Bowl-shaped brown sugar: Sweetness from bitterness

For generations, farmers in northeast Yunnan’s Qiaojia County have grown the best quality sugarcanes in China. And the bowl-shaped brown sugar they produced enjoys the fame of “oriental chocolate”. 

In Qiaojia, sugarcanes are planted in fields by the Jinsha River, where there are copious amount of sunshine, rich water resources and unique sandy soil. These natural conditions contribute to local growing of high-quality sugarcanes.
When making the bowl-shaped brown sugar, local farmers follow the traditional ways, which help leave most of the microelements beneficial to human body in the sugar. Brown as chocolates, the sugar is thus renowned as the “oriental chocolate”.

The making bowl-shaped brown sugar is not easy. After harvest, sugarcanes will be transported to local workshops where they will be squeezed to remove the impurities. And in the whole process, temperature control is very important. When the green soup gradually turns crystal golden and becomes thicker, the time of crystallization comes. Then, the syrup in the pot will be stirred constantly and bowls prepared. Last, the sugar syrup will be filled into small bowls. After it is cooled, there comes the bowl-shaped brown sugar.
From sugarcane planting and harvest to making sugar, it is a process from bitterness to sweetness.  

Editor: Wang Shixue