Kelsey: How-to Friday! How to make sugar.

When I live in America I pay very little attention to where my food comes from. I mean I love the farmers market, if given the choice I shop local produce. But everything that comes in a package could come from Indonesia for all I know. I watched the movie Food Inc (recommend it) about a year ago and was very disturbed about many things in the American food system. One of them being how much of the packaged food I eat is just corn made into different looking and tasting things, all because corn is cheap and plentiful because corn is subsidized. Anyways point being that I never knew really where my sugar was coming from until I lived in Uganda.

I dont exactly know the process of turning sugar cane into sugar. It was explained to me but I was only half listening. I also took a bunch of pictures but they all pretty much look like this...

And this.

Lots of pretty pretty machines. But more importantly this is where it starts...

Sugar cane

This picture was taken at the annual agricultural show held in Jinja. Its a big deal, the president comes. The show lasts for one week and tons of plant life are on display. It reminds me of the flower show in Chicago. Its kind of bizarre to do all this planting and landscaping for a one weeks show. 

Dorcus disappearing into some sugar cane

We grow sugar cane in our backyard. Dorcus loves this plant like it is her own child. I kind of get it. I mean you give it some love and water and it gives you some yummy sugar. 

This is way more fun when it is done with a machete

Dorcus cuts off a piece of sugar cane about once a week. I believe she trades it at school like we used to trade pogs. Remember pogs? I guess she could just be bringing it as a snack but sometimes she brings home sugar cane when she did not go with any... Something is up.

Our own personal jungle

Score!

Sugar cane can be eaten right from the ground. Just cut it, peel it and eat it. It is a three step process and totally machine free. 

This piece is waiting for me to eat it.

Easiest to just peel it with your teeth. 

It tastes vaguely fruity. It is sort of tropical. I thought it would taste more like straight sugar. 

Alisha likes it. But she also eats paper and soap so her opinion might not hold a lot of weight.

And voila you can now make sugar. Basically.