Sugar Cane Juice with Kalamansi
Another interesting find besides the bone china at the Legazpi Sunday Market was some bottled pure cane juice. There used to be a vendor at either the Legazpi or Salcedo markets that would make freshly squeezed sugar cane juice and it was superb. This freshly squeezed, but then frozen version is a reasonable alternative. Surprisingly, sugar cane juice is not AS sweet as you might expect it to be, given the sweetness and concentration of it in granulated sugar, for example. I needed some items for a Sunday brunch and I thought serving cane juice would be a slightly unusual twist to the more typical bottled or even freshly squeezed juices…
Back at home, I tasted the cane juice and it was good, but I realized it suffered a tad from the bout of freezing if only for a day or two… it was murkier than the freshly squeezed product, but the taste was still very good and quite refreshing. I decided to serve it in a pitcher filled with ice and with five pieces of kalamansi squeezed into the pitcher to brighten the taste of the cane juice. Everyone thought it was a nice way to enjoy the cane juice.
I also tried it mixed with some Perrier or carbonated spring water, but it didn’t taste too good that way. I suspect this would also make a nice cane and kalamansi sorbet or frozen dessert.
The Pure Cane Juice stall at Legazpi had a list of benefits from drinking the juice, but I just like the taste of it. At PHP120 for the largest bottle, it easily made 6-7 glasses of drinks at the brunch. And it was a whole lot easier than buying the fresh sugar cane and trying to extract the juice yourself!
durimg my dad’s last days sugarcane juice is one of the things he ask for. i used to buy it in shoppesville in greenhills near the post office or if my brother is in manila in chinatown and brought home to the province in a cooler.
May 19th, 2008I really do love this blog! Such interesting and creative ideas..and the twists you come up with, with the otherwise mundane! I appreciate so many more things nowadays after reading this your posts. This juice concoctions sounds so refreshing, it makes me want to try it out immediately!
May 19th, 2008Hmmmm…It’s too bad Chinatown is 30 minutes away for me to purchase “tubo” …Looking at that pitcher, MM , I am thinking smushed up mint or maybe smushed lemongrass with ginger juice (for kick)…then strained and served in a martini glass…Hay, it sure is nakakauhaw!!!
May 19th, 2008frutesca at market!market! also sells sugarcane juice
May 19th, 2008betty q., between yours and MM’s ideas, “solb na solb” na talaga ‘ko! thank you!!!!!
May 19th, 2008street vendors and hawkers here in SG are selling freshly squeezed sugarcane juice. . . I just wonder why it is color green here, as in Philippines it is more like yellow . . . still refreshing though, i’ll try to bring home some next time and add kalamansi juice. . .:)
May 19th, 2008love the juice, but i love pitcher even more!
May 19th, 2008I love your pitcher. Where did you get it? I’ve been trying to find one like it. A restaurant I frequent in Finland has them. They told me they ordered them from an Italian company that does restaurant supplies. Then I spotted one at a wine shop in Singapore. I thought it was too expensive.
May 19th, 2008Michelle: MM’s pitcher is an Ona…their signature thing is the off center handle…If you are in the US it is readily available at Crate and Barrel…price range about $16…I hope that helps you. You can order it on line as well and I think they will ship it to you…..That pitcher is a conversation piece as well….
I would give anything to be invited even to a snack at MM’s house to see his awesome collection such as this !!!
May 19th, 2008I like your pitcher, Where did you buy it?
May 19th, 2008Where I am, for calamansi juice, instead of sugar, people put samboy [red champoy]. Weird taste at the start but one gets used to it and starts craving especially on hot humid days!
A cold sour/salty drink!
ha ha. I blogged before reading the others and everybody seemd to have asked the same question about the pitcher
May 19th, 2008Thank you Betty Q for the information!
That’s a combination I wouldn’t thought of in a million years.
May 19th, 2008Where I am, that’s one of the things I look forward to when going to the Asian Market, freshly squeezed sugarcane juice, that and a Vietnamese Banh Mi.
