Making sugar... is it possible?

[k15n1]

You could possibly grow sugar cane and make Sorghum.

Sugarcane and sorghum are two different plants. The process to extract sugar from sugar beets is quite complex and of doubtful feasibility on a small scale. Sugarcane and sorghum are easier. Sugarcane cultivation is limited to lower latitudes; TX, LA, & FL produce much sugarcane. Sorghum is more suitable for northern latitudes.

Extracting beet syrup is easy. Chop up the beet into small pieces then cook it to burst the cells. Boil it down until you have a good thick syrup. At least, that's what the interweb says.

Making white granulated sugar from anything is really really hard. It's not a DIY project. I don't know how it's possible to sell it for 1 $/lb and make money. There's a lot of energy that goes into making it white. Throughout history, I think dark brown sugars and syrups were the norm. Beet syrup is still used in Germany. And Indians use jaggery which is an impure sugar from the pulp of (sago?) palms. I don't know why white granulated sugar became so common. The purity comes at a price and it has almost no value in baked goods. We even add molassas back into some baked goods...

 

[DeniseCharleson]

You could possibly grow sugar cane and make Sorghum.

Sugarcane and sorghum are two different plants. The process to extract sugar from sugar beets is quite complex and of doubtful feasibility on a small scale. Sugarcane and sorghum are easier. Sugarcane cultivation is limited to lower latitudes; TX, LA, & FL produce much sugarcane. Sorghum is more suitable for northern latitudes.

Extracting beet syrup is easy. Chop up the beet into small pieces then cook it to burst the cells. Boil it down until you have a good thick syrup. At least, that's what the interweb says.

That leaves out the important step of carbonation, with lime and CO2 ... the part of the process that makes it impractical to do on a small scale. That is why sugarcane and sorghum are more practical for home or small scale operations.

 

[Denim Deb]

You don't need to do the final stages. After all, it was being turned into sugar long B4 the modern methods were being used.

 

[k15n1]

Most of the steps are to make the sugar white and they're not necessary for the sugar content. As long as you're not eating it straight, it probably won't make much difference.

To make it white, you have to remove the bits of cells, minerals, etc. Acidification of the product basically precipitates certain metals and causes the proteins to drop out of solution (probably due to mis-folding, tangling, and cross-linking). The lime reverses the process. Similar processes were used for cane sugar, though blood and other proteins were often added with heat to capture and precipitate the biological macromolecules. Charcoal filtering was also common.

It's amazing how much effort goes into making sugar white and granular. The white is as silly as white bread [1]. The granular form probably makes sense only if you are shipping tons of the stuff from one continent to another. So if you make beet sugar at home, the color shouldn't be a problem and the shipping weight won't matter so syrup is probably fine. And if you need to make cookies or other baking that requires careful control of moisture, just boil some of it down and make granular sugar out of the crystals.





1. "The bread I eat in London is a deleterious paste, mixed up with chalk, alum and bone ashes, insipid to the taste and destructive to the constitution. The good people are not ignorant of this adulteration; but they prefer it to wholesome bread, because it is whiter than the meal of corn [wheat]. Thus they sacrifice their taste and their health. . . to a most absurd gratification of a misjudged eye; and the miller or the baker is obliged to poison them and their families, in order to live by his profession." - Tobias Smollet, The Expedition of Humphrey Clinker (1771)[7

 

[~gd]

Just in case you ever get control of a ship or a plane the LOWER latitudes are at the Poles [0] the Highest latitude is 90 and is known as the equator

Incorrect. The example I have closest at hand is my Denver Sectional aeronautical chart published by the FAA. The southern border of the chart is ~ 3530' North latitude and the northern border is just above 40 North latitude. Parallels of latitude increase as one travels further from the equator (0) toward the poles (90).OMG! of course you are right! I don't know where my brain was when I made that post. I spent the best part of 3 years in the Navy updating charts. I am truly sorry for "correcting" you with completely wrong info.[ maybe this explaines why they never let me steer the ship] once again I am so sorry!~gd

Sorghum can be grown this far north, but what would it take to make it into a usable "sugar"?

Crush the canes, then evaporate the juice:
http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/agr/agr123/agr123.htm

You can also stop short of evaporating all the way down to granular sugar, and just make sorghum syrup:
http://www.ces.uga.edu/Agriculture/agecon/pubs/sweetsorg.htm

Run "home processing sorghum sugar" through your favorite search engine for more examples. I always prefer .edu websites for the most accurate, research-based information, but YMMV.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

[DeniseCharleson]

~gd: Mistakes happen. No problem.

 

[FarmerChick]

Sweet Leaf Plant
The Natural Sugar Substitute


A perennial shrub in Zones 8-11, this lovely little plant makes a perfect houseplant no matter where you live. Incredibly, dried leaves are nearly 300 times sweeter than sugar. Sweet Leaf is very low in calories and is gaining popularity as a sugar substitute. Can be used in baking and to sweeten hot liquid such as coffee or tea just chewing a few leaves is sure to knock out the worst sugar craving! Potted plants. Zones 8-10.

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if you are using 10-25 lbs per month, you couldn't plant enough beets to even consider making sugar

if you want sugar on your property, you need to concentrate on a compact self sufficient situation. I would look for plant alternatives. This little plant packs a wallop.

There are alot of plants that can do what you need. Research and start your own on your property. that way if SHTF you have backup when sugar supplies dwindle.

You want things that reproduce easily, don't require 'acres' of crops to produce a small amt of sugar etc. Think compact and small and useable substitues.

 

[ORChick]

Sweet Leaf Plant
The Natural Sugar Substitute


A perennial shrub in Zones 8-11, this lovely little plant makes a perfect houseplant no matter where you live. Incredibly, dried leaves are nearly 300 times sweeter than sugar. Sweet Leaf is very low in calories and is gaining popularity as a sugar substitute. Can be used in baking and to sweeten hot liquid such as coffee or tea just chewing a few leaves is sure to knock out the worst sugar craving! Potted plants. Zones 8-10.

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if you are using 10-25 lbs per month, you couldn't plant enough beets to even consider making sugar

if you want sugar on your property, you need to concentrate on a compact self sufficient situation. I would look for plant alternatives. This little plant packs a wallop.

There are alot of plants that can do what you need. Research and start your own on your property. that way if SHTF you have backup when sugar supplies dwindle.

You want things that reproduce easily, don't require 'acres' of crops to produce a small amt of sugar etc. Think compact and small and useable substitues.

On the other hand, if, as he states, he needs sugar for his hypoglycemia, then plants with no sucrose will not help him. He needs, he says, "sugar" not "sweet". Having not personally spoken with him I can't judge about his need for sugar. From what I have read I think that sugar is actually one of the last things he needs. But that is his call, and not mine. But, in his stated case, he does not need sugar substitutes.

 

[sdwolfden]

Thanks again for all of the information and input. I have decided to try sorghun in the LL lower pature this spring. Of course, I'll have to protect it from the deer but I think I might have that figuired out. Since sorghum can grow this far north, it seems like the "best" alternitive. Having researched it a little, it looks like my idea will require some "creative engineering" DIY prodjects for me to complete before harvest. I'll need a way to crush the cane and a press to extact the juice. Looks like it is going to be a busy winter in the "hills"...lol. I plan to keep everyone up to date on the DIY section as I get these contraptions completed and let everyone know how it turns out. Everyone here is so inspiring.

 

[k15n1]

Free ebook on Google Books.

The technology of sugar By John Geddes M'Intosh