Garapa
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Garapa (var. Guarapa) is the Brazilian Portuguese term for the juice of raw sugar cane (in some Southern states garapa is better known as "caldo de cana" (cane juice). It is a very popular drink in several countries of Latin America. Garapa is obtained by crushing peeled sugar cane in a small hand- or electric mill. The drink is usually served cold with a squeeze of lemon or ananas. Due to its high sugar content it is rich in calories. Garapa juice is the primary source of sugar cane derivatives such as sugar (obtained by evaporation and refining), brandy (called cachaça or caninha) and ethanol.
[edit] Ethymology
The origin of the word is unclear. There are two hypotheses:
- African origin, it means "fermented drink" in West Africa, and was brought into Brazil by slaves from Cabo Verde islands, then to the Madeira islands.
- Tupí-Guaraní origin, from guarab, meaning a fermented drink laced with honey
In Brazilian Portuguese, garapa is also used figuratively as meaning a good thing, easy to get. Garapa doida (crazy garapa) is also the name given to cachaça in the Amazon region.
[edit] Health risk
Raw garapa can be a health risk to drinkers, mostly because of the unhygienic conditions it is prepared in many places. Since it is very sugary, it is an ideal culture medium to all kinds of microorganisms, so it should not be stored outside a refrigerator. In fact, it is almost always consumed as a freshly prepared drink. Pasteurization is required if the juice is to be bottled and sold as such, and a date of validity should be stamped on the container.
Garapa has been recently involved in a widely publicized episode in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil [1], when at least 49 tourists got infected with Chagas disease by drinking garapa most likely produced at roadside stalls. Nine confirmed deaths resulted. The sugar cane used for it most probably was contaminated with feces of the insect vector, a Reduviid.
