Growing beets of all kinds

[Taz Baby]

Has any one ever grown sugar beets? If so, can you tell us how to get the sugar out of them. In the SHTF I am going to want sugar and if I knew I could So call (GROW it). That would be great. I can live with honey in my coffee, tea, ect. But if I wanted to make a cake or something that honey just won't do and there is no more sugar and to cold to grow sugarcane then what?. I love beets of all kinds so growing them is not a problem but I think the sugar beet is the only kind that you can get sweetness from.

How to Make Sugar From Beets | eHow.com (http://www.ehow.com/how_2177131_sugar-beets.html)

[JustAPrepper]

I tried them this past fall but since our garden was a bust I got nothin'. You can google making sugar out of beets but its a lengthy process and takes a LOT of beets to do it from what I've read and the results are "iffy". My attempt was just to see if we could actually grow this particular variety. Unfortunately, I ended up with nothing and will have to try again later. On a side note...I got the seeds from Baker Creek if you need a source for the seeds.

***ETA...Ooops...I didn't see you already had a link for making the sugar. My bad. :o

[IDTANDY]

Interesting

Sugar beet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_beet)

"An unrefined sugary syrup can be produced directly from sugar beet. This thick, dark syrup is produced by cooking shredded sugar beet for several hours, then pressing the resulting sugar beet mash and concentrating the juice produced until it has the consistency similar to that of honey. No other ingredients are used. In Germany, particularly the Rhineland area, this sugar beet syrup (called Zuckerrüben-Sirup or Zapp in German) is used as a spread for sandwiches, as well as for sweetening sauces, cakes and desserts.

Commercially, if the syrup has a Dextrose Equivalency above 30 DE, the product has to be hydrolyzed and converted to a high-fructose syrup, much like high-fructose corn syrup, or iso-glucose syrup in the EU.

In Saint John, New Brunswick, sugar beet molasses is used as a de-icing product on the Harbour Bridge. The molasses has a lower melting point (-34 Celsius) than road salt and reduces corrosiveness.[15]

Many road authorities in North America now use de-sugared beet molases as de-icing or anti-icing products in winter control operations. The molases is typically combined with liquid chlorides and can either be applied directly to road surfaces or used to treat the salt spread on roads. The addition of the liquid to rock salt has several benefits; it reduces the bounce or scatter of the rock salt (keeping it where it is needed), it lowers the freezing point of the salt brine mix (so the de-icers remain effective at lower temperatures) and it reduces the activation time of the salt to begin the melting process. The molases used for this application is a waste product created when sugar beets are used to make commercial grade sugar. Reference: De-icing Roads with De-sugared Sugar Beet Molasses (http://www.cas.org/newsevents/connections/beetmolasses.html) "

[Taz Baby]

Can you crystallize the sugar? Like maybe dehydrate it and crush it?

[carly]

You chop up the beets and boil them until you have all the juice out. The you remove the beets and keep boiling the juice. Let it reduce some then strain out the crystals. Keep reducing until you get as much sugar as possible out. It does take a good many beets to produce a lot of sugar. The first batch may be a learning process, but after that it is pretty simple. My Grampa used to do it.

[Taz Baby]

Is it like caramelizing?

[carly]

Kinda. After he strained out the first batch of crystals, he would lay them out on some doubled cheese cloth while he boiled down the rest of the liquid. This made sure the were dry. Grandma didn't like hefting the pot to strain it so, after she let it boil down part way, she let it cool then scraped the crystals off the side. Then she started the heat back and let it boil the rest of the way down. Let it cool and then scraped the pot. One thing though is that without the extra processing, you get brown sugar. It has kind of a Molasses taste to it

[Sniper-T]

I did a lot of research into this last year. I'll see if I can dig up my links and articles; but essentially everyone has pointed out the gist of it.

Even though I live in prime sugar beet growing area, I deemed it too much work to effectively do on my own, and even though I am as far away from sugar cane areas as possible. I am planning on planting some this year, as it seems like a more viable option for extracting sugar.

[Taz Baby]

well it sounds like to many beets for very little sugar to me. But still need to know how just in case. Also we have Maple tree's to tap into for syrup.

