Caldo de Cana

Brazilians love their sucos (juices).  You can get all kinds of fresh juices here - tangerine, lime, pineapple, pineapple with mint, mango, graviola - I could go on and on.  In restaurants, I always ask what juices they have that day and try something new - they're all wonderful.






But there's one type of juice that you usually don't get at a restaurant.  You get it from a street vendor who has a special way to juice it - it's sugar cane juice.  I finally had a chance to try it when we went to Mercado Sao Jose the other day.


First the guy selects a stalk of sugar cane.

Then he starts the motor of his machine and runs it through the press.

The he folds it and runs it through again.

The press does a good job of really crushing the sugar cane and getting all the juice.

As he crushes it, the juice runs out and into a little strainer.  He also adds just a bit of fresh orange juice.

 

And then - you get the caldo de cana!  It was actually quite tasty - sweet with a faint flavor of molasses (which makes sense of course).