Sugar cane

📖 In short

Sugar cane is a very tall grass that grows in hot, rainy countries. Its stalks are as strong as sticks, several meters long and full of sweet juice. Most of the world's sugar is made from this juice, and so is refreshing cane juice.

🤩 Did you know?

Sugar cane stalks are between 2 and 9 meters tall.
Most cane is harvested 8 to 16 months after planting.
After harvest, the cane grows back from its roots several times.
Brazil and India are among the biggest sugar cane producers.

🔎 Find out more

🌟 A giant grass

Sugar cane is in the grass family, like the grass in the garden, but much taller, and its stalk is divided into joints like bamboo.

🔍 The harvest

Cane is harvested about a year after planting. Workers used to cut it with big knives, and today huge machines harvest it.

💡 From cane to sugar

At the factory, cane stalks are crushed between heavy rollers to squeeze out the juice, which is boiled until the water evaporates and sugar crystals appear.