Post by Michelle on Jan 15, 2009 12:02:50 GMT -6
Homemade Sugar Recipe
Growing Sugar Beets:
Sugar beet seeds should be planted in the early spring. The beets grow below ground like carrots. The sugar beet roots are harvested in the fall after the first hard frost. They contain between 14% to 21% sucrose sugar by weight.
Preparation:
Cut off the top of the beet with its leaves. (Note: The leaves may be used as a livestock feed.)
Carefully wash and scrub the beet to remove any remaining dirt particles.
Then cut the beet into pieces, slice, shredded, or cubed.
Cooking:
1. Transfer the cut beets to a large pot and add just enough water to completely cover the beets.
2. Cook the beets over medium heat, stirring frequently, until they are soft and tender.
3. Use a thin clean towel and strain the water off the beets and save the beet sugar water. You may eat the cooked beets immediately or you may preserve the cooked beets for later consumption by canning or freezing. (Note: Commercial beet processors press or squeeze the beets at this point to extract as much of the sugar as possible from the beets. You may add this step if you wish or you may simply eat the beets.)
4. Simmer the beet sugar water over low to medium heat, stirring frequently, until it becomes a thick beet sugar syrup similar to honey. Then turn off the heat.
Crystallization:
1. Wait for the beet sugar syrup to cool a little bit and then transfer the beet sugar syrup to a storage container. The beet sugar syrup will slowly and gradually crystallize the same way that honey crystallizes.
2. As the sugar gradually crystallizes you should periodically remove it from the container and then break, crush, or pound it into small beet sugar crystals.
Beet Sugar Crystals:
Homemade beet sugar is chemically the same type of sugar as regular cane sugar and therefore it may be stored and used in the same manner as cane sugar. However, since homemade beet sugar is produced using a different extraction process it will have slightly different baking characteristics. The most noticeable baking difference is that it does not have the caramelization characteristic of commercially processed cane sugar.
Growing Sugar Beets:
Sugar beet seeds should be planted in the early spring. The beets grow below ground like carrots. The sugar beet roots are harvested in the fall after the first hard frost. They contain between 14% to 21% sucrose sugar by weight.
Preparation:
Cut off the top of the beet with its leaves. (Note: The leaves may be used as a livestock feed.)
Carefully wash and scrub the beet to remove any remaining dirt particles.
Then cut the beet into pieces, slice, shredded, or cubed.
Cooking:
1. Transfer the cut beets to a large pot and add just enough water to completely cover the beets.
2. Cook the beets over medium heat, stirring frequently, until they are soft and tender.
3. Use a thin clean towel and strain the water off the beets and save the beet sugar water. You may eat the cooked beets immediately or you may preserve the cooked beets for later consumption by canning or freezing. (Note: Commercial beet processors press or squeeze the beets at this point to extract as much of the sugar as possible from the beets. You may add this step if you wish or you may simply eat the beets.)
4. Simmer the beet sugar water over low to medium heat, stirring frequently, until it becomes a thick beet sugar syrup similar to honey. Then turn off the heat.
Crystallization:
1. Wait for the beet sugar syrup to cool a little bit and then transfer the beet sugar syrup to a storage container. The beet sugar syrup will slowly and gradually crystallize the same way that honey crystallizes.
2. As the sugar gradually crystallizes you should periodically remove it from the container and then break, crush, or pound it into small beet sugar crystals.
Beet Sugar Crystals:
Homemade beet sugar is chemically the same type of sugar as regular cane sugar and therefore it may be stored and used in the same manner as cane sugar. However, since homemade beet sugar is produced using a different extraction process it will have slightly different baking characteristics. The most noticeable baking difference is that it does not have the caramelization characteristic of commercially processed cane sugar.