With the arrival of winter in Kalihati upazila of Tangail, sugarcane farmers and molasses makers are teaming up to start producing cane molasses ahead of the upcoming Pitha (traditional winter cakes) Utsab that has long been a customary winter time tradition, especially in the rural regions of Bangladesh.
Production of molasses plays a central part in the pitha making process as it is one among the special ingredients, besides rice flour, coconut, milk, and eggs, used.
Char Hamjani, on the banks of the Jamuna and Dhaleshwari rivers, is a village best known for producing quality sugarcane molasses. For a long time, this char in Durgapur union of Kalihati upazila has been making molasses from sugarcane juice during winter.
Speaking to Dhaka Tribune, expert molasses makers Abdul Hai, Rahmat Ali, Zahurul Islam and Ahej Uddin said every year they contacted sugarcane field owners all around Tangail to help make molasses.
They said they could make about 7 to 8 pans of molasses every day from morning to afternoon and about 60 kg of molasses could be made from each pan.
Sugar cane juice is boiled to concentrate it, promoting sugar crystallization. The resultant is a dark, viscous liquid with a smoky flavour and dense sweetness which is known as molasses or black treacle.
Expressing their frustration over the low sugarcane production this year, the molasses makers said business had not been as good as in previous years.
According to the district agriculture department, sugarcane cultivated on 479 hectares in 10 upazilas of Tangail this season suffered damage because of the devastating floods this year.
Ashraf Akand, a veteran molasses wholesaler, said: “I’ve been in the molasses business since 1999. This profession has been very good to me in the past, especially in the early 2000s. Since 2015, the impact of sugar on the market created many problems in the molasses business. Having said that, I still hope to make some good profits this season.
“I sell molasses in markets all around Tangail. This year, molasses are going for Tk1,700-Tk 1,750 per maund. I hope to be able to sell about 1,000 kg of molasses this season.”
