Making sugar... is it possible?

[DeniseCharleson]

You could possibly grow sugar cane and make Sorghum.

Sugarcane and sorghum are two different plants. The process to extract sugar from sugar beets is quite complex and of doubtful feasibility on a small scale. Sugarcane and sorghum are easier. Sugarcane cultivation is limited to lower latitudes; TX, LA, & FL produce much sugarcane. Sorghum is more suitable for northern latitudes.

 

[so lucky]

Regarding stevia: it is not a highly concentrated sugar. It has no sugar at all, just a sweet taste. You can grow it at home as a garden annual, then dry and use the leaves in tea. I don't know how one would convert the dry leaves to the white powder stevia that we find in the grocery store. I use it some, but the taste is not exactly like sugar. If you get too much, it has a bitter edge. Still, in South America and other areas, stevia has been used for years as a natural, healthy, no-calorie sugar substitute. Reportedly, the only reason it has not been widely used previously here in the US is due to the political influence of the big sugar companies. Also, probably, the makers of artificial sweeteners such as aspartaime, which is still not proven safe.
BTW, my DH is hypoglycemic, and he avoids sugar, and every other sweetener, like the plague.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

I can understand you wanting to have the availability of producing your own sugar or sugar sub, regardless of health concerns. I am leery of most processed foods. Speaking as a nurse, I can tell you that a hypoglycemic diet very much resembles a diabetic diet, when followed strictly. The thing would probably be to make sure you do have food often enough so that you don't dive too low. I like the South Beach plan. It concentrated around lean meats and good vegetables, while avoiding fatty food and overly starchy foods. The main thing I remember about my hypoglycemics were healthy snacks between meals. It was more high protein snacks, like PB sandwiches, than overly sweet snacks.
If you want a natural sweetner, perhaps you can barter with someone furthur south who is able to trade for something you can grow. Stevia is a natural sweetner, but is pretty much no cals. It does not contain sugar. I plan on growing some, very soon.

 

[BarredBuff]

You could possibly grow sugar cane and make Sorghum.

Sugarcane and sorghum are two different plants. The process to extract sugar from sugar beets is quite complex and of doubtful feasibility on a small scale. Sugarcane and sorghum are easier. Sugarcane cultivation is limited to lower latitudes; TX, LA, & FL produce much sugarcane. Sorghum is more suitable for northern latitudes.

Woops

 

[~gd]

You could possibly grow sugar cane and make Sorghum.

Sugarcane and sorghum are two different plants. The process to extract sugar from sugar beets is quite complex and of doubtful feasibility on a small scale. Sugarcane and sorghum are easier. Sugarcane cultivation is limited to lower latitudes;Just in case you ever get control of a ship or a plane the LOWER latitudes are at the Poles [0] the Highest latitude is 90 and is known as the equator TX, LA, & FL produce much sugarcane. Sorghum is more suitable for northern latitudes.

 

[~gd]

hey, BarredBuff
Thanks for such a quick response. I live in the Black Hills of Western South Dakota. We have very little crop or wild flowering plants right here. People around here have tried to keep honey bees, but can't establish colonies because of the lack of food sources for the bees. They either die or swarm and move off. Just east of us by 30 miles they can keep bees, but not here. Sorghum would be about the only plant that I could think that might work since they use it around here for game production areas, but how much would I need to grow to supply one person for say a year? Clear land around here is at a premium.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Average US sugar use is about 75 pounds/person.It used to be higher but cheaper High Frutose Corn suryp has taken a lot of the market. You might want to look into HFCS if you insist on DIY. Frankly I would pay the $50 for 100 pounds of sugar I suspect it might be the cheapest way to supply your needs.

 

[sdwolfden]

Thanks for all the great input everyone. I think I may have made a newbie error, and somewhat "hijacked/misdirected" the idea of what I was trying to accomplish when I started this thread. If I can expand on what I am trying to get at....Certain commodities such as sugar, salt, flour, ect... are a given in modern life. Of course, one can make thier own flour and with the proper resources refine salt from natural sourse such as sea water ect. Sugar, being near to my heart, is the one that I chose to explore. There are many different types of sugars available for many uses. Keeping in mine the idea of providing for one's own self, sugar as a daily staple, could it be made on a cottage level? I have thought of many ways of finding sugar or substatutes for it but was looking for other ways of doing it ...or is that even possible, let alone practical. Maple sugaring would be great if I lived in an area with hardwood trees, but alas pine sap tastes bitter. Since I live near the 45th parralle, sugar cane is kind of out of the question. Sugar beets can grow in this area, however, it would be impractical to do because of the scale needed to refine the sugar. Sorghum can be grown this far north, but what would it take to make it into a usable "sugar"? Are there other natural sources to refine sugar? Ignorance brought me to ask about Stevia. All of this is, is food for thought. It comes down to the old adage, "you ain't gonna learn nothing if you don't ask."

Thanks again for all the ideas. I am looking forward to hearing more as well.

 

[k15n1]

Interesting topic. To be sugar self sufficient, most people would probably use less of it. Not an option for you, I guess.

Have you considered cultivating flowers? That would help the bee situation. I read somewhere that dandelions were brought from Europe because they bloom early and were a good source of spring food for bees.

Preparing sugar from sorghum will take some effort, but grasses are probably one of the few things you'll be able to grow out there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorghum

I don't know if sugar beets would grow in the Black Hills area. They grow here in MN and I plan on raising some one of these summers.

 

[~gd]

Lots of Luck sugar was rare and costly in Europe until the 1500's when the sugar trade started up.

 

[DeniseCharleson]

Just in case you ever get control of a ship or a plane the LOWER latitudes are at the Poles [0] the Highest latitude is 90 and is known as the equator

Incorrect. The example I have closest at hand is my Denver Sectional aeronautical chart published by the FAA. The southern border of the chart is ~ 3530' North latitude and the northern border is just above 40 North latitude. Parallels of latitude increase as one travels further from the equator (0) toward the poles (90).

Sorghum can be grown this far north, but what would it take to make it into a usable "sugar"?

Crush the canes, then evaporate the juice:
http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/agr/agr123/agr123.htm

You can also stop short of evaporating all the way down to granular sugar, and just make sorghum syrup:
http://www.ces.uga.edu/Agriculture/agecon/pubs/sweetsorg.htm

Run "home processing sorghum sugar" through your favorite search engine for more examples. I always prefer .edu websites for the most accurate, research-based information, but YMMV.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.