Harvestin' Cane Juice

So our newest project on Garden Green has been harvesting sugar cane and pressing it into cane juice, which is what sugar is made of.

Now, cutting down sugar cane is a big project. You usually try to break it off at the roots and twist it out, but that only works on the bigger ones that are too heavy to resist. The smaller ones are much less yielding, so we have to use these big ole' lobster claw choppers to get them out. But you can't let the leaves touch you because they have these little 'hairs' on them that stick in your skin and make you itchy. Very annoying!

So after you've chopped them, you cut the roots and the green stalks at the top and then cleave them in half - literally with a meat cleaver.

Finally, you use a cane press to squeeze the stalks and harvest the juice. We are lucky enough to have a mechanical one, which means we don't have to crank it by hand.

The resulting liquid is like simple syrup, except grayish-brown. We've been 'harvesting' it in recycled milk jugs and taking it straight to the fridge. On ice, it's refreshing and delicious (despite the color)! And the only thing you don't use is the squeezed stalk, which makes great fertilizer.

We usually stop here and drink the stuff, but if you wanted to make the white stuff you buy in stores, you'd boil down the cane juice to make brown sugar, and then bleach and process the brown sugar to get the normal white stuff.

Best uses for cane juice? In your coffee, on the rocks, or in mojitos. Mmmmm.

The Miraculous Noni

Okay, let's get one thing straight right off the bat.  Noni smells like shit!  The locals call it butt fruit, with a sense of endearment of course.   It is also known as cheese fruit due to the obvious fact that it smells like blue cheese.  Of course, fine cheeses we often expect to emit odd, and sometimes altogether abrasive, scents.  But to me (and I'm assuming you too) fruits are associated with being refreshing, sweet, tart and/or juicy.  This is NOT what you expect from noni.

Here is a list of adjectives I would use to describe a ripe noni:

1) putrid

2) squishy

3) foul

4) fetid

5) translucent

6) ocular  

7) offensive

8) noxious

Many of you reading this blog probably have never heard of noni before unless you have spent significant time in the tropics.  The tree is most commonly grown in the Pacific (Tahiti specifically) but is produced in most places within the tropics including: Central America, the Caribbean and the Indian subcontinent.  I find this hard to accept but the noni tree is in same family (Rubiaceae) as my beloved coffee tree.  Unfortunately it is also extraordinarily prolific, reaching maturity within 18 months and yielding 10 - 20 lbs. of fruit per month all year around.

Now that I've clearly expressed my feelings regarding noni, I'll elaborate on the positives.  Noni fruit is lauded by many on the island (and worldwide) to have countless medicinal qualities.  

I'm not saying, "Oh, the noni fruit is so high in nutrients."  I'm saying, "People believe noni can cure cancer!!"  Literally, scientist have explored (unsuccessfully) using noni as a possible cure for cancer.

Beside that point noni is quite phenomenal.  I have experience using mashed noni as a topical ointment.  On my flight to the islands I was drinking water from a nalgene bottle that hadn't been washed since my last camping trip, big mistake.  As Casteel will remember I got poison ivy on my face after our trip to Bienville National Forest.  Well, it happened again.  I've now discovered that the oils were on the nalgene.  Unfortunate?? Yes.  I am extremely allergic to poison ivy.  But thanks to the noni ointment my poison ivy only lasted a few days.  And let me tell you, putting something so smelly on your face is not pleasant!  

I am convinced that it's not so far fetched to claim noni is a possible cure all for infections, rashes,  UTI's, nausea, cramps, and other general health problems.  Native Hawaiians have been using the fruit as traditional medicine for centuries.  Even ancient peoples thought that something so awful smelling could surely kill any evil spirits causing you harm!!  The same goes for contemporary society, with all the miracles of modern medicine nothing can take care of bacteria better than the repugnant, miraculous NONI!! 

Cockatoos!!

This morning, Michael and I awoke to two Sulfur-crested Cockatoos having a conversation on a tree outside our window. Evidently, cockatoos are monogamous, so I think it was a happy couple. Of course, we weren't as happy since it was an early-morning discussion (around 6:45 or so) and we were still in bed. But we did get a great view out the window with our binoculars. Here's a picture of one, courtesy of Wikipedia: