Palm sugar is a sweetener derived from any of a variety of palm trees. To describe palm sugar, the terms "palm sugar" and "coconut palm sugar" are often used interchangeably. Each originates from different botanical sources and each has a slightly different chemical composition, but both are processed in the same manner and are similar in their applications.
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Types of palm sugar
Palm sugar refers to sugars from various palm trees. The Palmyra palm; date palm; nipa palm; sugar palm; and the coconut palm predominate.
The palmyra palm (Borassus genus) is grown in Africa, Asia, and New Guinea. The tree has many uses, such as thatching, hatmaking, use as a writing material, as timber, and in food products. Palm sugar is produced from the sap ('toddy') of the flowers of the tree.
The date palm has two species, both of which are used in the production of palm sugar (Phoenix dactylifera and Phoenix sylvestris). P. dactylifera is common in the Mediterranean and Middle East. P. sylvestris is native to Asia, mainly in Pakistan and India. Date palms are cultivated chiefly for dates. Palm sugar is made from the tree's sap.
The nipa palm (Nypa fruticans) is native to the coastlines and tropical regions of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the only palm tree that grows in a watery mangrove biome. Only its leaves and flowers grow above water. It produces a sugar-rich sap that is used to produce palm sugar.
The sugar palm (Arenga pinnata) is native to the coastal and tropical regions of Asia, mainly in China and Indonesia. The sap used to produce palm sugar is known in India as 'gur' and in Indonesia as 'gula aren'.
The coconut palm (Cocos nucifera) yields coconut palm sugar from the sap of its flowers. The coconut palm grows in coastal areas of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Major suppliers are Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
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Production
Palm sugar is produced by boiling the collected sap until it thickens. The boiled sap can be sold as palm syrup. It is sold in bottles or tins and tends to thicken and crystallize over time. The boiled sap can also be solidified and sold in the form of bricks or cakes. It can range in color from golden brown to dark brown or almost black, like Indonesian gula aren.
Use
Palm sugar is an ingredient in both sweet and savoury dishes used throughout Asia and the Middle East and North Africa.
Names
- Bangladesh/Bengal: gur (jaggery), taal patali (solid palm sugar), khejura-cini
- Burma: jaggery
- Cambodia: skor tnot
- Indonesia: gula kelapa, gula aren, gula merah, gula semut (gula jawa in the Netherlands)
- Kannada: Ole bella
- Kerala: panam kalkandam, Karippatti, Karipetti, Karippotti
- Laos: nam tan pip
- Malaysia: gula anau, gula melaka , gula kabung , arenga pinnata
- Philippines: Pakaskas
- Sri Lanka: jaggery, kitul-hakuru, tal-hakuru
- Tamil Nadu: panam karkandu,Karupatti,panai vellam
- Telugu: nalla bellam, thaati bellam (palm jaggery)
- Thailand: coconut palm sugar: (Thai: ?????????????; rtgs: nam tan maphrao); sugar palm sugar: (Thai: ??????????; rtgs: nam tan tanot)
- Vietnam: ???ng th?t n?t
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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