Nearly ready to sow my sugarbeet for this year .
I go through 2lb of sugar per week , but i do walk 6 miles per day, everyday , plus i dig the plot etc for 1-2 hours per day , carry water , (20 x 3 gal buckets) 100 yds from the river to water the veg and for the horses , cut wood , carry stones etc , so i reckon i burn off 99.9% of the calories .
So , to get my 2lb per week fix i need to process 22lb of sugarbeet per week , that's 10-15 beets , if i get 10% of the 18% sugar available in them .
I hour of boiling ( rolling boil ) strain and then simmer to reduce , then spread and cool the syrup and then crush the crystalized syrup and i have brown sugar .
To get white refined sugar you need to add a chemical and then use a centrifuge to get the rest of the molasses out . I don't want to use the chemical ( can't remember which one ) , and i don't have a centrifuge , or the leccy to run one , so brown sugar will do me .
I hope to get more bees again , and will sow some stevia plants , so i will have an alternative to sugar beet for my sugar , just as well , as i would need to grow 1000 beets otherwise . Mind you , the remaining 90% of the beet after processing out the sugar is animal feed .
I will most likely grow a couple of ton next year , but not in the veg plot , for stock feed , and my sugar as an asside .