Syrup

[Boot Jack Bulls]

This is going to sound completely ignorant, but what do you folks use cane syrup for???? Is it like maple syrup is for us northerners? Something to put over pancakes and waffles, and sweeten other things????

Yes, it would be our version of your maple syrup and like your real maple syrup this hasn't been cut like the commercial stuff.

That's one of the best parts of living up here, a person can get real, fresh bottled maple syrup very easily. I know dozens of people who run sap, and several that make syrup. It's pretty much a given that everyone will get at least one bottle of local syrup for Christmas.

 

[Jogeephus]

This is going to sound completely ignorant, but what do you folks use cane syrup for???? Is it like maple syrup is for us northerners? Something to put over pancakes and waffles, and sweeten other things????

Yes, it would be our version of your maple syrup and like your real maple syrup this hasn't been cut like the commercial stuff.

That's one of the best parts of living up here, a person can get real, fresh bottled maple syrup very easily. I know dozens of people who run sap, and several that make syrup. It's pretty much a given that everyone will get at least one bottle of local syrup for Christmas.

I can't say I've ever had real maple syrup. The stuff I've had is really watered down and "thin".

 

[Boot Jack Bulls]

Yes, it would be our version of your maple syrup and like your real maple syrup this hasn't been cut like the commercial stuff.

That's one of the best parts of living up here, a person can get real, fresh bottled maple syrup very easily. I know dozens of people who run sap, and several that make syrup. It's pretty much a given that everyone will get at least one bottle of local syrup for Christmas.

I can't say I've ever had real maple syrup. The stuff I've had is really watered down and "thin".

Jo, real maple syrup should be just a tad thicker than water.....nothing like the c**p in the store that is mostly corn syrup.

 

[greybeard]

Yes, it would be our version of your maple syrup and like your real maple syrup this hasn't been cut like the commercial stuff.

That's one of the best parts of living up here, a person can get real, fresh bottled maple syrup very easily. I know dozens of people who run sap, and several that make syrup. It's pretty much a given that everyone will get at least one bottle of local syrup for Christmas.

I can't say I've ever had real maple syrup. The stuff I've had is really watered down and "thin".

My wife brought some back when she visited her sister in Vt. I wasn't impressed.
I have heard of people making syrup from Sweetgum and Sycamore tree sap, but never seen or tasted the syrup myself.

 

[Logar]

Finished the last batch of cane syrup this weekend. Its a lot of work but in the end the smiles on people's faces when you hand them a bottle and say Merry Christmas makes its worth the effort.

Never had it - is it thick or is it runny?

Can you buy it in the store - might like to try it.

Merry Christmas.

 

[greybeard]

I'm not jogeephus but ribbon cane syrup is pretty thick. Molasses thick.
If it's thin, someone watered it down to stretch it and from what I've had, it's kinda 'skunky' when done that way..
Yes, you can buy it in stores...here anyway..some is better than others.
Steens is the brand I see in stores here. I've seen also Uncle John's and Fains.
https://www.amazon.com/Cane-Syrup-Steen ... B00IYTLVC0

 

[bbirder]

GB,
Gotta brag here. Steens is made in my hometown. Guarantee you it is pure cane syrup without any additives. Sure smells good when they fire up the kettles. Smell drifts over the whole town.

 

[Jogeephus]

Never had it - is it thick or is it runny?

Can you buy it in the store - might like to try it.

Merry Christmas.

It can be thick or runny depending on if you want to make molasses or syrup. This is where the art comes in because each year is different and different canes have different sugar contents. Humidity also effects it. The trick is to reduce it down to the consistency you like and stop the heat. If you don't stop the heat soon enough you will end up with a pot of sugar or candy you will have to chisel out of the pot. Making this call is an art and is done by reading the run off from the paddle since the pot is a frothy brew that you can't really see. You can also read the bubbles once you've done it a few times.

 

[greybeard]

It can be thick or runny depending on if you want to make molasses or syrup

I've never heard of molasses being made from sugar cane...always made from sorghum.

 

[TexasBred]

This is going to sound completely ignorant, but what do you folks use cane syrup for???? Is it like maple syrup is for us northerners? Something to put over pancakes and waffles, and sweeten other things????

Much stronger, sweeter and thicker. Works best on a big fat biscuit with some butter inside. ;-) Most ribbon cane syrup I've seen was sold in cans.

 

[slick4591]

This is going to sound completely ignorant, but what do you folks use cane syrup for???? Is it like maple syrup is for us northerners? Something to put over pancakes and waffles, and sweeten other things????

Much stronger, sweeter and thicker. Works best on a big fat biscuit with some butter inside. ;-) Most ribbon cane syrup I've seen was sold in cans.