[Sniper-T]

A deciding factor for you, might be your ability to freeze them prior to processing. Rather then shreding them, or grating them by hand, the processors let them freeze solid, and then when they are brought inside to process they thaw into mush, which save a huge amount of labour.

Dropy may be able to add some insite to this as well. There is a Huge Sugar beet processing facility in his State, that handles millions of tons of Canadian sugar beets.

[IDTANDY]

Found this.

Sugar beets (http://www.geo.msu.edu/geogmich/sugarbeets.html)
"A mature sugar beet measures up to a foot long, weighs three to five pounds and can produce about five ounces of sugar."

[Grumpy Old Man]

Or you might try sorghum, grows easily and is a relatively simple process- much like maple sugaring.

AGR-123: Processing Sweet Sorghum for Syrup (http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/agr/agr123/agr123.htm)

Kerr Center Publications: Sweet Sorghum Production and Processing (http://www.kerrcenter.com/publications/sorghum/sorghum.html)

Agricultural Marketing Resource Center - General Sorghum (http://www.agmrc.org/commodities__products/grains__oilseeds/sorghum/general_sorghum.cfm)

Sorghum also has the added benefit of being a good base to make ethanol for fuel. Just a thought.

[IDTANDY]

Sugar cane is another.

Sugar Cane - Bill's Corner - Growing Cane - Southern Matters (http://www.southernmatters.com/sugarcane/BC-Growing_Cane.htm)

http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/4292/p1010004tz.jpg

http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/3153/p1010001wa.jpg

[Taz Baby]

I don't think I can grow sugar cane where I am at. Because it snows there. When I was in Fla I grew it and ate it off the cane.

[carly]

They grow sugarcane in areas here where it snows. Not sure about total hardiness.

[bacpacker]

Are there mulitple varities of cane? Maybe some of them are more cold hardy. Maybe not as productive, but still worthwhile. Sorghum is a crop that has been grown around here for many years. It would probably be a good idea to try and find plans on making a press and extraction system.

[Grumpy Old Man]

Ask and ye shall receive!

sorghum | mills | presses (http://www.sorghumsupply.com/Sorghum-Mills.html)

Scroll down to the old press section and you'll find 3 for sale. They are kind of like a washer ringer, only set vertically instead of horizontally.

Here is an antique press.

Meriden Antique Engine & Threshers Association (http://meridenthreshers.org/MakingSorghum.html)

Instructions for using an old wringer washer

How to Construct a Sorghum Mill | eHow.com (http://www.ehow.com/how_7884968_construct-sorghum-mill.html)

And pictures of old presses. I figure with all the tinkerers here one of you guys can build a passable press from looking at the photos.

Sweet Sorghum or sometimes known as Sorghum Molasses (http://www.herculesengines.com/sorghum/default.html)

[Grumpy Old Man]

I think you could make a press using 2 conveyor belt idlers with sprockets on the end. Sniper, start designing!

[Sniper-T]

not quite what I had in mind grumpy... but I'll post tomorrow, with an effective cane/beet juice extraction system

I plan on growing cane this year, here in CANADA. land of the freeze. It is unlikely that it will last as a perennial, but as long as I keep some canes, to over winter indoors, I should be able to grow it indefinately.

From what I read, unless it gets stupid cold, it will 'hibernate' if it gets stupid cold, the stocks will burst.

BTW Canada gets stupid cold. Southern USA... Not so much!

[Taz Baby]

Ok I found a place for all syrup. Just found it and haven't read it yet, but it looks good enough info on it. Even for cane Sniper

SYRUPMAKERS (http://syrupmakers.com/)

[Grumpy Old Man]

Ok I found a place for all syrup. Just found it and haven't read it yet, but it looks good enough info on it. Even for cane Sniper

SYRUPMAKERS (http://syrupmakers.com/)

that's a good one Taz. They also have a for Sale section where you can find pans, evaporators, etc.

[mollypup]

Seems like it would be easier just to keep honeybees.

[Sniper-T]

for some...

I am allergic to stings, so for me... not so much!