Saturday Drew, Jax, and I headed out to Mr. Jim Jenkins' for his yearly making of sugar cane syrup. My Dad and I used to go every year when I was little. Mr. Jim is a black smith by trade, he's pretty famous for his iron workings on buildings in New Orleans that have been restored.
I always loved going to Mr. Jim's with my Dad and I have many great memories on my visits there. I was attacked by a peacock who left a scratch just below my right eye, apparently I got a little too close collecting his feathers. I traded licks on an ice cream cone with about five catahoula curs. And one time I came home with a baby goat, Tiny, who thought she was a dog. I would wake up early before my parents and let her in the back door and sneak her into my room. I'm so thankful for memories like these! :)
Mr. Jim used to use horses and mules to grind his sugar cane, similar to this picture.
Put now he uses a power mill connected to an old John Deere to extract the sweet cane juice.
The sugar cane juice flows into a big stainless steel vat where it's skimmed and cooked for about four hours over a wood burning oven.
The wax from the cane rises to the top, just before boiling Mr. Jim skims the waxy layer off. When I asked him how many times he skims his syrup he said, "Oh, about a thousand." And I believe him, one thing is for sure Mr. Jim isn't in a hurry about anything and patience is a virtue, at least when is come to making syrup!
This building Mr. Jim calls his "museum." It houses many artifacts from his life's travels: Brazil, Africa, and all over the US.
I can't wait to get my hands...well biscuit or sausage, into some of this year's syrup!! I was so glad Drew was able to see just how this delicious treat is made: with love, family, time, and generations of knowledge.
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