Brown sugar
Practical Action
The boiling pan is located on top of a furnace that uses sun-dried bagasse, from the crushing
operation, as fuel. Further clarification can be undertaken by adding a small amount of
vegetable or chemical matter that coagulates during heating, trapping particles and
contaminants and bringing them to the surface during boiling. This ‘scum’ can then be skimmed
off and discarded.
The juice is boiled until the required concentration is reached, around 105°C when most of the
moisture has been boiled off and crystallisation begins. The viscous juice (massecuite) is then
removed, a step known as the ‘strike’, and allowed to cool before bottling.
Care is needed during boiling as over-boiling will cause crystallisation and under-boiling will
result in too much water remaining in the syrup which could lead to contamination or rapid
deterioration of the product.
Non-centrifugal sugars
In Asia, Africa and South America non-centrifugal sugars are made for direct consumption and
are known by a range of names: gur in India and Bangladesh, desi in Pakistan, jaggery in Africa,
and panela in South America. These sugars are a concentrated product of the cane juice without
separation of the molasses and crystals. It can vary from golden brown to dark brown in colour
and contains up to 50% sucrose, up to 20% invert sugars, moisture content of up to 20%, and
the remainder made up of other insoluble matter such as ash, proteins and bagasse fines.
In most cases this sugar is produced using open pan boiling techniques, either in a single open
pan (see figure 1) or in a series of pans (figure 2) that are located above a furnace.
The boiling pans can be round or rectangular depending on furnace design and local tradition.
In all cases, fuel is provided by dry bagasse from the crushing operation and sometimes
additional fuel, such as wood, may be required to complete the boiling.
Before boiling the juice is allowed to settle and some clarification is carried out by adding
vegetable matter to coagulate the particulates which come to the surface during boiling and are
skimmed off. In some of the larger factories especially in India, the juice is often filtered and
chemically clarified before boiling commences.
In Bangladesh it is common for the product, during cooling, to be poured into clay pots which
are used to transport it to market. The pots are then broken and the product removed and sold
by weight. In India, Pakistan and African the product is usually poured into small rectangular
moulds and in South America the product is formed into round cakes approximately 150mm in
diameter.
2