《新竹寶山必玩！黑糖粉圓DIY＋甘蔗田實戰體驗》｜農業紀錄片系列｜探路者

《新竹寶山必玩！黑糖粉圓DIY＋甘蔗田實戰體驗》｜農業紀錄片系列｜探路者

Pathfinder, Enter Your World! Hi everyone, we are Pathfinder, Enter Your World! When talking about Hsinchu specialties, everyone thinks of rice noodles, rice balls, persimmon cakes, etc. But actually, Xincheng Community in Baoshan Township was once an important sugar-producing area in Taiwan. A large amount of sugarcane was grown here. However, due to industrial development and population outflow, the sugarcane culture here declined. But in the 1990s, the Rural Regeneration Plan was established here, and the Xincheng Sugar Recreation Park was built. Sugarcane was planted again and brown sugar was produced. Now it is one of the few brown sugar workshops in Taiwan. And it has also opened to tourists. With hands-on experience, from cutting sugarcane in the fields , washing and juicing it , to related agritourism activities , the culture of sugar is being preserved in this community. Today, let ‘s explore this new town community together , experience cutting sugarcane , and learn about the culture of sugarcane and sugar. Before going to the fields, we will first make brown sugar tapioca balls indoors. Here, you can learn the process of making tapioca balls so you can make them at home later. The materials we will prepare are 200 grams of tapioca flour , 130 cc of boiling water, and 80 grams of brown sugar powder. We will make tapioca balls using the method of making tangyuan ( glutinous rice balls). We will first make the three ingredients into a dough, and then mix it into the dry flour to form a ball. After the dough is formed , roll it out flat, cut it into small pieces , and then roll each piece into a ball. Now it’s ready to be cooked. While waiting, we need to go to the field to cut the sugarcane. When cutting , clear away any obstructions in your line of sight (to avoid cutting the seedlings). The sweetest part of the sugarcane is the section closest to the ground (the origin of the Chinese proverb: “Eating sugarcane upside down!”) . The closer to the ground, the better. Of course, when cutting , try to cut between nodes so they aren’t too hard. We just saw those old leaves; after removing them, there are still green leaves. This needs to be about three meters tall (it can only be harvested when it’s three meters tall) . When harvesting the taller , sweeter sugarcane , you cut at a 45-degree angle , not a straight line, to make it easier to cut. I roughly aimed at the sugarcane, held it with my other hand , and cut at a 45-degree angle —wow, amazing! Cut it in half like that! It’s hard for beginners to cut sugarcane in one stroke… Even using the curved part of the sugarcane knife, which is sharper , still doesn’t work… My technique is terrible, but that’s okay because the sugarcane was already lying down, so the knife wasn’t so angled. You can also try tapping it—yes, tapping it well. A stubborn sugarcane… still won’t break… Almost done ! Twist it slightly, and you’re done ! Wow, that’s tough! Turns out, this really isn’t easy to do with a single, sharp chop ! Ready! Don’t point the knife at anyone!! Ugh! Hollow! Oh! You cut it like that!! I can cut it in one stroke, impressive ! You could cut several more! You could work at a sugarcane farm… Just imagine how unpleasant it feels to cut it in one stroke!! One cut is really tiring. I only cut five. The ends are less sweet, so remember to remove them. We’re wearing gloves so we ‘re less likely to cut ourselves. The edges of the leaves are actually a bit sharp, like silvergrass. So, is anyone eating sugarcane shoots or something like that? Yes , but because it’s not so easy to harvest , we’re in the pre-experience stage, not harvesting in large quantities, so usually we don’t take the shoots . So, where are the shoots? The head? Look here , this one’s shoots are gone because the nodes have grown longer. It should have new buds, which are smaller. Oh right! Like this would be too old . Okay , let’s peel it up to here. There’s a node, right? Yes, there ‘s a node here… Is there one here? No ? Then discard this section without buds. As for the sugarcane seedlings , look, each node has a bud. Right, on the next node, at a 180-degree angle, there’s one here , one here, and one over here. Okay, when we want to keep sugarcane seeds, we need to keep at least three buds. Three buds, one, two, three , okay. Should we cut it in the middle between nodes, at a slight angle? It’s easier to cut and less likely to damage the buds. Okay , it’s okay if it wasn’t broken that time, just bend it to make it right . This is good. We’ll plant this part because it’s not as sweet. But it actually has buds. It looks like it might be damaged , but these two buds have a chance. And this is white sugarcane, right? The white sugarcane we’re using here for sugar production is a specially selected, improved variety, ROC16. This ROC16 is more resistant to pests and diseases and has a particularly high sweetness. For sugar production , the sweetness needs to be especially high. Also, it’s more suitable for… Because of the good