OtterKnow Kids EncyclopediaSugar cane is a very tall grass that can grow up to 20 feet high, which is taller than a giraffe! It loves to grow in warm, sunny, tropical places like Brazil, India, and Hawaii. The plant has thick, juicy stems that are full of sweet sap.
Workers cut down the tall canes and crush the stems in big machines to squeeze out all the sweet juice. Then the juice is boiled until sparkly sugar crystals are left behind! Sugar cane is not only used for sugar in our cookies and candy. It can also be turned into fuel that powers cars and even made into paper.
- It takes about 10 feet of sugar cane to make just one cup of sugar!
- Sugar cane was one of the first plants ever grown by farmers in the islands of the Pacific Ocean.
- The leftover cane pieces after squeezing out the juice can be made into paper and other useful things.
