Vanishing Icons

Oct 7, 2011 by Rachael Hudnall

As the cooler weather arrives, so does my enthusiasm for all things candy making.  Homemade marshmallows dipped in chocolate and rolled in nuts or candy sprinkles, my smooth and delicious honey-almond caramel (DH says coconut), and of course, my favorite, layered chocolate and peanut butter fudge.  I will go through pounds and pounds, verging on tons, of sugar over the next few months.  I’ve always taken for granted that the local grocer would be well stocked with this confection making ingredient and thanks to sugar cane mill masher, it is.

As a child growing up in Louisiana, sugar cane ran rampant.  It grew wild in some of the most surprising places.  Or maybe not surprising considering the amount that has been raised in Louisiana over the last couple hundred years.  Smaller stalks could be picked and chewed for a slightly sweet flavor.  For me, it tasted a lot like soft wood, but for Grandpa, it was something different entirely.  He always had a bit of cane he could chew on for those moments he needed a little bit of sweetness.  I’m not even sure it was the taste that attracted him because he never argued when I exclaimed my distaste for the eating of wood.  For him it was nostalgic.  Having grown up a poor farmer’s son, one of 10, these small cuts of stalk he carried around in his overall pockets were much more than a snacks.  They were who he was.

The Sugar Cane Mill Masher

Sugar cane has been raised in Louisiana as far back as the early 1800′s. This plant was raised in quantity all the way up to the Arkansas State line until the late 1950′s. Products from sugar-making included brown sugar and sugar cane syrup. Both of these products could be used around the house and farm and/or sold or bartered.

One of the most important pieces of equipment in processing was the masher. This particular one pictured above was made in St. Louis, Missouri. They were made of metal and lasted a lifetime.  Having few moving parts they needed little maintenance.

To make sugar or syrup, the first step was to place individual stalks of sugar cane in the masher. The masher was turned by a horse or mule walking in a circular pattern. The masher would mash out the juice from the stalks and leave the stalks limp and ready to be removed from the area. The juice was caught in a container until full. Then it was ready for cooking and processing into brown sugar or syrup.

Sugar making time was “festive time” for bystanders, and “•work time” for the people doing the processing. It was a festive time for bees, ‘wasps and yellow jackets, too! They always made their presence known and tried as best they could to get their share of the good stuff.

Sugar cane mashers are vanishing icons now days. Just another part of our history and heritage.

Bring back your own childhood with this Rock Candy Recipe!  Simple to make, fun to watch grow.  If you have children or grandchildren in the house, this fun candy making experience is also a lesson in science.  As the water evaporates, the heavier sugar crystals are left behind, making the invisible process more visible.