Exploring traditional brown sugar: the gorgeous transformation from a sugar cane to brown sugar
Sometimes, ancient skills have gradually lost their original meaning in modern society and gradually faded out of people’s lives. . However, there is still a group of people who choose to work hard to keep this skill in modern people's lives and pass it on from generation to generation. Because they believe that this is the cultural gene of a nation and a cultural memory that cannot be forgotten. Zhifangtang Old Brown Sugar inherits the ancient sugar-making skills and makes history and culture go back to ancient times.
Southwestern Guizhou Province, on the banks of the Beipan River, the headwaters of the Xijiang River in the Pearl River system, has a long history of sugarcane planting and brown sugar boiling. The traditional skill of boiling brown sugar is left by our ancestors and passed down from generation to generation. It is not something that can be accomplished in a day. The sugar boilers of Zhifangtang Old Brown Sugar cook this sweetness day after day just to pass on this sweetness.
Everyone has seen and eaten brown sugar. Nowadays, with the development of modern industrial sugar production, truly traditional handmade brown sugar is no longer common, and traditional handcrafts are facing the dilemma of being lost. In order to find the taste in our memories, our reporters recently went to the southwestern Guizhou Province and the banks of the Beipan River, the headwaters of the Xijiang River in the Pearl River system, to record the gorgeous transformation of a sugar cane into brown sugar.
In winter, it’s time for the sugarcane harvest again. The sugar cane is harvested, chopped into pieces by machine, and squeezed into juice. This is the first step in making brown sugar.
Traditional hand-made sugar uses traditional physical methods, directly squeezing sugar cane to produce sugar cane juice, heating it in a pot and stirring continuously to evaporate the water into syrup. Among them, the process of boiling sugar is very important, requiring multiple processes and taking about two to three hours. Whether brown sugar tastes good or not depends on the heat. The master of the sugar boiler of Zhi Fang Tang Old Brown Sugar said that if the heat is too high, the brown sugar will be brittle, and if it is tender, the brown sugar will be watery, so it is best to use anthracite coal to cook it.
In order to achieve the mellow taste of Zhifangtang old brown sugar, during the production process, not only the residue is removed to remove impurities, but also constant stirring is required to allow the water to evaporate. Only when the consistency melts like chocolate can it be released. pot. After the brown sugar comes out of the pot, it still needs to undergo stirring, cooling, grinding and other processes to present a complete piece of handmade brown sugar.
Starting from a complete sugar cane, after going through six steps of squeezing juice, opening and skimming, shaking the ladle with water, making sugar, sanding, and casting, a piece of brown sugar full of craftsman's emotion is completed. . The master sugar boiler of Zhifangtang Old Brown Sugar told us that more than 100 kilograms of sugar cane can only extract less than 8 kilograms of brown sugar. However, the brown sugar made by traditional craftsmanship is bright in color, mellow in taste, and does not contain any impurities, so it has been favored. Favored by many customers.
In order to pass on this traditional skill, the sugar boiling master of Zhifangtang Old Brown Sugar brought many apprentices to teach the sugar boiling technique step by step.
When the cold machine assembly line replaced pure handicrafts, when production capacity has become the pursuit of the industry, the master sugar boiler of Zhifangtang Old Brown Sugar and his sugar boilers are still persevering, using A dedicated professional attitude and emotional hands give each brown sugar a unique taste. What we present is not only high-quality brown sugar, but also a sincere attitude and sincere feelings