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


Types

The predominant sources of palm sugar are the Palmyra, date, nipa, aren, and
coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...
palms. The Palmyra palm (''Borassus'' spp.) is grown in Africa, Asia, and
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
. The tree has many uses, such as thatching, hatmaking, timber, a writing material, and in food products. Palm sugar is produced from sap (toddy) from the flowers. There are two species of date palm that produce palm sugar: ''
Phoenix dactylifera ''Phoenix dactylifera'', commonly known as the date palm, is a flowering-plant species in the palm family Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet #Fruits, fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across North Africa, northern A ...
'' and '' P. sylvestris''. ''P. dactylifera'' is common in the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
and Middle East, while ''P. sylvestris'' is native to Asia, mainly Pakistan and India. Date palms are cultivated mainly for dates and 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 A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...
biome. Only its leaves and flowers are able to grow above water. Palm sugar is made from the sugar-rich sap. The sugar palm ('' Arenga pinnata'') is native to the
coast A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...
al and tropical regions of Asia, mainly China, Malaysia, 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. It grows in coastal areas of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Major suppliers are Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines.


Production

Palm sugar is produced by boiling 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 crystallise over time. The boiled sap can also be solidified and sold as bricks or cakes. It can range in colour 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, the Middle East, and North Africa.


Local variants

Palm sugar is known by many names and variants depending on its ingredient, production method, or region. It is known as ( Javanese sugar) in
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
, and ( Malaccan sugar) in Malaysia. A specific difference in palm sugar naming is seen in Indonesia; if it is made from
coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...
, it is called as or (red sugar), on the other hand (aren sugar) refer to palm sugar that specifically made from the sap of aren palm flower buds. has an earthy aroma and deep sweetness with a darker colour closely resembling molasses, while has paler colour. is a type of palm sugar made from the sap of flower buds from the coconut palm, or less commonly, other palms. It can be dense and sticky. It is known in English as "Malacca sugar", probably because it originated in the state of Malacca, Malaysia (). Traditionally, is made by extracting the sap from the flower bud of a coconut tree. Several slits are cut into the bud, and a pot is tied underneath to collect the sap. The sap is then boiled until it thickens. Next, the sap is poured into bamboo tubes long and left to solidify to form cylindrical cake blocks. Due to the labour involved in the production, it is often more expensive than the ubiquitous cane sugar. It is used in some savoury dishes, but mainly in the local desserts and cakes of the Southeast Asian region. pudding is a dessert made with and a common hot or cold dish of Indo-Malay origin. Other examples include and , a ball-shaped dessert made from glutinous rice flour, filled with , and covered in shredded coconut.


See also

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References

{{Sugar Malaysian cuisine Singaporean cuisine Thai cuisine Types of sugar Edible palms