The cargo ship Moku Pahu, loaded down with the last 30,000 tons of "pure cane sugar from Hawaii" arrived at the C&H refinery in Crockett, CA this past Tuesday.   Apparently sugar is no longer a profitable endeavor in the 50th state and the last mill there has shut down.

For some time, C&H has been getting its cane sugar from other sources like Vietnam and Brazil in addition to Hawaii, which explains why the "from Hawaii" part of their slogan disappeared.  I suppose the Hibiscus flower will have to go next.   After this last batch is refined, all C&H sugar will come from foreign suppliers and this exotic Hawaiian connection to the Bay Area will become part of local lore.

The refinery in Crockett that has been operating since 1906 (and it looks it) will continue to do so.   It employs around 450 people, but this is most certainly the end of an era. 

I was wondering what could replace the H.   I think your C and Where? nails it.

Eddie, the most creepy, decrepit view of the C and H refinery is from Amtrak, which, understandably, crawls by so close you can almost touch the ancient brick exterior -- blackened, at least in part I presume, from half a century of countless coal-fired locomotives loaded down with C and H output as well as those that hauled passengers.

I do remember those C and H ads that ran for many years, showing cute Hawaiian kids chewing on sugar cane.  It made me plead with my parents to buy raw sugar cane in the grocery produce department -- back in the days when it could be commonly found there.  When they finally gave in, I was really disappointed with the stuff and never asked for it again.

Travis, thanks for posting those ads!  I remember them like it was yesterday!

Eddie, here's the link you missed above -- sure makes Hawaiian life seem magical.  Truly a different, and now distant, time.

When I went to college in the Sacramento valley in the 70's, one of my acquaintances had worked a summer job at the C&H plant in Crockett. He was a big lanky country boy, but his general impression of the place was not exactly favorable. I remember him muttering something about being coated with sticky sugar by the end of the work day.

Later in the 80's I got a chance to go visit Hawaii myself. I remember the sugar cane fields on Maui. And a strong aroma of marijuana in the air, with rough looking locals standing guard at the entrances of the dirt roads into the cane fields. I concluded that there were pot grow operations sort of hidden in the middle of all that sugar.  And that it was harvest time. I'd already given up weed by then so my interest was purely academic.

Now that stuff is mostly grown in warehouses hither and yon. A lot of people apparently made a lot of money off it, but I've read that what with legalization of recreational use, the prices are going to plummet. Supposedly that a problem for places like Colorado that were depending on price based taxation. Instead of per ounce. Death, Taxes, and Weed. Some things never change.

I've never heard of C&H sugar.  I guess most of our sugar here comes from this area and below like Louisiana.  I know there's a huge Domino sugar refinery in Chalmette, LA.  We pass it while riding the Steamboat Natchez.  It's interesting all the different brands available in other parts of the country.

California produces massive amounts of sugar from beets as well. Tons are grown in the Imperial Valley. Unlike the upper Midwest, the beets grown there cannot be stored in piles outside, for they would quickly degrade in the heat. Instead they are shipped to nearby factories as soon as they are harvested. The factories run 7x24.

Like others, I've never detected a difference between cane sugar and beet sugar. It's all sucrose. These days I prefer turbinado sugar, which retains some trace minerals and has a slight molasses taste. Great in coffee.

Beet greens are supposed to be nutritious as well, being related to chard. But most of them are plowed under to enrich the soil.

Similarly, I scoff at pricey "high-end" vodkas. Other than the fancy bottles and labels, vodka is basically diluted pure ethanol. Except when flavored, then it's no longer real vodka. Lots of people get conned by the hype and advertising. And not only in presidential elections.

Rich, I agree with you on both:  sugar is sugar and vodka is vodka.  However, a friend of mine who is something of a functioning alcoholic -- he only drinks on weekends, but does so heavily and vodka is his hooch of choice -- insists that there is a difference.

The only time I noticed a difference was when he was buying "Cupcake" brand at TJ's for $5 a bottle.  I tried some in a gimlet and decided it was way too smooth and gave the cocktail an "off" taste.  So, there may be ways to effect the flavor profile through the filtering and distilling process, but I tend to feel that people are fooling themselves by paying three or four times more than the mid-shelf stuff costs in opting for designer vodka.  A blind tasting would likely indicate as much.

One difference that matters to some between sugar cane and sugar beets is that (the last I heard) sugar beets are very likely to be a GMO crop in the US. Sugar cane isn't. So for those who wish to avoid GMOs, sugar cane would be the choice.

As far as brand is concerned, I suppose there could be differences, but I question whether they'd make much of a difference. At least in my life. 

As for vodka, I've heard there is a difference between brands. I guess I'd believe that--at least as a hypothesis--but I'd have to wonder if the differences would be as pronounced as the differences with, say, wine. I also cynically would think that at some point it becomes about a fancy label name, and not the contents of the bottle. But what do I know?

Video showing a vodka test:

Well, there may be a difference in terms of contaminants between vodka brands. Typically I would imagine a solvent like vodka would be filtered through activated charcoal to remove any off aromas or tastes. The quality of the charcoal may have an effect.

Also, the distillation process must be carefully controlled for highest purity. Cheaper brands may over drive the distillation, resulting in more contaminants in the distillate. The cleanliness of the distillation equipment probably makes a difference, as would the hygiene in the factory. We've all probably heard of food or drink factories getting shut down because of birds nesting in the rafters above production lines, or rodents scurrying about. Nuff said.

Then there is the raw ingredients. After all, the source is basically fermented potatoes. Potatoes come in various varieties. I would imagine very cheap vodka brands might use very cheap potatoes, such as ones that have gone green or sprouted, or even have black fungal patches. All that might show up as an off taste in an inferior product. From the Youtube comparison, sounds like whoever makes Trader Joe's vodka is using blighted, green, or sprouted potatoes.

Some brands may also add in flavoring, but that's probably a closely guarded secret if it does happen. Outside of deliberately flavored vodkas for the poseur crowd.

I've always thought Smirnoff was a good enough vodka. Tastes exactly the same to me a Sky, although usually when I consume vodka it's in a mixed drink which covers up most differences.

I worked in bio science and biochem labs for many years and pure ethanol was a standard lab chemical. We used it for disinfection and also some extractions. It would always amaze me when people who didn't work in these types of labs would get all excited about the "free" ethanol. To me it was just another chemical, and I have NEVER tried to consume lab alcohol.

And there's also a caveat to the ignorant: never try to drink 100% lab ethanol. Ethanol by nature absorbs water readily from the atmosphere and during distillation. To get 100% ethanol the chemist must add some benzene to it, and that will grab the water and remove it during distillation. But there's always some benzene left behind. Benzene being highly toxic, you don't want to be drinking that stuff. The 95% stuff is probably OK, but again, I just would never try it because I know what happens in laboratories.

I've used some kind of beet sugar years ago, can't find it anywhere now down here.  Walmart, Kroger, Walgreens...store brands taste all the same to me.  Whichever is the cheapest or has it on sale.

Vodka...never touch the stuff.  The only time I use alcohol is to clean an IV port at work!

I've tried turbinado sugar a few times but I really can't tell much difference with it either.  Aspartame is my biggest migraine trigger so I can't use it at all.  Use splenda in my tea sometimes when I eat out and they don't have sweet tea (like most restaurants in the French Quarter go figure).

"Antioxidants in red wine called polyphenols may help protect the lining of blood vessels in your heart. A polyphenol called resveratrol is one substance in red wine that's gotten attention."

I can get most of the same thing from grape juice without the alcohol.