In Funchal, Fábrica Ribeiro Sêco keeps Madeira’s sugar-cane tradition alive. Its shelves hold classic and organic syrup, honey cake, biscuits, preserves, chocolates and truffles made to travel.

Some products travel better than others. Dark, aromatic and deeply woven into Madeiran cooking, sugar-cane syrup carries a portion of the island’s history with it. On Rua das Maravilhas, Fábrica Ribeiro Sêco has been producing it for more than 135 years, preserving a tradition born in the old cane mills and still present on local tables. The process retains an old-fashioned discipline. The cane is crushed to release its juice, known locally as guarapa, then filtered, cooked and slowly reduced until it develops the dense texture and toasted depth that distinguish Madeira’s syrup. The machinery has evolved; the principle has not. Alongside the classic version is an organic syrup, made from certified organically grown cane and, like the original, free from additives, colourings and preservatives. On the shelves, the syrup leaves the jar and enters the island’s baking tradition. The dark honey cake, rich with spices and dried fruit, follows an ancestral recipe and should be broken by hand, as custom dictates. The biscuits are smaller and crisper, made for tea or for extending a Madeiran Christmas well beyond December. There are also preserves, chocolates and truffles flavoured with sugar-cane syrup and honey cake, more contemporary formats for a taste that requires no reinvention. For travellers who like to pack a little of a place’s food culture, this is a particularly sound stop. A jar of organic mel-de-cana, a 250g honey cake or a box of chocolates and truffles takes up little room in a suitcase but carries a much longer Madeiran story. The factory has also published a book of 61 recipes, useful evidence that this ingredient belongs in savoury cooking as readily as it does in the pastry kitchen. Highlights

• Classic and organic Madeiran sugar-cane syrup
• A wholly natural product, free from additives, colourings and preservatives
• Traditional Madeiran honey cake
• Sugar-cane syrup biscuits, preserves, chocolates and truffles
• Honey cakes in several travel-friendly sizes
• A book featuring 61 sugar-cane syrup recipes

Not to be missed: The organic sugar-cane syrup and traditional honey cake, which local custom says should be broken by hand rather than sliced with a knife.