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Sago () is a
starch Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diets ...
extracted from the
pith Pith, or medulla, is a tissue in the stem Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other ...
, or spongy core tissue, of various tropical palm stems, especially those of ''
Metroxylon sagu ''Metroxylon sagu'', the true sago palm, is a species of palm in the genus ''Metroxylon'', native to tropical southeastern Asia. The tree is a major source of sago starch. Description True sago palm is a suckering (multiple-stemmed) palm, ea ...
''. It is a major
staple food A staple food, food staple, or simply a staple, is a food that is eaten often and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a standard diet for a given person or group of people, supplying a large fraction of energy needs and ...
for the lowland peoples of
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...
and the
Maluku Islands The Maluku Islands (; Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Maluku'') or the Moluccas () are an archipelago in the east of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located eas ...
, where it is called ''saksak'', ''rabia'' and ''sagu''. The largest supply of sago comes from Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia and Malaysia. Large quantities of sago are sent to
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
and
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
for cooking purposes. It is traditionally cooked and eaten in various forms, such as rolled into balls, mixed with boiling water to form a glue-like paste ( papeda), or as a
pancake A pancake (or hotcake, griddlecake, or flapjack) is a flat cake, often thin and round, prepared from a Starch, starch-based batter (cooking), batter that may contain eggs, milk and butter and cooked on a hot surface such as a griddle or fryi ...
. Sago is often produced commercially in the form of "pearls" (small rounded starch aggregates, partly gelatinized by heating). Sago pearls can be boiled with water or milk and sugar to make a sweet
sago pudding Sago pudding is a sweet pudding made by combining sago pearls with either water or milk and adding sugar and sometimes additional flavourings. It is made in many cultures with varying styles, and may be produced in a variety of ways. Southeast Asi ...
. Sago pearls are similar in appearance to the pearled starches of other origin, e.g.
cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively ...
starch (
tapioca Tapioca (; ) is a starch extracted from the storage roots of the cassava plant (''Manihot esculenta,'' also known as manioc), a species native to the North Region, Brazil, North and Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast regions of Brazil, but wh ...
) and potato starch. They may be used interchangeably in some dishes, and tapioca pearls are often marketed as "sago", since they are much cheaper to produce. Compared to tapioca pearls, real sago pearls are off-white, uneven in size, brittle and cook very quickly. The name ''sago'' is also sometimes used for starch extracted from other sources, especially the sago cycad, ''
Cycas revoluta ''Cycas revoluta'' (Sotetsu apanese ソテツ sago palm, king sago, sago cycad, Japanese sago palm) is a species of gymnosperm in the family Cycadaceae, native to southern Japan including the Ryukyu Islands. It is one of several species used f ...
''. The sago cycad is also commonly known as the sago palm, although this is a misnomer as
cycad Cycads are seed plants that typically have a stout and woody (ligneous) trunk (botany), trunk with a crown (botany), crown of large, hard, stiff, evergreen and (usually) pinnate leaves. The species are dioecious, that is, individual plants o ...
s are not palms. Extracting edible starch from the sago cycad requires special care due to the poisonous nature of cycads. Cycad sago is used for many of the same purposes as palm sago. The
fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
of palm trees from which the sago is produced is not allowed to ripen fully, as full ripening completes the life cycle of the tree and exhausts the starch reserves in the trunk to produce the seeds to the point of death, leaving a hollow shell. The palms are cut down when they are about 15 years old, just before or shortly after the
inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...
appears. The stems, which grow high, are split out. The starch-containing
pith Pith, or medulla, is a tissue in the stem Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other ...
is taken from the stems and ground to powder. The powder is kneaded in water over a cloth or
sieve A sieve, fine mesh strainer, or sift, is a device for separating wanted elements from unwanted material or for controlling the particle size distribution of a sample, using a screen such as a woven mesh or net or perforated sheet material. T ...
to release the starch. The water with the starch passes into a trough where the starch settles. After a few washings, the starch is ready to be used in cooking. A single palm yields about of dry starch.