Also this brings back childhood memories, growing up in the middle of sugarcane fields. After school, we would bring our bolos, slash the thickest sugarcane we could find then skin, snap and juice the sugarcane with our bare teeth. If my dentist only knew the abuse my teeth underwent as a child. We worked our teeth and jaws so well that even a snapping turtle would be intimidated. *giggles*
We used to have sugarcane juice during the Pahiyas Festival in Lucban, Quezon where every few streets, you would see people selling it. But it was only a couple of months back i was able to try it with calamansi, from a food stall in Vietnam. I love the way it added a different taste to the otherwise sweet juice. They’d press the calamansi along with all sugar cane. i love it :)
May 19th, 2008Hey Thanks Betty Q.!
May 19th, 2008my mother dear used to plant the white one. but some say that the red one is better.
May 19th, 2008Michelle: Once in a while…check out e-bay…like today, there is an Ona pitcher BRAND NEW as well up for bidding and reasonably priced too…seller will only ship in the US though…if you see this comment today, e-bay is worth checking out!!!
May 20th, 2008betty q. I actually checked it out!
May 20th, 2008With lots of sugarcane around here, will prepare this soon, although the problem would be how to extract the juice?
May 20th, 2008Hey Homebuddy: Easiest way is to pass it thru a juicer…Another option:maybe cut them into small chunks, put them in a bowl and press with a heavy object. Wrap them in clean cacha and wring the cacha to extract the juice….might take you forever though to make ! pitchel….OR put the chunks in a blender or food processor and line a mesh strainer with cacha and put the sugar cane puree…might take you whole day to get the juice though!!!
AnyWAY
May 20th, 2008hoy marketman,
yung sugarcane sa salcedo binebenta pati ang tubo kung gusto mo nguya-nguyain. tapos idura mo nalang sa market para hulihin ka ng tanod…..(joke).
lily idontknowherfamilyname will squeeze as you order. o kaya bottled pwede din. she has a battery powered machine. pero itong version with calamansi mukhang masarap.
May 20th, 2008Oh i love “tubo” back in the days, i love it cold, it’s so resfreshing during hot summer days! I didn’t know that you can make a fresh juice out of them, interesting! Thanks for the post!
May 21st, 2008The pitcher is lovely! Makes the juice sosyal! (kaya lang it looks hard to clean?)
May 22nd, 2008Hi! Could you send me info on how I can get some of that bottled sugarcane juice? I’ve never tried it! Looking forward to drinking one with and without calamansi!
June 2nd, 2008this is great.
it gives me an idea what to bring back to milan after my vacation. my friends would appreciate this, im sure.
their bilins include mango and other fruits from the philippines. does anyone know plane regulations on durian?
maraming salamat!
June 11th, 2008this is interesting. i want to squeeze the juice myself. where can we buy the squeezer?
July 6th, 2008mujahadit, I don’t know. A cane juicer is rather heavy duty, as it has to crush the rather thick and fibrous cane…
July 6th, 2008its great .and it can really cleanse your body
July 17th, 2008it looks like mojito
July 20th, 2008Hello everyone,
Sugarcane juice really tastes good especially if it is freshly squeezed with calamansi….(i mean drinking it right after it is squeezed, add cube ice - not the bottled one).
it is actually very popular in singapore, india and australia.
You can actually have it as an alternative drink during your special events - just for a change, and i’m sure your guests will love it.
Not to mention the wonders it will do to your body.
You can email me at ralcanejuice@yahoo.com if you are interested in trying it.
Salamat po!!
July 30th, 2008as one growing up in an household with sugarcane fields, just about before land reform, i and my siblings would have fresh sugar cane juice everyday during harvest season… we have a manual press and we would line up with our chosen cane and have it squeezed… leftover cane juice would be put in a clay jar, fermented and turned into cane vinegar…
August 3rd, 2008