Question from Terri Williams
Hi Debra:
I just bought a sugar cane stick. How in the world do you get the sugar cane out of this huge stick? I have not a clue!
Terri
Debra’s Answer
The first step in making sugar from sugar cane is to remove the juice from the fiber. This requires a press. These costs hundreds and thousands of dollars. I think in Thailand they have hand presses for sugar cane, but I have been unable to locate one. A local restaurant here in Florida has an electric press that they use to extract the juice from sugar cane in the bar to use in tropical alcoholic drinks and lemonade (and you can order a shot of sugar cane juice to put in your ice tea). It requires a lot of pressure to extract the juice.
The best way to use sugar cane at home is to just cut off a bite-sized chunk and chew on it. It gives a slow release of sweetness, like chewing gum.
But I haven’t come up with a way yet to utilize sugar cane in any other way.
