Homemade Sugar Cane Syrup Production

Homemade Sugar Cane Syrup Production. Barberville Pioneer Settlement. , The process for sugarcane syrup production on farms in Florida has not changed that much for well over 100 years. It takes the cane a year to reach maturity and its peek sweetness along with a light frost in the fall generally in November to early December helps., Depending on the size of the operation, a “horse” mill or a “power” mill is used to grind the stalks of the cane when fed between rollers of the cast iron mill. As the name implies a “horse” is powered by an animal usually a horse or mule and a “power” mill is run with some type of engine which in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s required an investment in a steam engine., The juice is generally collected into some type of barrel from the spout of the mill and transferred to a large cast iron kettle. Due to its shallow shape the kettle evenly heats the juice causing the water in the juice to evaporate, or “steam” off, without scalding the syrup or leaving a burnt taste in your mouth. After 4 or 5 hours of boiling, the juice has concentrated its sugar content to a thick syrup or “candy” type stage. It is then ready to be removed from the kettle to cool before placing in manageable containers for your use at the table. If you were to continue cooking until all the water is removed, then a cake of brown sugar would be the result., During the entire cooking process close attention needs to be paid to the heating of the “fire-fox” to maintain constant even heat. Particles of the cane stalks and remnants of the leaves, from the juice need to be removed during cooking by periodic skimming and cleaning. As a rule of thumb it generally requires 8 to 12 gallons of sugarcane juice to produce just ONE gallon of syrup.