Steen's cane syrup is a traditional American sweetener made by the simple concentration of cane juice through long cooking in open kettles. The result is a dark, "caramel–flavored, burnt gold–colored syrup", "deep and slightly sulfurous" with a "lightly bitter backlash". It is sweeter than molasses because no refined sugar is removed from the product. Traditional cane syrup has been called "one of the basic flavors of southern Louisiana"; the syrup, and Steen's manufacturing process, are described by Slow Food USA in their Ark of Taste as an endangered slow food product.