Lahang is a traditional sweet and cold beverage from

West Java West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, made from the

sap Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separa ...

Arenga pinnata ''Arenga pinnata'' (syn. ''Arenga saccharifera'') is an economically important feather palm native to tropical Asia, from eastern India east to Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines in the east. Common names include sugar palm, areng palm (al ...

(''sugar palm'' or ''aren''). The drink is commonly known in Indonesia, however it is usually associated with

Sundanese Sundanese may refer to: * Sundanese people * Sundanese language * Sundanese script Standard Sundanese script (''Aksara Sunda Baku'', ) is a writing system which is used by the Sundanese people. It is built based on Old Sundanese script (' ...

of West Java. It is known as a traditional isotonic drink.

Production

''Lahang'' is obtained through tapping ''aren'' or sugar palm trees. The part being tapped are the male flowers of the ''aren'' plants. In order to maintain its freshness, farmers will usually started early in the dawn to tap the palm flowers. The optimal age of Arenga tree suitable for tapping is five years old or older. Tapping the sap from ''Aren'' tree requires skills, prior of attaching the tube, the cob of male flowers must be cleaned to avoid contamination and impurities. The sap liquid is slowly build up and drip into the bamboo container. After certain period, the sap would be collected. In certain circumstances when the sap of sugar palm tree was left in open air for too long, the sap liquid will be fermented and turned into

vinegar Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to et ...

palm wine Palm wine, known by several #Names, local names, is an alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm tree such as the Borassus, palmyra, date palms, and coconut palms. It is known by various names in different regions and i ...

Selling

The sweet tasting sap then is mixed with ice and ready to be served. Iced ''lahang'' is usually sold as refreshment, a street beverage in large bamboo tubes. ''Lahang'' usually produced together with ''gula aren'' (

palm sugar Palm sugar is a sweetener derived from any variety of palm tree. Palm sugar is sometimes qualified by the type of palm, as in coconut palm sugar. While sugars from different palms may have slightly different compositions, all are processed s ...

), ''

tuak Palm wine, known by several local names, is an alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm tree such as the palmyra, date palms, and coconut palms. It is known by various names in different regions and is common in vario ...

'' (palm wine) and ''

dodol ''Dodol'' is a sweet toffee-like sugar palm-based confection commonly found in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Originating from the culinary traditions of Indonesia, it is also popular in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, the Philipp ...

'' sweets, since all of them are the products of ''aren'' tree.

External links

Lahang in LitaFM

Aren sap

References

{{Indonesian cuisine Cold drinks Indonesian drinks Sundanese cuisine

Production

Selling

See also

External links

References