Historical records

Sago was noted by the Chinese historian
Zhao Rukuo Zhao Rukuo (; 1170–1231), also read as Zhao Rugua, or misread as Zhao Rushi, was a Chinese historian and politician during the Song dynasty. He wrote a two-volume book titled ''Zhu Fan Zhi''. The book deals with the world known to the Chinese in t ...
(1170–1231) during the
Song Dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
. In his ''
Zhu Fan Zhi ''Zhu Fan Zhi'' (), variously translated as '' A Description of Barbarian Nations'', ''Records of Foreign People'', or other similar titles, is a 13th-century Song Dynasty work by Zhao Rukuo. The work is a collection of descriptions of countrie ...
'' (1225), a collection of descriptions of foreign countries, he writes that the kingdom of Boni "produces no wheat, but hemp and rice, and they use ''sha-hu'' (sago) for grain".


Sources, extraction and preparation


Palm sago

The sago palm, ''
Metroxylon sagu ''Metroxylon sagu'', the true sago palm, is a species of palm in the genus ''Metroxylon'', native to tropical southeastern Asia. The tree is a major source of sago starch. Description True sago palm is a suckering (multiple-stemmed) palm, ea ...
'', is found in tropical lowland forest and freshwater swamps across
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
and
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...
and is the primary source of sago. It tolerates a wide variety of soils and may reach 30 meters in height (including the leaves). Several other species of the genus ''Metroxylon'', particularly ''
Metroxylon salomonense ''Metroxylon'' is a genus of monoecious flowering plants in the Arecaceae (palm) family, and commonly called the ''sago palms'' consisting of seven species. They are native to Western Samoa, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, the Moluccas, the Car ...
'' and ''
Metroxylon amicarum ''Metroxylon amicarum'' (''amicarium'' Latin – 'of friends' also known as the Caroline ivory-nut palm) is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae, endemic to the Caroline Islands. It was named for the Friendly Islands, now Tonga, ...
'', are also used as sources of sago throughout
Melanesia Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from Indonesia's New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea. The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Va ...
and
Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, and ...
. Sago palms grow very quickly, in clumps of different ages similar to bananas, one sucker matures, then flowers and dies. It is replaced by another sucker, with up to 1.5 m of vertical stem growth per year. The stems are thick and are either self-supporting or have a moderate climbing
habit A habit (or wont as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously.
; the leaves are
pinnate Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and in ...
. Each palm trunk produces a single
inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...
at its tip at the end of its life. Sago palms are harvested at the age of 7–15 years, just before or shortly after the inflorescence appears and when the stems are full of starch stored for use in reproduction. One palm can yield 150–300 kg of starch. Sago is extracted from ''Metroxylon'' palms by splitting the stem lengthwise and removing the pith which is then crushed and kneaded to release the starch before being washed and strained to extract the starch from the fibrous residue. The raw starch suspension in water is then collected in a settling container.


Cycad sago

The sago cycad, ''
Cycas revoluta ''Cycas revoluta'' (Sotetsu apanese ソテツ sago palm, king sago, sago cycad, Japanese sago palm) is a species of gymnosperm in the family Cycadaceae, native to southern Japan including the Ryukyu Islands. It is one of several species used f ...
'', is a slow-growing wild or
ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...
. Its common names "sago palm" and "king sago palm" are misnomers as
cycad Cycads are seed plants that typically have a stout and woody (ligneous) trunk (botany), trunk with a crown (botany), crown of large, hard, stiff, evergreen and (usually) pinnate leaves. The species are dioecious, that is, individual plants o ...
s are not palms. Processed starch known as sago is made from this and other cycads. It is a less-common food source for some peoples of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Unlike ''metroxylon'' palms (discussed above), cycads are highly poisonous: most parts of the plant contain the
neurotoxin Neurotoxins are toxins that are destructive to nerve tissue (causing neurotoxicity). Neurotoxins are an extensive class of exogenous chemical neurological insultsSpencer 2000 that can adversely affect function in both developing and mature ner ...
s
cycasin Cycasin is a carcinogenic and neurotoxic glucoside found in cycads such as ''Cycas revoluta'' and ''Zamia pumila''. Symptoms of poisoning include vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, seizures, and hepatotoxicity. In metabolic conditions, cycasin is hydrol ...
and
BMAA β-Methylamino--alanine, or BMAA, is a non-proteinogenic amino acid produced by cyanobacteria. BMAA is a neurotoxin and its potential role in various neurodegenerative disorders is the subject of scientific research. Structure and properties ...
. Consumption of cycad seeds has been implicated in the outbreak of
Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...
-like neurological disorder in
Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
and other locations in the Pacific. Thus, before any part of the plant may safely be eaten the toxins must be removed through extended processing. Sago is extracted from the sago cycad by cutting the pith from the stem, root and seeds of the cycads, grinding the pith to a coarse
flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...
, before being dried, pounded, and soaked. The starch is then washed carefully and repeatedly to leach out the natural toxins. The starchy residue is then dried and cooked, producing a
starch Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diets ...
similar to palm sago/sabudana. The cycad seed should not be eaten as it remains highly toxic after washing.


