Where sugar comes from

It's sugar cane season! Since I've never eaten cane sugar in its unprocessed form, I decided that it was one of the items that I had to put on the need-to-try list. And as Kevin and I were walking home after a rainy Sunday afternoon walk, we passed a fruit vendor who was selling them.


The whole stalks are 1.5 kuai a jing (500 grams) and the entire things go for about 10 kuai. I told the woman that I had never tried a sugar cane before, and so of course she tried to sell me the whole thing. I compromised with half, and she proceeded to shuck and chop it into a bag.

I went home and after remembering a Bollywood scene where someone was eating sugar cane I knew how to chow down.





You bite off a chunk and chew! Then spit out the remnants of the cane. It pretty much tastes like cane sugar (surprise!) It was tasty, though I don't think that I finished the whole small stick, much less the entire piece (my sugar tolerance certainly has decreased with age). I think I'll leave the rest of it outside on a stone table near my house. Some kid is sure to stumble by it and hopefully it'll make their day!

Love,
Maggie