Today I took my youngest kid grocery shopping. It’s usually easiest to go with one rather than two or three because I don’t feel pressure to buy everything we see. But when Martin pointed to a pile of long bamboo-looking stalks and said, “sugarcane”, I just had to give in.
My kids learned about sugarcane through books I read to them about Hong Kong.
And photos Tom took in Hong Kong.
But the sugarcane I bought wasn’t the light green in the photo above, but a purplish brown. It was also hard as a rock. As you can see, I pulled out my big knives.
I remembered from my childhood when my brother liked to chew sugarcane and spit out the rough parts. But was that the right way to eat it? I sent off a quick tweet and author Mina Khan wrote back right away. Yes, she confirmed that was the correct way. Or, she wrote, I could chop it and put it in a blender to extract the juice.
Worried about the blades of my blender, I handed small pieces to my youngest kids. Only Rachel seemed to enjoy it. She chewed and spat out the remnants just like my brother used to do.
Do you have any memories of eating sugarcane or ways to eat or prepare it? I’m always open to new ideas!
The real, authentic way to eat sugarcane is to strip the tough skin off with your teeth and then chew down the exposed flesh, spitting it out as the juice has been extracted. None of that sissy nonsense with the knives and blender. (-:
I suppose that would work on sugarcane that’s not terribly old like the stalk I bought!
I used to cut and peel a short segment, bang it with the meat mallet until it started to fray, then throw it in a glass with a generous slug of medium dark rum (not too dark)…
Don’t know about the right way to eat it, though.
I bought some rum that fits that description when I went to Cuba 8 years ago. Tom threw away the bottle when he finished. Darn! I wish I could have kept it as a vase or something. It was Havana Club rum and very 1920s.
Heh, I’m taking my kids for their first trip to Bangladesh this summer…and I’m sure we’ll have lots of adventures…sugar canes maybe involved 🙂 Can’t wait to introduce them to special things from my childhood.
Thanks so much for your comment and hand-holding today! Wow, how amazing for you and your kids to go to Bangladesh this summer! What a wonderful experience! Just thinking about the food is making me salivate. I can’t wait to read about your adventures!!