Palm sugar

Three cakes of commercially produced palm sugar, in a decorative seashell shape

Palm sugar was originally made from the sugary sap of the Palmyra palm, the date palm or sugar date palm (Phoenix sylvestris). Now it is also made from the sap of the sago, arenga pinnata and coconut palms, and may be sold as "arenga sugar" or "coconut sugar".^{[citation needed]}

Description

It is quickly gaining popularity in the progressive global health community as an alternative to agave syrup. Companies are now selling it into the natural food markets in India, so it is becoming easier to get high quality aren sugar (Arenga pinnata) or coconut palm sugar (Cocos nucifera).

The taste of pure coconut palm sugar resembles that of brown sugar, yet with more rounded caramel and butterscotch notes, without the metallic ending flavor that brown sugar has. It has a rich flavor. For cooking purposes, it has a very low melt temperature and an extremely high burn temperature. This makes it a suitable sweetener for confectioners.

Coconut palm sugar is a golden brown sugar sold as granule, blocks or liquid. It may be light-colored or dark, soft and gooey or hard. As a product of cottage industry, it varies greatly from batch to batch.

The coconut palm sugar found in Thai markets generally are not 100% pure coconut palm sugar, but is blended with white cane sugar and also malt sugar. These tend to be white hard blobs. It is important to discern which product you're looking for; a pure coconut palm sugar or a coconut palm sugar mixed with other sugars.

In Thai cuisine, palm and "coconut sugar" (nahm dtahn bpeep/buk and nahm dtahn maprao) are used interchangeably. However, it may be an important distinction that "coconut sugar" is not derived from the coconut fruit itself.

According to Kasma Loha-unchit:

Although the names are used interchangeably, palm sugar and coconut sugar are not the same. One comes from the Palmyra Palm Tree (Borassus flabellifer) or Sugar Palm and the other from the Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera), but both are produced from the sweet, watery sap that drips from cut flower buds.

Usage

Companies are using coconut and/or palm sugar in cookies, baked goods, protein powders, energy bars, beverages or anywhere cane sugar is used.^{[citation needed]}

Palm sugar is often used to sweeten savory food to balance out the salty flavor of fish. Its primary use in Thai cuisine is in sweets and desserts, and somewhat less often in curries and sauces.^{[citation needed]}

Manufacture

A bowl of Gula Melaka Sago

Palm sugar is made by making several slits into the bud of a coconut tree and collecting the sap. Then, the sap is boiled until it thickens after which, in the traditional way, it is poured into bamboo tubes between 3-5 inches in length, and left to solidify to form cylindrical cake blocks. Alternatively, it can be poured into glass jars or plastic bags.^{[citation needed]}

Names

• Burma: jaggery, htanyet (ထန်းလျက်; pronounced [tʰəɲeʔ])
• Cambodia: ស្ករត្នោត(skor tnot)
• Telugu: nalla bellam, thaati bellam (Palm Jaggery)
• Kerala: panam kaLkaNdu(White crystal) Karippatti, KarippOtti(Dark palm sugar)
• Bangladesh/Bengal: jaggery (cane or palm sugar), gur (date palm sugar);
• Tamil Nadu: panam kaRkaNdu, karuppatti
• Indonesia: gula jawa, gula aren, gula merah, gula semut
• Philippines: Pakaskas
• Malaysia: gula melaka, gula anau
• Sri Lanka: jaggery, kitul-hakuru, tal-hakuru, pol pani
• Laos: num taan
• Thailand: น้ำตาลปีป (nam taan pep), น้ำตาลปึก (nam taan bik), น้ำตาลมะพร้าว (nam taan mapraow)
• Vietnam: đường thốt nốt

External links

• An Overview of the Palm Sugar Creation process