Friday, November 4, 2011

Sugarcane



Sugarcane belongs to the grass family and is native to the tropical regions of Asia. The specie S.barberi is said to have originated in India.

It is very common to find cane stalls on the roadside in India. A very healthy and refreshing drink on a hot day, that gives you instant energy to continue your day. Now you even get flavours in your cane juice, ranging from lemon, mint, pepper and other herbs. The ginger flavour is my personal favourite. Some of our favourite sugarcane juice outlets even encourage people to walk in behind the counter and watch the process of juicing!


Very easy to down a tall mug of cane juice, but chewing on a raw piece of cane is entirely a different experience. As a child I have memories of my Dad getting the whole stalks home, painstakingly skinning them and chopping them into bite size for us. However chewing on a cane is much easier now that you have it available: clean, cut and packaged to pick off the shelf. So I bought some home to introduce the kids to sugarcane chewing.


Kidometer- The little girl was too suspicious to try it out. But the little boy caught on and enjoyed the experience, not forgetting the tirade of questions that were fired. 
"Why do we need to chew and then spit it out?" "Why can't we eat it like other fruits?" " O, you mean we are eating grass!"


What are your experiences with sugarcane? Do share...


Leaving you with some Health benefits of Sugarcane-

  • clears urinary flow and helps the kidney to perform its functions smoothly.
  • refreshes and energizes the body giving instant energy.
  • good for digestion.
  • juice helps the body in fighting cancer especially prostrate and breast.
  • is believed to strengthen stomach, heart, kidneys, eyes, brain and sex organs.

11 comments:

  1. drooling :D My most fav fruit...grass...whatever ! Sugary memories invariably attached with temple festivals and childhood .

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  2. Nice post on sugarcane.
    I remember the first time I had sugarcane was in Saudi, when I was small. My parents also bought it so that they could show us what sugarcane is and we loved the chewing and the sweetness. Also having sugarcane juice in huge tumblers from roadside stalls in Mumbai is another cherishing memory!

    Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving lovely comments.
    Regards,
    Manju

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  3. I remember buying sugar cane for my son when we lived in Singapore. It was cool and sweet to chew.

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  4. Useful and interesting post Dear.So Sweet.Luvd reading abt Sugarcane.Thanks for sharing this info.

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  5. sugarcane looks wonderful lovely post

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  6. Hi Shirley, wow! First time I see sugar cane this colour, really nice colour too.
    How long or high doest grow? I miss eating or chewing them.
    Yes, its really refreshing especially when cold.
    You have a nice day and keep a song in your heart.
    Lee.

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  7. I love sugar cane, especially the juice. Yum!

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  8. I share the same view as Uncle Lee. Never seen sugarcane of this colour before, mostly yellow. Have you tried steamed sugarcane? I remember eating warm steaming hot sugarcane when I was a kid. An old man would peddle warm sugarcane on a tricycle in my housing estate, many, many years ago.

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  9. I love sugar cane, as a matter of fact is was very easy to find in Brazil...
    Hope you are having a nice week Shirley :-)

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  10. fun post when we visited costa rica we had sugar cane at this ladies home by the side of the road and she squeezed it the old fashioned why like in India fun

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  11. terrific information on sugar cane, great to find out about health benefits.

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