A self sufficiency goal achieved....

[addo]

Interesting work Red, well done.

 

[British Red]

I'm going to have a go at hot beding this Jan so I can get some veg early, if so as Ian says coffee may be possible. Do you have access to lots of frsh horse dung?

Si

I have a shire horse farm adjoining the property.....so that would be a yes

 

[santaman2000]

I'd also be interested to see how it's done. Can you refine the juice easily to such a state that you could use it in wine making?

I was thinking of the molasses left over from the sugar making process being distilled into rum.

 

[santaman2000]

I'm struggling with the coffee plant to be honest - just not hot enough here. I am tempted to try tea though....it suits our climate well

In the Civil War and both world Wars, roasted chickory root was used as a coffee stretcher or even as a total substitute in some cases. Still makes a really good additive for Cajun coffee. It gives it a nice bite.

 

[British Red]

Both are possible santaman - the molasses is a by product of a fairly complex refining process. But at its simplest you can dissolve out the sugar into solution and ferment the solution in a lot less manufacturing steps. Both work.

 

[santaman2000]

Both are possible santaman - the molasses is a by product of a fairly complex refining process. But at its simplest you can dissolve out the sugar into solution and ferment the solution in a lot less manufacturing steps. Both work.

and boiled it down to
Yeah commercial prcesses are complex. But when I was a kid the local (Mississippi not Florida) cane mills just pressed the cane to remder the juice (an old wine press should work) then boiled it down into molasses. They never deliberately went further to refine sugar though as the molasses itself was their goal. They also sold raw cane juice by the gallon jug for drinking as is.

IIRC you're using sugar beets though? Is their a difference in the process? I know they have a lot of commercial beet farms and sugar refineries out West here (Utah, Wyoming, etc.) but I never visited them so I know absolutely nothing about the process there.

 

[British Red]

Yeah its a lot more complex getting the sugar out from something of a turnip like consistency. Cane would be simpler - but I don't think the climate would be suitable here. I'll do a write up when I get a minute

 

[santaman2000]

Thanks. Looking forward to it as always.

 

[Spikey DaPikey]

Well done that man

 

[slowworm]

I'm struggling with the coffee plant to be honest - just not hot enough here. I am tempted to try tea though....it suits our climate well

I've grown both and even managed a few coffee beans but about a tenth of the size of commercial ones. I don't think it requires too much heat but I haven't got the space at the moment.

The tea grew well and now I'm in Devon I'll get some more plants as camellias see to grow well down here, processing is a bit of a faff.

Did your yacon survive? Ours sulked for much of the year but has put a spurt on in the last couple of months.

 

[British Red]

Yes thank you sir, the Yacon seems to be doing very well - its tucked up next to the Oca...probably 5' or a bit more in height now...I have high hopes....

 

[slowworm]

Hopefully it's still got a month or two of growth before the frosts to fatten up the tubers.

 

[British Red]

Here's hoping

If yours doesn't pan out - I'll be delighted to return the favour of some starts

 

[Man of Tanith]

great stuff Red
growing Tea eh? that'd be interesting

 

[slowworm]

If yours doesn't pan out - I'll be delighted to return the favour of some starts

Thanks, I expect I'll have a good few tubers for next year for myself and to give away. Don't forget to take care overwintering them, they don't like much frost. I tend to leave a bit of stem on the crown of growing shoots, in a pot of dryish soil in a cool place and protect from mice.

Sorry for the slight thread hijack.

 

[British Red]

Meh, I love thread drift - its just a conversation between interested people. I'm looking forward to trying the Yacon - I want to make a sort of "maple syrup".......

 

[xylaria]

That is excellant, i am really interested in growing my own sugars, when I found out how much mercury gets lost in making some types of the "white stuff" and sugar that is added to food, i was horrified http://www.iatp.org/files/421_2_105026.pdf

Some native grasses have sugaryness that can be chewed out of the base, but i doubt there would be enough to process the sugar out. Sugar cane is oozing juice, the native sweet grasses are much shorter and drier.

Brown unrefined sugar is better than white, it has more goodness like iron and other minerals.

 

[British Red]

I do like a muscavado myself This is....not like any sugar I have ever eaten to be honest. Somewhere between demerara and toffee in taste (I kid you not)

 

[xylaria]

Muscavado is good stuff, proper black strap added to bread is good, but malt syrup my fav. I would love to know how to make home grown malt syrup.

Anyone smell white sugar, then smell any of the unprocessed sugars, what do you notice?

 

[santaman2000]

What about sugar maples? I would think they'd grow well over there.