Looked sorta like a paint can. We had a discussion like this a number of years ago here and someone suggested a place to order ribbon cane out of Alabama, I think. It came in a jar and didn't taste the same as the stuff we used to get out of east Texas. I don't think I ever finished the jar. We ate it like TB said on a buttered biscuit.

 

[Jogeephus]

It can be thick or runny depending on if you want to make molasses or syrup

I've never heard of molasses being made from sugar cane...always made from sorghum.

Sorghum is probably the most common but the true difference between syrup and molasses is the viscosity and this is determined by how far you process the juice.

Here is a photo showing different products from the same juice. The left is pure cane syrup. If flows similar to the syrups most are familiar with. The middle is much darker and flows more like honey or similar to what you might know as blackstrap molasses. Its flavor is more earthy and the aroma more complex. On the right is thicker than mud and its flavor is even more concentrated and more aromatic. You need the patience of Job to pour but the flavor is more intense than all the others but your coffee and biscuits will get cold before any of it comes out the bottle. For this reason, it isn't used much on the table but for baking. This is rare stuff and I doubt you could find it in a store because it would be cost prohibitive to make and the margin for error in processing is slim and if you are not careful you'll end up with a kettle full of burnt sugar or candy. For that reason its not made often. However, for those who bake, this is stuff is gold and will turn out the best gingerbread cookies imaginable.

 

[Jogeephus]

I use it for all sorts of things from curing bacon and ham to simply biscuits.

The meats with the dark tint are sugar cured meats - mostly different types of bacon.

Sugar cured wild pig ham

Then biscuits

 

[TexasBred]

Joe my dad and granddad use to make ribbon cane syrup. PRetty much like the pics that have been posted except their "pan" or whatever they called it was about 3-6 and divided up into 4-5 different departments. The juice went into one end and it literally circulated from one department to the other and dad and granddaddy would be skimming the trash etc. off the top all the time. Grandaddy wouldn't let anybody but him skim the last section of the syrup pan. (If I remember right there is an art to keeping the fire just right under it as well. Gotta have it hot enough to do it's job but don't want it so hot that it might scorch the juice and ruin the syrup. Last section had a small spigot where they would drain and filter the finished product into a small can (half gallon i think)....Use to sell for about $10-12 dollars a can). Probably much more now. You get a reputation as a good syrup maker and you would sell out everyday as soon as you canned it.

 

[Jogeephus]

Joe my dad and granddad use to make ribbon cane syrup. PRetty much like the pics that have been posted except their "pan" or whatever they called it was about 3-6 and divided up into 4-5 different departments. The juice went into one end and it literally circulated from one department to the other and dad and granddaddy would be skimming the trash etc. off the top all the time. Grandaddy wouldn't let anybody but him skim the last section of the syrup pan. (If I remember right there is an art to keeping the fire just right under it as well. Gotta have it hot enough to do it's job but don't want it so hot that it might scorch the juice and ruin the syrup. Last section had a small spigot where they would drain and filter the finished product into a small can (half gallon i think)....Use to sell for about $10-12 dollars a can). Probably much more now. You get a reputation as a good syrup maker and you would sell out everyday as soon as you canned it.

That's interesting. Never seen a setup like that. The kettles we use were also used to scald pigs when you aren't making syrup. The slanted sides make moving a pig around easy.

How we do it is we strain the juice as it runs out the press. This goes in a bucket and then in the kettle. Once it first begins to boil we skim this off using pots with a bunch of holes punched in them. This gets the bulk of the debris out and this is the main source of the skimmings which some keep and make into what we call Buck which is a crude alcoholic beverage that can leave you with an immense hangover.

Once it begins to boil rapidly we place a ring on the kettle and this forces the bubbles upward and these bubbles push the fines out ot the kettle and onto the rim. Here we drag rags through the foam and the rags collect the fines. After about 3.5 hours of boiling the bubbles get big and then the head falls. The fall abrupt and tells you to really watch the syrup because like you say you can easily ruin it. Someone with a good eye can look at how the syrup runs off a paddle and tell when its time to pull for syrup or for molasses.

Once the decision is made to shut down the heat the syrup is scooped out and poured over a cloth and into a rectangular steel box that's insulated and has a spigot on it. In a way, this makes skimming the fines with the cloth unnecessary but that is how it was always done so we aren't going to change things now. Besides, it keeps the kettle tended. Once in the container we bottle it hot and seal with a cap and then we start another batch.

 

[greybeard]

I've never seen a big kettle used anywhere except the deep south. My grandfather used evap pans similar to what TB described. Had wooden slats to make up the weir the juice traveled down.
A less fancy version of this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgdZuHsSlVs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyxwlJkC_es
along these lines:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... r_1330.jpg
https://awriterandhiscuy.wordpress.com/ ... -molasses/
I believe they do Maple syrup the same way, in pan type evaporators.

 

[Jogeephus]

Thanks GB, that is interesting.