qjjjljmg  1     sr   .
ygitclio _    
at use<· is   I
Shmlld _ Fig. l.—A typical three-roller horizontal mill. The juice flows from
_ underneath the mill into a preliminary sedimentation tank before it is piped
Ol. COW ` l¤l’0 the processing plant, (Drawing from U.S.D.A. Farmers' Bulletin `l79`l.)‘

   -
To extract the juice, the stalks are passed through a mill
(Fig. 1). A modern processing plant of the size mentioned pre- fg
viously will be best served by some type of three—roller, hori- ¢ Tlr
zontal mill driven by an electric motor or a combustion engine, ¥ Cm
By appropriate gearing arrangements, power take-offs on trac-  ’ cor
tors or gasoline engines can be used as power sources. Local ’ arr
power companies or R. E. A. offices are usually very coopera- ext
tive in estimating electrical requirements and providing general eqr
information. The size of the mill or the number of mills em- to
ployed will, of course, be determined by the size of the pro- str;
cessing plant. The larger sorghum processing plants will usually if
have one or more three—roll power mills with feed rolls at least A usr
24 inches in length and 12 inches in diameter. It requires very r wr
little additional labor to feed a mill of this size than a smaller illu
mill and the percentage of juice extracted from the st;1ll , .  tlw . =       -.· » ¤¤
$3;-    *‘·r   ‘    **·  g· A A g   ' -.·· . .''·,._—.   . .   "‘ -
  ,4-   ~·ii ;¤ * ~ * . · »;_ V     yr  ’..r . =- =._·-» ».... _ V rrr]
’ ‘‘=i== >   ..·-,-       t ~.    . fi " T . `   T · ei l
. il, . »:_ ¤   I .   *   V .. ·  {3 I g
er “   A .,r i`   T   ;-   22%/:    °t‘  Sri -  
.. ,4   -- ir Q   ’‘‘` ._     ` ;·
» r—ti *· 2-;-       . ·‘       rr i l"g
r,-“.a,_j I ; I ~ 4,,*  ·  _,J};,;p·      ‘·:   X Q Nh; W [lsu
  . s _   e,  i # V ¥¤¢r    3;     v~*%*»: °»_’ M`, ’ Sm
 w- -·-—z=-·=a —     w    . ,,,.. . AM .   i. .=¤  3  ·i··    *4 —` H
  , _ ~ . g -»’    , _    _ S2 IOW
Fig. 2.- The feed table shown here enables the operator to   the
feed stalks into the mill with efficiency and safety. · {prf;

 7
mil] The supplying of a constant quantity of stalks into the mill i
. pre- is usually not a serious problem if a feed table (Fig.   is built. `
hori- 1 The large mills would probably be of a type used to crush sugar
iginc. · cane. The mills are usually very sturdy and are unlikely to be-
trac- I come overloaded. Because the processing season is short and the
Local A amount of syrup produced depends upon the quantity of juice
>pera- extracted, it is imperative to have reliable and efficient milling
zneral equipment. Regardless of the size or type of mill, it is important
s ein- 2 to get 50-60 percent extraction. This means that 100 pounds of
: pro- I stripped and topped stalks should furnish 50-60 pounds of juice .
sually if the stalks are not unusually dry. Many of the smaller mills.
; least 1 used in Kentucky are probably not yielding more than 40 per- `
s very . cent extraction. The value of high percentage extraction is
mallei illustrated in Table 1.
is will · Table `l.-— Percentage of Extraction of Juice, Weight and Value
_ Extraction Stalks Juice Syrup ($0.15-1 lh>°
-s.-sj  T§@"7 `7 —EWi if ,
     U 45 2000 9()0 158 $23.70  
  50 20()0 10()() 175 $26.25 i
55 2000 1 100 193 $28.95
  p 60 2000 1200 210 $31.50 I
  .     .?lB9_._a_.@.-1..   iii? . j
F I ° This figure- (0.15) is purely arbitrary and is uscrl lu-rc nicrcly for illustraitivc purposes.
  Care in the adjustment of mills will increase extraction of I
  juice and will decrease breakage of parts. The information on l
~»..,   Q setting the rollers which is presented in U. S. Department of i
  , —' l Q l Agriculture Farmers, Bulletin 1791, “Farm Production of Sorgo
  , (  ¤ Si1‘up,” appears applicable to most of the three-roller mills used
I °.l, I in Kentucky. Usually a clearance space of approximately three-- ;
_ eighths inch between the front roll and the large roll permits —
~  _ €&1Sy feeding of the stalks. The stalks will ordinarily be squeezed  
 _ fairly dry if a clearance space between the last small roll and the i
` = large roll is about one—sixteenth of an inch. The large roll should  
p Y usually revolve about 10 to 12 times per minute in the average
  small. power mill. \’Vhen the extraction percentage seems too-
· low, it may be advantageous to pass the crushed stalks through
.0  a the mil] a second time; however, more particles of plant ma-
p tcrial will usually be introduced into the juice.

