Making Sugar Cane Syrup

[Western]

Talk about memories, My grandfather made sorghum and us kids from school where the labor:laughing: actually we worked the afternoons and a percentage went to fund the school (Private school) Still to this day don't like the taste or smell of Molasses, loved it when I was in 4-5th grade. I could eat the sugar cane all day though. We made and bottled it and sold it to a few grocery chains, one was Piggly Wiggly. I remember that one because we went there a few times to deliver. We also had a honey operation going that also was bottled, now that neat.

 

[jinman]

I could eat the sugar cane all day though. We made and bottled it and sold it to a few grocery chains, one was Piggly Wiggly. I remember that one because we went there a few times to deliver. We also had a honey operation going that also was bottled, now that neat.

We used to sell lots of vegetables to the local Piggly Wiggly (Hoggly Woggly ). The local store would buy every pod of okra we took there. We also sold them lots of beans, blackeyed peas, and squash.

Dennis, my uncle and dad always called the sugar cane, "ribbon cane." I'm not so sure why, but he had "Ribbon Cane Syrup" printed on his labels. Like you, I preferred cane syrup to molasses because it wasn't as strong tasting.

 

[JamesHW]

Never experienced a cane sugar operation, but remember one winter as a kid we drove up into Vermont and visited a maple syrup sugar shack. They would drizzle the hot syrup in some clean snow and it would become candy.

Bit -o- trivia; In the old Gary Cooper movie Sergeant York (a fav), there is a scene where he visits the fellow who purchased his bottom land out from under him, the guy is feeding cane into a press being turned by a mule while his father stirs a tub.

 

[jinman]

Here's an old newspaper story about my uncle. It's not completely accurate because it says the cane was grown on his property when in reality it was grown on my dad's property. My Uncle Gates's 3 acres was right next to Dad's 21 acres. I remember it was a yearly event with lots of local visitors to see his operation. I was 15 and helped after school and on weekends, but the juice mill and cooking only lasted about a week after many months of planting, growing, and harvesting the cane.

I'm sorry about the quality of the photos. This page is from an old newspaper online archive.

 

[forgeblast]

Good place to ask, anyone have/know of any easy ways to make a cane mill?
Do you have to boil down the syrup like maple?

 

[jinman]

There are two types of cooking methods that I am aware of. One is a kettle and the other is a big rectangular pan with divisions that make the juice zig-zag down the pan to the final section where it is tapped into a cooling barrel and then bottled. My uncle designed his own pan and had it built. There are several internet sources for the kettle type and dimensions.

Cane syrup is different from maple syrup in that the ratio of juice to syrup is a lot less for cane juice. Off the top of my head, I'd say the ratio is no more than 5:1 for cane syrup and probably closer to 3:1 depending on how much water is in the harvested cane. Cane juice boils for 3 hours to finished syrup. I believe most kettles are 100 gallon and make 30 gallons of syrup.

 

[bullbreaker]

I've posted these pic's before from pioneer museum maybe 20 miles + north of me.

Boone

 

[Western]

Dennis, my uncle and dad always called the sugar cane, "ribbon cane." I'm not so sure why, but he had "Ribbon Cane Syrup" printed on his labels. Like you, I preferred cane syrup to molasses because it wasn't as strong tasting.

Jim, I've heard that term "Ribbon Cane" and I don't know why they call it that either? Cane Syrup I can do also, burned out on the "burned flavor":laughing:

 

[Brad_Blazer]

There are a few farmers around here that still have cane presses for sorghum syrup. They do the full process at the Sims Molasses Festival.
Check it out 45 seconds into this video.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leH8EdmnI8Y]27th Annual Molasses Festival at Sims Country BBQ in Dudley Shoals, NC - YouTube[/ame]

 

[IslandManMitch]

I know this thread is old but if someone is doing a search as I am I'd like to answer a question that was brought up a few times. "Ribbon" or Louisiana Ribbon cane is a variety of sugar cane that was commonly grown years ago noted as a excellent Syrup Cane. I remember Louisana Ribbon, Florida Red and Louisiana Purple being grown in my area of the Gulf Coast when I was a kid.