climate and soil in Baoshan , the sugarcane here , like the one you just saw, has had its leaves removed , but it actually has root hairs at the nodes. Because of these root hairs, we need to clean it thoroughly before washing. So, we change the direction you hold the sugarcane with the knife and hand , pointing it towards the root. This is because the surface is uneven, and there are many root hairs that can trap dirt and grime, making it difficult to clean. Later, we’ll press it with the peel on, extracting the precious peel and the sugarcane’s own phytochemicals. If you can leave it , then we can use a knife slightly angled against the sugarcane and gently push it away to remove the root hairs. Don’t peel it; just scrape off the root hairs. You’re only cleaning the root hairs , yes, to make it as flat as possible so that it ‘s easier to scrub away the dirt later. This method makes the juicing process much cleaner. The typical sugar-making process involves crushing all the sugarcane in the field —soil, insects, mud, withered leaves, etc.— to extract the juice. It would be a state of sugarcane mud and water , not pure sugarcane juice. It inevitably requires the addition of lime , using lime to help settle the impurities. So, more or less, some lime residue is unavoidable . Yes, yes, we hope to achieve completely additive-free results. Now we realize that the process is actually quite troublesome. You see, every stalk of sugarcane is hard-earned . Yes, my goodness, you usually have to do so much when you sell it. So, your costs are very high! Yes, that white… What is it? Sugarcane wax , oh, that’s wax! Sugarcane wax , this is sugarcane wax . And there will be some dirt on the surface, of course, from inside. For sugarcane, we use a wet brush to clean the dirt . We wet the brush and hang it up like this , like rinsing it with water. If we’re in the field, we’ll say that you ‘re taking pictures right after harvesting, before you’ve even separated the sugarcane leaves, otherwise it looks like everyone’s taking pictures with bamboo sticks, it’s really … Can you even bite through it? I wouldn’t recommend it. For example, with red sugarcane, the peel is barely chewable , but the flesh is definitely tough. Red sugarcane is somewhat chewable, but white sugarcane is much harder . Therefore, white sugarcane has a much higher sugar content than red sugarcane. For instance, in markets or some places that sell red sugarcane juice, when it’s sweet, it’s around 15 to 17 degrees Brix , but in summer it might only be around 13 degrees Brix . But our white sugarcane… Sugarcane, this variety, is still 19 degrees Brix even in the summer when it’s at its least sweet. During the winter harvest, it can even reach 25 degrees Brix – that’s incredible! Even the sweetest grapes are only 17 degrees Brix, which is incredibly sweet. This variety can reach 23 or even 25 degrees Brix without any problem. Even if you could bite into it, you couldn’t eat it because it’s too sweet. Such a soothing sound! How long does it take to grow sugarcane before harvesting? A full year! Yes!! Next, we went to the sugar refinery. Here we can learn about the sugar-making process and the local culture. During the Japanese rule of Taiwan, sugar was strictly controlled (sugar was a strategic resource). People weren’t allowed to process sugarcane or make sugar themselves; all the sugarcane and sugar had to be sold overseas. To earn foreign exchange, our ancestors used wood, such as acacia wood, to make this juicer in the bamboo forest. The wooden frame here is the one used to carry sugarcane; in Hakka, it’s called a “sugarcane frame.” After visiting the sugar factory, our tapioca pearls are ready to be cooked. So soothing! This is brown sugar powder. It ‘s currently cooked. Now that it’s cooked, we need to add brown sugar and stir it to coat it with brown sugar. This increases the sweetness and aroma of the brown sugar . Also, if the starch is coated with sugar, it will shrink a bit. This is sugarcane smoothie. So the sugarcane smoothie’s color will be very similar to brown sugar , a light and subtle shade. We used a slush machine to make it from freshly cut sugarcane, which was then juiced and made into smoothies and pure sugarcane juice for everyone to enjoy. It was almost noon by then, and the community tour also included a rice harvest meal (this may or may not be included depending on the itinerary). After a half-day sugarcane tour, did you find this itinerary fun? Feel free to leave a comment below! That’s our video for today. If you liked our video, please like, subscribe, and share ! Don’t forget to turn on notifications! We’re Pathfinder, here to enter your world ! Bye!

走進新竹寶山新城社區(新城風糖休閒園區)，我們親身體驗了最道地的甘蔗文化，從下田砍甘蔗、學習 45 度角技巧，到手作黑糖粉圓，完整感受土地的甜味與在地的文化。

這裡保留著百年風糖記憶，也是最能看見甘蔗文化復興的地方。跟著我們，一起探索寶山最甜的農村旅行！

如果要預約行程可以來這裡喔

地址：新竹縣寶山鄉寶新路二段251巷25號
MAP:https://share.google/DqVgAd1TnAfNnpjnF
電話：035762295
時間：09:00–18:00
FB粉專：https://www.facebook.com/windsugar/?locale=zh_TW
活動預約請至官網:https://www.windsugar.com.tw/windsugar/index.php?action=index

#甘蔗文化
#寶山新城
#砍甘蔗體驗
#黑糖粉圓DIY
#新竹農村旅遊