Cassava sago

In many countries including Australia, Brazil, and India,
tapioca pearls Tapioca pearls, also known as tapioca balls, are edible translucent spheres produced from tapioca, a starch made from the cassava root. They originated as a cheaper alternative to sago in Southeast Asian cuisine. When used as an ingredient in b ...
made from
cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively ...
root are also referred to as ''sago'', ''sagu'', ''sabudana'', etc.


Uses


Nutrition

Sago from ''Metroxylon'' palms is nearly pure carbohydrate and has very little protein, vitamins, or minerals. of dry sago typically comprises 94 grams of carbohydrate, 0.2 grams of protein, 0.5 grams of dietary fiber, 10 mg of calcium, 1.2 mg of iron and negligible amounts of fat, carotene, thiamine and ascorbic acid and yields approximately of
food energy Food energy is chemical energy that animals (including humans) derive from their food to sustain their metabolism, including their muscle, muscular activity. Most animals derive most of their energy from aerobic respiration, namely combining the ...
. Sago palms are typically found in areas unsuited for other forms of agriculture, so sago cultivation is often the most ecologically appropriate form of land-use and the nutritional deficiencies of the food can often be compensated for with other readily available foods. Sago starch can be baked (resulting in a product analogous to bread, pancake, or biscuit) or mixed with boiling water to form a paste. It is a main staple of many traditional communities in
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...
and Maluku in the form of papeda,
Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...
,
South Sulawesi South Sulawesi ( id, Sulawesi Selatan) is a province in the southern peninsula of Sulawesi. The Selayar Islands archipelago to the south of Sulawesi is also part of the province. The capital is Makassar. The province is bordered by Central Sula ...
(most known in
Luwu Regency Luwu Regency (Kabupaten Luwu in Indonesian) is a Regencies of Indonesia, regency of South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. The administrative capital now lies at Belopa, since the former capital (Palopo) became an independent municipality (city) i ...
) and
Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
. In
Palembang Palembang () is the capital city of the Indonesian province of South Sumatra. The city proper covers on both banks of the Musi River on the eastern lowland of southern Sumatra. It had a population of 1,668,848 at the 2020 Census. Palembang ...
, sago is one of the ingredients to make
pempek ''Pempek'', ''mpek-mpek'' or ''empek-empek'' is a savoury Indonesian fishcake delicacy, made of fish and tapioca, from Palembang, South Sumatera, Indonesia. Pempek is served with rich sweet and sour sauce called ''kuah cuka'' or ''kuah cuko'' (l ...
. In
Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...
, it is used for making the popular local cuisine called the
ambuyat Ambuyat is a dish derived from the interior trunk of the sago palm. It is a starchy bland substance, similar to tapioca starch. Ambuyat is the national dish of Brunei, and a local specialty in the Malaysian states of Sarawak, Sabah, and the feder ...
. It is also used commercially in making noodles and white
bread Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made f ...
. Sago starch can also be used as a
thickener A thickening agent or thickener is a substance which can increase the viscosity of a liquid without substantially changing its other properties. Edible thickeners are commonly used to thicken sauces, soups, and puddings without altering their t ...
for other dishes. It can be made into
steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
ed
pudding Pudding is a type of food. It can be either a dessert or a savoury (salty or spicy) dish served as part of the main meal. In the United States, ''pudding'' means a sweet, milk-based dessert similar in consistency to egg-based custards, ins ...
s such as sago plum pudding. In Malaysia, the traditional food "
keropok lekor Keropok lekor () is a traditional Malaysian Malays, Malay fish cracker snack originating from the state of Terengganu, Malaysia. It is made from fish and sago flour and seasoned with salt and sugar. It is slightly greyish in colour and gives off ...
