Panela
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Panela | |
| Botanical | Panela |
|---|---|
| Source plant(s) | Sugarcane |
| Part(s) of plant | Cane |
| Geographic origin | Colombia |
| Uses | Water of Panela |
| Main producers | Colombia |
| Main consumers | Colombia,Ecuador, Peru |
- For the Mexican Cheese see Queso_Panela
Panela is an unrefined food product, typical of Central and South America, which is basically a solid piece of sucrose and fructose obtained from the boiling and evaporation of sugarcane juice.
Common Spanish names: chancaca, papelón, piloncillo, panocha, rapadura, atado dulce or empanizao. In India and Pakistan a similar product is made which is called gur or jaggery.
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[edit] Economics of panela
The main producer of panela is Colombia (about 1.4 million tons/year) [1], where panela production is one of the most important economic activities, with the highest index of panela consumption per capita worldwide. To a lesser degree, panela is also produced in Perú, México, Guatemala, Panamá, Venezuela[2], Ecuador and Bolivia. In Colombia, the panela industry is an important source of employment with about 350.000 people working in nearly 20.000 trapiches (panela farms).
[edit] Process
The sugarcane plant is processed in a large press, to obtain the juice, which is cooked at very high temperatures. The panela can be manufactured in disc-shaped pieces or in cubic pieces of cake form and is usually gold or brown in color. Besides Sugar, panela also contains large amounts of proteins, calcium, iron and ascorbic acid.
[edit] Uses
The main use of the panela is in aguapanela which is one of the most widely drunk beverages in Colombia. Also it is used as a sweetener and in the preparation of desserts. Since it is a very solid block, most Colombian homes have a resistant river stone (la piedra de la panela) to break the panela into smaller, more manageable pieces. [3]
In Perú chancaca is used in typical food such as "champús", "picarones", "calabaza al horno" and "mazamorra cochina". In Costa Rica it is used in preparations such as "tapa de dulce" and "agua de sapo".
In México the term piloncillo is used. They are also often seen in the shape of small truncated cones. Many Mexican desserts are made with piloncillo, such as atole, capirotada, champurrado and flan.
In the Philippines Panocha or in filipinized term Panutsa is traditionally used as an ingredient for "Latik" and "Kalamay".
