Sugar Cane press

[D1]

I am thinking of growing sugar cane to produce my own syrup with a lot cost envolved. I would rather build it myself and save money

any ideas?

 

[k15n1]

Sugar cane must be crushed to release the juices. There's videos on youbtube that show various primitive methods.

Be aware that there's significant energy and effort involved. Similar to maple sugar, but you'll have bits of cells in there, too, so it won't turn out clear. The final product will be more like jaggery (palm sugar) or sugar-beet syrup

An unrefined sugary syrup can be produced directly from sugar beet. This thick, dark syrup is produced by cooking shredded sugar beet for several hours, then pressing the resulting sugar beet mash and concentrating the juice produced until it has the consistency similar to that of honey. No other ingredients are used. In Germany, particularly the Rhineland area, this sugar beet syrup (called Zuckerrben-Sirup or Zapp in German) is used as a spread for sandwiches, as well as for sweetening sauces, cakes and desserts.
(From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_beet)

Using syrups from plants is probably the lowest-energy form of sweetener aside from a bee hive in the back yard, which is appealing to me.

I hope you give it a try. At least once!

 

[D1]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZi4vvwjCGw this is one Im trying to get my wife help me with

this is just going to be a hobby for me. I just want to see if I can really get self sufficient. I am looking at

I have 2 hives of bees in my yard now and LOVE THEM however being new hives started this year I wasnt able to harvest much honey from them