“Hacienda del Apantle de la Santa Cruz, Memories of its Surroundings”
Hernan Cortes knew that in Spain and in the rest of Europe refined sugar was much in demand. He therefore introduced this vegetable of Arab origin and a sugar mill in the valley of Cuernavaca. The climatic conditions and the soil of that zone are perfect for growing sugar cane; the existence of plentiful water currents makes it more than suitable for establishing sugar mills there.
The trapiche is a mill used to extract the juice from certain fruits from the earth. It was moved by animal force: the animals moved the wheel which itself moved the rollers. In the sugar mills the force of the water is what makes the mill move and a wheel with blades makes the whole mechanism work. This is the way the juice is extracted and what is left is taken to the press to squeeze out what still remains. The process is similar to the “trapiche”, but much faster, because the energy of the water is used.
The “trapiches” in the sugar mills are made up of a series of mills with three grooved rolls which press the previously shredded sugar cane and extract the juice. This juice is concentrated and cooked until the crystallized sugar is obtained. A product called bagasse is left which can be used as fuel in the same boilers or as raw material for making paper.
Hacienda del Apantle de la Santa Cruz: http://www.facebook.com/delapantle.
Muebles Zeromadera: http://www.ramsol.com