'We needed about 800 stalks of sugarcane to make about 100 hundred gallons of raw juice, that makes about 12 gallons of sugarcane syrup. Let me explain! The fun began down on the farm… We worked all week in the sugarcane fields using pioneer period tools stripping the sugar cane, topping the sugarcane and finally cutting it down. To strip the cane, you start at the top pull down and cut off all the leaves, on every stalk, on every row, this batch of syrup took about 2 ½ rows. After it’s stripped, we topped the cane just below the green leaves. Then, we cut it down using a special tool attached to the tractor. It looks like a big saw blade, and it’s much better than bending over to cut each stalk. Then it’s loaded onto a trailer and moved to the sugarcane press ready to be processed. All that happened on Thursday and Friday. Then Saturday morning as the sun rose and the rooster crowed, let’s see, oh about 7 am, We fired up the hit and miss motor which runs the sugar cane press. She was a bit temperamental this morning, but finally she started to purr. Feed the beast… This is the beast, the cane crusher! To start the process Phillip was standing on the trailer with all the sugarcane and feeding the press, 4 stalks at a time. Patti was receiving the sugar cane stalks after they were squeezed of all juices, she stacked them on the cart and made sure everyone was doing their jobs. Dave was the giggler. He watched the burlap filter to ensure it did not get clogged. Juices flowed down the shoot, onto the burlap, then into the holding tank. Mr. Willard, was in charge When the sugar cane cart was full, we hauled off the crushed stalks and dumped them at the edge of the field. Then it was returned, and the process continued. When the holding tank had 50 gallons, we transferred the juice to the cast iron pot Lit the oven and started to heat the juice. It takes quite awhile to get 50 gallons of juice to boil. The paint brush was set to the correct position based on the ambient temperature. While the juice was heating up, we were watching and skimming off all the nasty stuff that was missed by the burlap. We all took turns skimming… We continued to feed the beast with the sugarcane until we had another 25 gallons, then transferred the juice again. This continued until we had another 25 gallons, then the last transfer making 100 gallons of good ole sugarcane juice Now we wait for the batch to boil. It boils, cooks down, then starts to rise again. A ring was placed around the pot and covered with burlap to act as a filter. When it boils over it runs back down into the pot. Then it starts what they call frogging, bubbling up like a jumping frog. It’s close to ready. So, the Boss checked to see if it was ready, and when it reaches the magical number, it was time… It was scooped out using the tin cans on a stick and poured into another tank for bottling, we ended up with about 12 gallons of syrup. Then bottles were filled, 1 by 1 and cleanup started. We started at 7 am and finished at 4 pm, what a day! Wow, that was an awesome day, Steve! So that’s how we make sugarcane syrup here at the Panhandle Pioneer Settlement. Until later, thanks for your time, Bye! Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5Fga9xPY30LRE_HEgVrARg/join
Tags: full time rv , Florida , full time rv living , Museum , Agriculture , Syrup , sugar cane , a workamper’s story , steve turtle , jill turtle , workamping , workamper lifestyle , workampers , workcamper , workamper experiences , work camping , workamper , Panhandle Pioneer Settlement , Pioneer settlement , Pioneer Stories , blountstown , calhoun county , sugar cane syrup process
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