The Trapiche Visit

We went to a trapiche with one of the neighbors - don Alfonso. (don is used as a title of courtesy or respect for older gentleman.) A trapiche is where they transform sugar cane into panela - similar to a brown sugar mold. Panela it turns out is originally from Africa and Asia. People make hot drinks out of it and use it as a sweetener. They also believe it helps fight the common cold (la gripa). Marcela says when she was young and fighting off a cold, her mom would make her a hot cup of panela with lemon and send her off to bed. Typically in the morning, she felt better. Athletes also use it for some quick energy. Panela has tons of vitamins (A, B1, B2, B5, B6, C, D and E). After going to the trapiche, I was reading a Spanish magazine that Leslie left behind and there was an article about panela. This way I got to give you some factual information too.

It was great to watch how the panela molds were created and how they used the entire plant in the process - nothing wasted. I love that about this culture!! They are very resourceful and I love the simplicity of their tools. They first cut the canes and put them into a squeezing machine where they get this sugary, clear juice. [no photos because they did this the day before we arrived. But we did see a woman doing this at one of the open air markets in Medellin]. They then light a fire using the fiber from the sugar cane. The fire has a small opening and somehow travels underneath the 4 different vats from which the sugary juice is heated. They transfer and stir the liquid and it darkens in color as it moves down the line. After the fourth vat and definately the smallest one, the liquid is transferred into a portable tray [you can see Marcela helping to carry it] where it instantly starts to puff up as it cools and then crystallize. They stir it again, sometimes adding water or some more liquid and then they mold it, stamp each one and package it. It was quite the process!

The panela is way better than brown sugar - not as sweet and richer in flavor. We tried it while it was still hot but in crystallized form - right out of the tray. We tried it in a caramelized state as well. It lost some of its sweetness. One of the fellows gave Marcela a ball of it to pull and stretch like taffy but unfortunately it did not work. We have seen other people pulling this taffy like substance and stretching it in the plaza and in Medellin. For some reason, the day we went it did not work - temperature?? mixture?? not really sure why. It was funny though because Marcela worked this ball and had it stuck all over her hands for about 20 minutes. She finally was able to remove it onto a paper bag and that is when we ate it in the caramelized state. The really funny part was when one of the guys not only tried to offer me and Leslie some to work with, but offered Marcela some more. Of course none of us, took him up on the offer. When Marcela had difficulty AND he could not whip it up, there was no way I was going to try. They had some plantains in the vats, which one of the fellows who was really sweet, took out, got a plate with forks and gave to us to eat - MMMMmmmmmm delicious.

It takes a team of about 6 - 7 fellows to make the panella over 2 days time. The team travels to about 5 or 6 different fincas visiting each one about twice a month. Granted this is what I understood one of the fellows telling me. I am not fully confident in my Spanish comprehension yet, although it is getting better by the day.