|
| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
Sugarcane or Sugar cane (Saccharum) is a genus of 6 to 37 species (depending on taxonomic interpretation) of tall perennial grasses (family Poaceae, tribe Andropogoneae), native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Old World. They have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar and measure 2 to 6 meters tall. All of the sugarcane species interbreed, and the major commercial cultivars are complex hybrids.
The bagasse that remains after sugarcane crushing may be burned to provide both heat energy, used in the mill, and electricity, which is typically sold to the consumer electricity grid. It may also, because of its high cellulose content, be used as raw material for paper and cardboard, branded as Environmentally friendly as it is made from a by-product of sugar production.
Traditionally, sugarcane has been processed in two stages. Sugarcane mills, located in sugarcane-producing regions, extract sugar from freshly harvested sugarcane, resulting in raw sugar for later refining, and in "mill white" sugar for local consumption. Sugar refineries, often located in heavy sugar-consuming regions, such as North America, Europe, and Japan, then purify raw sugar to produce refined white sugar, a product that is more than 99 percent pure sucrose.
In most countries where sugarcane is cultivated, there are several foods and popular dishes derived from it, such as:
Direct consumption of raw sugarcane cylinders or cubes, which are chewed to extract the juice, and the bagasse is spat out
Freshly extracted juice (garapa, guarab, guarapa, guarapo, papelón, or caldo de cana) by hand or electrically operated small mills, with a touch of lemon and ice, makes a delicious and popular drink.
Molasses, used as a sweetener and as a syrup accompanying other foods, such as cheese or cookies
Rapadura, a candy made of flavored solid brown sugar in Brazil, which can be consumed in small hard blocks, or in pulverized form (flour), as an add-on to other desserts.
Sugarcane is also used in rum production, especially in the Caribbean.
Cane sugar syrup was the traditional sweetener in soft drinks for many years, but has been largely supplanted (in the US at least) by high-fructose corn syrup, which is less expensive, but does not taste quite like the sugar it replaces. |
Arjun has marked this note useful
Only registered TrekNature members may rate photo notes. |
|
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 306 W: 3 N: 780]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-n-g.gif)
(3670)![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 696 W: 132 N: 2209]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-g-g.gif)
(8753)![Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Note Writer [C: 505 W: 0 N: 12]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-n-s.gif)
(1667)