Help with sugar cane

[hypnotoad]

I've got a lot of sugar cane, is there an easy amateur way of extracting the juice that doesn't involve an expensive crusher or a painful boiling process? Maybe a garden mulcher? Large hand mincer?

[in_spirit]

Insinkerator

[coolname]

Sounds like you need a magic bullet. According to the ad I see all the time on tv, they will blend anything

[hypnotoad]

Or a blendtec blender. Search on YouTube 'will it blend', hilarious.

[coolname]

You could also try either crushing in a vice or something like that, or maybe even smashing it with a hammer? I grew up on a sugarcane farm and never actually tried to extract the juice myself lol

[shortly]

If you find a worthwhile method i'm sure that there are more than a few of us who would be keen to know how its done.

[hypnotoad]

When I get the money I'm going to buy a little electric garden mulcher and see if I can rig a catcher/strainer up to it.

Edited November 5, 2014 by gunfighter

[etherealdrifter]

gF i'm sure you've seen all the cheap ways to extract sugah cane on the webinterispbrandisabbitweb.com

i'd make a motor ....cheap, then attach a belt to the grinder that allows you to feed the machine. a cup holds the drippings of the cane.,....to be honest you sound like you could at least build this namichernary so i reckon go with your gut.

otherwise, i did see this vid where a ayavedic "portertor made a clip alligator type contraption where it looked a pair of bamboo scissors worked by two humans grinding a stick of can (when it's fully ripe and purple in colour) available through said source.

once again, i claim nothing as my own and once again feel free in my rantings because i'm comfortable(finally) in my skin

[coolname]

Etherealdrifter, you mean something like this?

 

[shortly]

The Papuans have grown cane for millennia, how do they use it?

[Roopey]

When I was in South America, it was common to get a small piece and chew and suck the juices out of it. Fresh and delicious. Not sure about juicing it into something without a special juicing device though, maybe you could make something inexpensively that does the same thing.

[theuserformallyknownasd00d]

ROOOOOPEY good to are ya round mate, hope the travels are well!!

D00d

[coolname]

When I was in South America, it was common to get a small piece and chew and suck the juices out of it. Fresh and delicious. Not sure about juicing it into something without a special juicing device though, maybe you could make something inexpensively that does the same thing.

I used to do the same thing when I was a kid. Just peel it with a knife or even just your teeth and chew the fibre to get the juice. damn I feel old now lol

[Amazonian]

I've got a lot of sugar cane, is there an easy amateur way of extracting the juice that doesn't involve an expensive crusher or a painful boiling process? Maybe a garden mulcher? Large hand mincer?

A bench vice and a bucket?! *shrugs

[Bert&Ernie]

Just go find weird al

[Halcyon Daze]

The Papuans have grown cane for millennia, how do they use it?

In papua they have a special trick that begins with the way they grow it.

Their cane is waaay more juicy than ours because as the plant grows they use the lower leaves to wrap around the entire cluster of canes of a single plant. As the canes grow taller they continue to wrap the next leaves around as they begin to yellow. This is a continual thing over time and any new shoots that come up around the base are incorporated into the bundle by wrapping it's lower leaves around/ into the main bunch.

When it's harvest time they just cut one or two canes and pull them upwards to remove them from the bundle. They are fatter, softer, very juicy and pale in colour because they have been protected from the light.

The canes are so fat and juicy that the outer fibres can be stripped away with the teeth or a knife leaving the soft juicy core that can be easily chewed for the juice. It was a bit of a privelaged food because it takes a fair bit of time and effort to produce nice canes and people may give you a nice fat cane as a welcoming gift etc.

If you were prepared to put in the time and effort you could definitely make your own juice using a simple vice or jack press, especially for on a small scale.

The PNG method barely works with our aussie cane because ours is hard and skinny and not very juicy compared with theirs.

I'll get some pics on my next visit.

Edited November 10, 2014 by Halcyon Daze

[hypnotoad]

Thanks heaps for that halcyon, very informative.

[hypnotoad]

Juice Extractor Method -

Materials -

Sugar Cane

Sharp knife

Expendable 10 year old juice extractor

Earmuffs

Patience

Method -

1. Take the hard waxy outer layer off the cane with sharp knife and cut remnants into manageable strips. I cut it into 8 strips.

2. Cram those strips into expendable juice extractor. After a lot of violent noise and protesting it took about 10 minutes and 30-40cm of cane to fill a scotch glass.

Conclusion - Not a viable way to make cane juice.

Next I will be trying a bench vice.

[endorfinder]

Haha thanks for reporting gf.

These are not unlike the ones used by street vendors in SE Asia:

http://www.ebay.com/bhp/sugar-cane-juicer

..but yeah it's still a bit of an outlay. I can't really think of an easy way to improvise such a device.

These guys use a bamboo vice

 

Hare Krishnas I think?

[coolname]

^ I already posted that video in post number 9 endorfinder. So there

[endorfinder]

I already have enough tabs open coolname, you hardly warrant another.

[coolname]

Well played sir

[hypnotoad]

That Hare has got it going on! If he had a better pan to catch the juice in, he'd really be on to something. Thanks endo!

[shortly]

I had a hand crank cane crusher arrive from Thailand yesterday and i can safely say it was a complete waste of $200.

Complete crap. The rollers are hollow so when any pressure is applied the rollers crush & deform.

So if anyone is thinking of ordering an Evilbay cane juicer/mill dont waste your time or money.

Anyone know of any reasonably priced metal lathe/mills for sale ?

[hypnotoad]

Is there any way of modifying/upgrading that crap-crusher? What are your plans with the timber lathe?