 8
With any mill the recommendations of the manufacturer of
regarding adjustment and speed should be followed. It is a im
practice among some of the larger producers to have a standby
mill in case of mechanical failure. New mills are expensive, be
and used mills are hard to find but are sometimes obtainable to
from dealers of used milling equipment in the sugar cane and fm
sorghurn-producing regions of the South. im
In a large processing plant the removal of the crushed stalks mc
may become a serious problem. A conveyor can be of great con- ag;
venience in removing the crushed stalks some distance from bo
the mill or in loading them into farm wagons for disposal. These bo
stalks can be used directly as feed for livestock. Another arrange- dl-;
ment utilized is the delivery of the stalks by conveyor to air
ensilage cutter from which it is blown into trucks for transport
to silos. The ensilage produced from the crushed stalks is highly du
regarded by some farmers, but its feed value, because of loss Ot}.
of sugars, is not as high as that made from sorghum taken directly is j
. from the field. If the quantity of crushed stalks is large, it may A CO,
be profitable to contract for their removal. du
Recommendations for the location, layout, and size of smaller y of
farm operations are discussed more thoroughly in U. S.D.A. pl-(
Farmers’ Bulletin 1791, previously mentioned. Of
FILTRATION AND SEDIMENTATION  
As the raw juice runs from the mill, it should pass tlrrouglr tel]
one or more wire screens to remove the larger pieces of sus-
pended matter, such as stalk fragments, which are formed tegr
during the milling. After this crude filtering, some of the smaller _ usr:
suspended particles should be allowed to settle out in a large yea
tank before the juice is piped to the processing plant. Among juit
the materials settling out during this preliminary sedimentation rayr
process are many of the soil particles which were introduced inte eva
the juice from the surface of the stalks during crushing. ing
To avoid picking up sediment when the juice is drawn from A of;
the tank, the drain, or intake pipe if a pump is used, should br
kept at least 2 inches from the bottom of the tank. So much The
material is deposited here that often it is necessary to clean the , 150
tank several times each day. Effort expended in the rernorarl gel:

 9
zturer · of suspended insoluble matter, however, will be repaid by the I
is a 5 increase in quality of the syrup. `
mdby When the raw juice reaches the processing plant, it should
nsive, be run into tanks of at least 250—gallon capacity and allowed
Lnable to settle without agitation for at least 2 hours. The sediment
e and fonned consists of proteinaceous matter, complex carbohydrates
including some of the starch, and other fine particles. The sedi-
stalks , mentation tanks may be drained by gravity or pumped, but
t cou- W again the outlet should not be closer than 2 to 3 inches to the
from bottom. The tanks should also be fitted with drain plugs on the .
These bottom so that they can be easily washed each time they are
range- A drained. `
to au Starch
HSp01T A Although much of the material which could cause trouble
highlf during processing is removed in filtration and sedimentation,
Of loss other suspended materials remain in the raw juice. Among them
.i1`€€tl)` is the starch which is one of the chief causes of difficulties en-
iii HWY j countered in processing sorghum syrup. These difficulties in- I
clude clabbering and scorching which result in the formation  
Sllkillti of a dark—colored syrup with a burnt flavor. These undesirable i
S. D. A . properties are probably brought on by the slow boiling or failure '
 . of the juice to “cook down” on the evaporators. There is good i
evidence that color formation is a product of time and temp-
 ` erature. Therefore, it is advantageous to keep the syrup at high I
hrougli temperatures for as short a time as possible. I
of sus _ While the juice is in the sedimentation tank, it should be
formed tested to measure the starch content. High starch content can
smaller usually be assumed if the crop is overripe, grown during a dry
a large f_ year, or if the stalks are short, “woody” and seemingly low in j
Among juice. If the starch content is high, it can be reduced while the .
xntation raw juice is in the sedimentation tank or after the juice has been  
zed mia _- evaporated to the semi-syrup stage. In both methods, the lower-  
ing of the starch content may be accomplished through the use l
vn from of starch-digesting enzymes. '
ould be Starch is found in the juice in the form of microscopic grains.
O much These grains are insoluble in water but when heated to about .
lgantht l5U°F they swell and rupture, and become gelatinized. The
I-Cmorail j §€l11fil‘1ized form is more rapidly digested than is the granular

 10
form, but the latter form can be broken `down by using larger
quantities of the digestive enzymes. The granular form is found
in the raw juice while the gelatinized form is found in the d,
semi—syrup. Malt extracts can be purchased which contain en- T
zymes capable of converting starch from its insoluble form into H-
the simple, soluble sugar units from which the starch molecule
is built. Since starch is made up of large numbers of glucose y
units, the end product of this digestion is the formation of more 6
glucose in the juice. This will of course contribute to the total
sugar content of the juice. Not all the starch, however, is con- _ te
verted completely. These intermediate products between starch j °f
and glucose are called dextrins.
A rough check for the quantity of starch present in the rair
juice can be made by placing about a teaspoon of juice ina
white saucer or dish and adding two or three drops of a special
starch—indicating iodine solution} A straw color, resulting from
the dilution of the darker iodine solution, means that starch is
absent or present in small quantities. This is a sign that starch T
V will probably not cause trouble in the processing, but it is not ·
proof that it will not. A positive test (blue—black color) at this
time means almost certainly that characteristic difficulties caused
by the starch will appear in the processing. A producer who
finds the juice to be high in starch but who is not prepared to _
treat the se1ni—syrup will be able to improve the quality of hir
syrup by treating the raw juice in the sedimentation tank with ·
diastatic malt or other starch—digesting enzymes. About one-
fourth to one—half pound of 275—300—degree Lintner diastatic riialt
syrup per 5() gallons of raw juice should be sufficient. The treated
juice should be held at least 2 hours. Treatment of the starch
in the serni—syrup stage is preferred by many producers, and the
procedure is outlined on page 15.
One should take advantage of the best means to reduce the I cj
starch content of the juice prior to the final evaporation. The hj
syrup thus produced will usually be clear, light in color, arid ce
delicate in flavor.  . so
M gpg gg   so
l This solution Can be purchased through chemical supply companies Of WU ‘ in
l)L‘ pl`('1)lII`C(l by Illlllly (1I`llgglStS.     llIl\(lC by (liSS()l\’lI'lg   gl'ilIl`lS of p()til$$llllll
iodidc in 100 ml of distilled watcr and tlicn dissolving 0.3 grain crystallinc i¤>