|  | Diet Nutrition | Healthy Eating

Problems With Cane Syrup

Cane syrup is a syrup made from ribbon canes, a type of sugar cane with banding that looks like ribbons. Similar to molasses, cane syrup is boiled sugar cane juice. Much in the same process as making maple syrup, cane juice is cooked in vats till it reaches a syrup consistency. The problems with cane syrup is that it is difficult to make, hard to find, low in nutrition and many times not real.

  1. Difficult to Make

    • Cane syrup is a dying tradition in the American South and the Caribbean. Historically, sugar plantations would set aside parts of the fields with ribbon canes, which is a variety of sugar cane that has ribbon-like markings. Once the juice was extracted, a syrup master would oversee the boiling. Approximately 80 gallons of juice produces only 12 gallons of syrup. If the sugar cane plant is grown with fertilizers, the syrup may have a salty taste. The syrup can also sour if it is not properly cooked and skimmed. If the syrup is overcooked, it will turn into crystallized sugar.

    Locating It

    • Another problem with cane syrup is that it is difficult to find. Only a few farms are making traditional cane syrup in the south and Caribbean. It takes a large volume of cane juice to produce the syrup, so true cane syrup is hard to find. Some home cooks make their own cane syrup by adding water to crystallized cane sugar and then cooking it down into cane syrup. However, this is not the same product. Rich and sweet cane syrup can be substituted with corn syrup mixed with molasses or honey.

    Low Nutrition

    • One tablespoon of cane syrup has 60 calories and no dietary fiber. Though it does have iron and calcium, cane syrup is not as healthy as eating fruit. Instead of adding cane syrup to biscuits or pancakes, adding sliced strawberries would give you a serving a fruit with fiber, antioxidants and a high dose of vitamin C. Cane syrup is more natural than refined sugars because the cane juice is only boiled down, but it is not as nutritious as eating fruit.

    Adulterated

    • Some farmers add other ingredients to their cane syrup. These adulterated cane syrups may contain corn syrup to make it go farther. Lemon juice is sometimes added to cane syrup to counteract the effects of some fertilizers that are used in the sugar cane growing process. Another problem is that some farmers use the common sugar canes, rather than the traditional ribbon canes. The best cane syrup is made from ribbon canes without the use of fertilizers.

Healthy Eating - Related Articles