THE SECRETS OF THE GARDEN
HISTORY AND NATURE IN BELLAVISTA

The sugarcane juice is used to produce the dulce (sweet) with which the typical hot drink known as “aguadulce” and the Caribbean “hiel” or “ale” is prepared; it is also used to sweeten breads, pastries, and desserts such as “cajetas” and “cocadas.” It is also the base for making the alcoholic beverage known as aguardiente.

In a trapiche, the juice is extracted by crushing the sugar cane with the large vertical wooden “millstones,” then the liquid is heated in a pan, and when it reaches a honey-like consistency, it is poured into a canoe and, before it cools, into the wooden molds shaped like tapas de dulce.

This trapiche on display came from Esparza and is characterized as having been built without any metal parts.