It ’s sugarcane season again and time to make cane sirup at plate .
This situation was originally written and posted in November of 2013 but it ’s clock time to add it back to the foreground , debris off the dependable stockpot , and show just how easy ( though time - consume ! ) homemade cane syrup can be .
First , you might enjoy this picture I created documenting the entire cognitive process , then we ’ll get into the step - by - footprint photo guide .
As you unconstipated reader know , I ’ve grown scratch cane for a few years now .
The fry love it and it ’s a nice bauble but I always need to do more with our crop than just hack chunks off for chewing .
Back in 2012 when I planteda big bed of scratch cane , I know that at some detail I ’d have to figure out how to process it into something useful .
Since distilling is seemingly illegal , rum was out … but homemade cane syrup sounded like a succeeder . Plus , Rachel want it , so it had to be made .
This mail shares how we figured out how to make cane sirup without a cane press and how you could make your own scrumptious cane syrup the same way .
Step 1: Harvest Some Canes
In North Florida there are freezes in wintertime that will tap sugar cane down to the footing , so this is the time of year we cut canes .
It ’s got to happen before frost or the crop will be ruined .
Cane harvest is fun because you get to employ a machete . Anything is better with a machete ( except open up coconut palm ) .
To harvest sugarcane , I cut down the canes close to the basis , then strip off the leaf and cast them over the “ stumps ” I pass on behind .
Because sugar cane is a inhuman - sensitive perennial , covering up the roots will keep the plant safe until next spring when a whole new batch of homegrown sugar will rise from the ground as before long as the soil warms up enough .
Step 2: Wash Those Canes
Sugarcane tend to have mildew on its prow , along with dust , shit and the occasional bug .
I do n’t want these in my sirup so I scrub the canes after removing the folio .
I care to do this over one of my garden bed and rinse with the hosiery as I go .
I do n’t practice soap or anything , just piddle and elbow soil .
The canes are truly beautiful when they ’re wet – they look like endearing varnish bamboo .
meditate their attraction helps alleviate the mind - vanquish tedium of washing a peck of them .
Step 3: Start Chopping ’em Up
Here ’s the expectant problem with lettuce cane : it ’s full of fiber .
You ca n’t just put clod in your drinker . I judge … and I do n’t recollect my Champion toper will ever be the same .
After multiple jam - ups and some smoking and shaking which only cede about a one-half - loving cup of syrup , I realized it was pointless .
Normally , lettuce cane is processed with powerful pressing that crush it flat and allow the sugary juice run out . I do n’t have anything like this at habitation and could n’t work out out a good way to jury - outfit something . Real presses are really expensive – and the Thai ones they often sell on atomic number 99 - bay are made for flattening calamari , not crushing something as tough as sugar cane .
Do n’t waste your money !
What we decided to do was merely chop the sugar cane into chunks , then quarter those segments . A respectable heavy meat chopper ferment well for this .
Step 4: Boil the Chunks Of Cane
After chop up , we put the pieces into a large stockpot , covered them with water supply , then started boil the sugar out of them .
This lead some time and you have to make certain they stay covered with body of water , so top the pot off occasionally .
As the cane cooks , it will miss its shining color and commence to release pallid Brown University .
Once the flavor of the H2O is the same as that of a chunk of the boil sugar cane , you ’re ready to move on to the next measure .
This bring an minute or two – I get my tastebuds be my scout .
Step 5: Strain Out the Cane Fragments
Step 6: Boil It Down
Step 7: Finish and Jar the Syrup
You ’re really close to the end now . It ’s the last reach !
At this point , you need to be careful not to allow the syrup burn , turn into caramel brown or boil over .
Cook it with constant oversight and be quick to rend it off the burner at a moment ’s observance .
The bubbles start to get very thick and glassy as it nears syrup consistency .
My first batch was very , very chummy so I learn to back off a little on the final boiling point down . Dip a spoon regularly into the syrup and see how compact it is when it cools .
set up a few spoons aside in the freezer for this degree is a good musical theme . Once you ’ve got the right thickness , pour your sirup off into a Freemason jar and :
congratulation ! You ’ve made your own home - grown , organic , vegan , free trade , sustainably harvested , locavore - okay , non - GMO , gluten - destitute , astonishingly delectable sugar cane syrup !
Sure , it ’s a lot comfortable to juice the cane first , rather than doing the chop n ’ boil … but if you ’re just a hobbyist like me who wants a few shock of syrup to give aside at Christmas , this beat having to buy a specialised extractor or find a local cane grinder .
I bet it would also work for sorghum … try it and see .
As a net note : homemade cane syrup tastes absolutely amazing … you ’re gon na sample it and bed it . I have no idea why it is n’t as popular as maple sirup . In judgment they are neck opening and neck .
Happy syruping !
Final Note: Growing Your Own Sugarcane
If you are concerned in grow your own sugarcane patch , I cut across the process in one of the appendices of my democratic bookTotally Crazy Easy Florida Gardening .
Sugarcane is wanton to grow even in a backyard patch .
My stake is that if there ’s a crisis , sugar will skyrocket in economic value . And if there is n’t a crisis , then hey – you ’ll still be enjoying some sugarcane .
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