Natural Sweetners

[CaiHong]

I am in search of the perfect natural sweetener. About 10 days I purchased some fresh cane juice from a kerbside vendor , put it into my fridge, left tit there and 10 days later when I went to the fridge opened it it "exploded" like a can of shaken coke. it was amazingly carbonated. I didn't drink it but would love to know what happened. Did it ferment and turn into a fizzy alcoholic drink?

I bought a jar of Heresetas Stevia which is pretty awful, very srtong chemical taste. I am now on the hunt for coconut palm sugar. I live in the country, Vietnam, that produces it.

CaiHong

[Charybdisjim]

Yeah it fermented. You basically made sparkling sugarcane wine. Because of the high sugar content compared to grains used for beer and the relatively mild flavor profile of pressed cane juice compared to grapes, the alcohol taste in the fermented product is going to be much more prominent.

At fridge temperatures I am somewhat surprised that you got such a successful fermentation though since ideal fermentation temp for sugarcane would be more like 65-68 F (18 - 20 C). Over 10 days though I can imagine that would be enough time - and plenty for the carbon dioxide to dissolve somewhat into the liquid. Given the likely slow fermentation though, there may have been enough time for other flora to grow in and spoil the canejuice somewhat before the fermentation process dominated so I imagine the taste could also be somewhat tainted and there is a small butc real possibility it would have unpleasent after effects if you drank it.

A more ideal fermentation would have involved leaving it in a cool dry place (65 F or so) for 24 hours and then putting it in the fridge for a day or two. That would better control what ends up growing in it and allow fermentation quickly enough to prevent a spoiled flavor or food poisoning. Really though the result is not something I find appetizing myself anyways, but it is popular in some regions and I think is a traditional drink in the Philippines.

[CaiHong]

Thanks Chary,
For your informed reply. Yes I wondered about it being in the fridge also, I thought that would have delayed the fermenting process.
I am still on the hunt for the perfect sweetener, I am told that when processing the coconut palm sugar they heat it up. I think I will have to travel to the region and see what goes on. Also want to visit the cocoa plantations,get some cocoa beans before they are processed.
I want to access my supplies for my raw cafe in the raw state.
Watched a few tutorials on how to make raw coconut oil. That's today's project.
Thanks again
CaiHong