So I was in a different supermarket than I usually shop at today and while in the produce section they had stalks of raw sugarcane. So I now have a six inch stalk of raw sugarcane. Do I just peel and eat it?
It’s pretty much inedible. You can suck on it, though.
Peel it, yes, eat it, no. Peel it, then cut it into bite size pieces. Chew the cane, release the wonderfulness of the sugar juice, savor every last drop, then spit out the fibery stuff.
Sugar cane was one of my childhood favorites. Enjoy!
Squeeze it or suck it. The pith is indigestible cellulose.
As I recall from reading “Swiss Family Robinson” many years back, you can bash snakes with it.
Cut it into sticks and use it to stir your coffee, then chew the remaining sweetness and added coffee goodness out of the fibres (which, as noted, you will then need to spit out - I mean, you *can *swallow them, but they’re tickly in your throat).
I think you can grate it and use the gratings in place of brown sugar.
What happens if you eat it?
Well, that’s kind of the point - you can’t eat it. It is pretty much sweet wood. I don’t think a normal grater would have much effect on it, and any gratings would be terribly fibrous.
It might poke a hole in your intestines. As the other posters said, it’s almost like wood. The fibers break apart as you chew it. Some of them are sharp on the end. My gums get sore if I chew too much at a time.
Cut the cane into pieces behind the joints. The joints are too tough to chew.
Oh! and I forgot to mention, my favourite use for it is to (with great difficulty) slice it into skewers and use to grill meat/prawns in a kebab/sate kind of configuration. The difficulty is cutting the skewers in the first place - not too thin or thick. It helps them maintain structural integrity if you leave the skin on, and you can also freeze them if you need some extra strength while threading. You could also try grilling skewered fruits for a dessert application. Mmm, grilled mango.
That’s pretty much what we used to do, too. Sugarcane is sold in the supermarkets here, basically as a sort of chewing gum with splinters. Mostly it’s bought by Hispanics, from what I can gather. I shop in some stores that are targeted to Hispanics, and others which are not.
I was told you could throw it in when you’re boiling water for tea and it makes a decent sweet tea, though I’ve never actually tried this.
Has anyone else done this?
Use as swivel sticks in ice tea.
Sugar cane will last a couple weeks or more. The outer skin keeps it fresh. The cut end will dry out. Cut that off and it’s fine.
You can tell when it’s getting old. It’ll get tougher to chew and it won’t have as much juice.