Mastering Syrup Making with Floyd Womack with St. Helena Parish

Floyd Womack
Photo Credi: Antoinette Harrell

The season for making syrup is a very short one. It may last two to three weeks and it's over until the next year. For the past two weeks the Womack brothers have spent long days and hard hours grinding and making cane syrup. It took me a couple days to learn the routine of each person. Floyd is somewhat a quiet man and the master cook as far as I'm concerned. He is the one who get the pans and the fire ready for cooking,

When the juice from the sugar is pumped into a 55 gallon barrel, he is ready to light the fire. Using fat pine from aged pine trees. Older people call it lighter knots. I know it works very well at getting a fire started because I used it in my fireplace. Floyd works for approximately five to six hours cooking, skimming the foam that accumulates on top of the syrup as soon as he gets the cane juice into the pan. I was amazed at how he knew how much wood to use and how he operated all three pans. He didn't stop until the job was finished and no one 

By looking at everything, he gauges everything. I asked him how he maintains the temperature of the second pan. The pieces of wood are thrown under the second pan, he explained. The same thing for the third pan. I also asked him if he ever messed up any syrup while cooking it. "Yes! Many times", replied Floyd. Through trial and error, you learn to become better he said. 

Floyd Womack making syrup
Photo Credit: Antoinette Harrell

He reminds me of a master chef - a man who knows his craft well. As soon as he gets the heat under the pans right and they start boiling, he's working over the hot steaming pans. At that point, everything is in his hands. He wants to ensure that the syrup batch is good. Not too thick and not too watery. Hats off to the chef, as they say. Hats off to the master syrup maker in this case. He spent years and learning to master his skills. 

 My attention was drawn to the fact that he was the only one cooking. It is my hope that someone will learn syrup making from him so that this cultural preservation can continue for as long as possible. There aren't many people left in St. Helena Parish who still make cane syrup. 

The importance of preserving and highlighting these types of crafts cannot be overstated. Quilt makers, basket weavers, wood carvers, and other crafts that people enjoy. The Womack men enjoy making syrup as a hobby.  There are a lot of areas in Louisiana that are known for their culture, food, music, and crafts. The Strawberry Festival, the Oyster Festival, and the Sicilian Festival are held every spring in Tangipahoa Parish. The Dairy Festivals in Kentwood, Louisiana were often mentioned by others. As far as I know, St. Helena Parish does not have any festivals. Through video and photography, I documented the process this season. It is my second time documenting the process. When I first visited a syrup mill about five years ago, James Baker was the master syrup maker. He has stopped making cane syrup, I was told.