"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime"-MARK TWAIN

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Syrup Cooking

 

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A few weeks ago Judy had a post about an old  Southern tradition. It was part of a living history exhibition on the NWR where she is presently volunteering.  Little did I know when  reading her post that the tradition was alive and well just a little over ten miles from my home.

A fifth generation syrup maker still grows a little sugar cane for his own personal consumption and sale, along with making syrup for the few other folks in the area that still grow it.  His operation is a little larger than the one Judy spoke of, but the procedure is much the same.  The mule or horse is missing, being replaced with an old Farmall tractor.

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The mill for crushing the cane is larger, but the results are the same.  The cane is fed between two large rollers to extract the juice.

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Manufactured in Columbus, Georgia nearly a hundred years ago, it still performed well.

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The juice runs from the mill through a couple of different screens into a large metal stock tank.

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From there, it gravity feeds down to the cooker.  A U shaped trough approximately thirty feet long and two feet wide.

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The juice is skimmed to remove as much foam as possible because it makes the syrup dark.

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As the juice makes its way along the trough it is progressively heated until it begins to steam.  By the time it reaches the other end of the trough it is at a roiling boil.

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It’s at this point where the syrup makers art becomes apparent.  If you don’t cook it long enough it’s too thin and watery; too long it won’t pour and might scorch.  Like a fine winemaker, he constantly stirs, tastes, and looks for certain things.

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At the proper moment the valve is opened and what looks like liquid gold pours into a bucket.

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From there it is dumped through another screen into the the bottling tub.

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Each persons cane is cooked and bottled separately.  That’s due to the different varieties of cane, as well as the variations within each crop.  Just like grapes, different soils and moisture levels produce different sugar levels, which affects the final product.  Though some mixing takes place at the beginning and end of each batch, as the cooker can’t run dry, what you bring in the way of sugar cane is what you take home in syrup.

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The syrup maker himself takes a portion of each batch as payment for his mill and labor.  By Christmas he has sold all he made for himself, as well as his take for cooking for others.

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It was a beautiful Saturday morning on the first day of December.  Just to be out in the country smelling that hot syrup cooking, visiting with folks young and old, and watching what’s soon to be a lost art, was awesome. 

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Oh, Yeah!  I brought some home.  Now to talk Wanda into a pan of hot biscuits….jc

11 comments:

  1. That's interesting. I can smell that hot syrup. I grew up with maple syrup makin in New England, so the aroma is coming back. Thanks for the youthful memories.

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  2. Yes, that's a bigger operation than here on the refuge, but the end product is the same. :)

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  3. Thanks for the clear description of the process. I've seen an old cooker, but not while it was in use. Love old machinery, especially when it's still used.

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  4. It's amazing how much juice is extracted from the cane stalks.

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  5. Louisiana is sure rich with history...Great post....Horst

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  6. Dad used to tell me about how they made syrup. So great to see pictures of the process!

    After I came along, the old timers would just peel and cut plugs of cane for us to chew the juice out of.

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  7. Looks like you had a wonderful day...bet you are loving the warm weather!

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  8. Nice description... Anyone can understand the process easily.

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Thanks for looking, and comments are welcome.