Ingredients
- 6 stalksfresh sugar cane, about 2 kg
- juice of 2 limes
- a thumb of fresh ginger (optional)
- ice
Directions
- Cut the cane into lengths you can handle and strip the hard outer rind away with a heavy knife, working down the stalk away from yourself. The rind is tough and the knife will slip if it is blunt.
- Cut the pale inner cane into batons.
- Press the batons through a cane mill if you have one, or feed them through a strong masticating juicer with the ginger. In a blender: blitz the batons with a splash of water and strain hard through muslin, squeezing until the pulp is dry.
- Strain the juice a second time through a fine sieve — cane juice always carries fibre.
- Stir in the lime juice, which stops it browning as well as balancing it, and pour over plenty of ice.
- Drink it within the hour. Cane juice is not a keeping drink — it ferments and greys within a few hours even refrigerated, which is why it is sold at the press and almost nowhere else.
Technique
- A centrifugal juicer will struggle and may burn out; cane is fibrous enough to need a mill or a masticating machine.
- No sugar is needed or wanted. Cane juice is already about 15% sugar.
Substitutions
- A squeeze of bitter orange in place of lime is common along the West African coast.
- Where fresh cane cannot be found, bottled cane juice exists but has been pasteurised and tastes of the tin.
Variations
- Saint Kitts grew cane from the 1640s and ran a state sugar industry until it closed in 2005; roadside cane juice outlasted it.
- In much of the Caribbean and West Africa the same juice with grated ginger is sold as a separate drink.
History
Saint Kitts grew cane from the 1640s and ran a state sugar industry until it closed in 2005, ending three and a half centuries of production.
Frequently asked questions
What is Cane juice?
Cane juice is a drink from Saint Kitts and Nevis: sweet green juice pressed from fresh sugar cane and served over ice. Saint Kitts grew cane from the 1640s and ran a state sugar industry until it closed in 2005, ending three and a half centuries of production.
How long does Cane juice take to make?
Cane juice takes 20 min of preparation and none of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Cane juice?
Yes, within limits. A squeeze of bitter orange in place of lime is common along the West African coast. Where fresh cane cannot be found, bottled cane juice exists but has been pasteurised and tastes of the tin.
What is the most important thing to get right in Cane juice?
Drink it within the hour. Cane juice is not a keeping drink — it ferments and greys within a few hours even refrigerated, which is why it is sold at the press and almost nowhere else.