" (fish cracker) uses sago as one of its main ingredients. In the making of the popular keropok lekor of Losong in
Kuala Terengganu , image_seal = Seal of Kuala Terengganu City Council.png , image_flag = Flag of Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu.svg , image_skyline = , image_caption = From top, left to right:The Crystal Mosq ...
, each kilogram of fish meat is mixed with half a kilogram of fine sago, with a little salt added for flavour. Tons of raw sago are imported each year into Malaysia to support the keropok lekor industry. In 1805, two captured crew members of the shipwrecked schooner ''Betsey'' were kept alive until their escape from an undetermined island on a diet of sago.''Australian Shipwrecks - vol1 1622-1850'',
Charles Bateson Charles Bateson (4 August 1903 – 5 July 1974) was a maritime historian, journalist and author. Early life Charles Henry Bateson was born in Wellington, New Zealand, son of Charles Bateson, a company manager born Liverpool, England, and moth ...
, AH and AW Reed, Sydney, 1972, p40
Any starch can be pearled by heating and stirring small aggregates of moist starch, producing partly gelatinized dry kernels which swell but remain intact on boiling. Pearl sago closely resembles pearl
tapioca Tapioca (; ) is a starch extracted from the storage roots of the cassava plant (''Manihot esculenta,'' also known as manioc), a species native to the North Region, Brazil, North and Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast regions of Brazil, but wh ...
. Both are typically small (about 2 mm diameter) dry, opaque balls. Both may be white (if very pure) or colored naturally gray, brown or black, or artificially pink, yellow, green, etc. When soaked and cooked, both become much larger, translucent, soft and spongy. Both are widely used in
Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...
,
Bangladeshi Bangladeshis ( bn, বাংলাদেশী ) are the citizens of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centered on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the eponymous bay. Bangladeshi citizenship was formed in 1971, when the ...
and Sri Lankan cuisine in a variety of dishes and around the world, usually in
pudding Pudding is a type of food. It can be either a dessert or a savoury (salty or spicy) dish served as part of the main meal. In the United States, ''pudding'' means a sweet, milk-based dessert similar in consistency to egg-based custards, ins ...
s. In
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, it is used in a variety of dishes such as desserts boiled with sweetened milk on occasion of religious fasts.


Textile production

Sago starch is also used to treat fiber in a process is called
sizing Sizing or size is a substance that is applied to, or incorporated into, other materials—especially papers and textiles—to act as a protective filler or glaze. Sizing is used in papermaking and textile manufacturing to change the absorption ...
, which makes fibers easier to machine. The process helps to bind the fiber, give it a predictable slip for running on metal, standardize the level of hydration of the fiber and give the textile more body. Most cloth and clothing has been sized; this leaves a residue which is removed in the first wash.


Other uses

Because many traditional people rely on sago-palm as their main food staple and because those supplies of these are not unlimited, in some areas commercial or industrial harvesting of wild stands of sago-palm can conflict with the food needs of local communities.


See also

*''
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 (als ...
'' *
Landang Landang, comes from Buli or Buri Tree (''Corypha''), a type of palm found in the Philippines and other tropical countries. This tree only flowers once in its life and then dies. At first glance, landang looks like shrunken, flattened sago. It is ...
*
Sandige Sandige () or vadagam is a fried snack, originating from the Indian subcontinent, popular in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. It is also served as an accompaniment with meals. Preparation Sandige is prepared by making a gruel of the ...


References


Citations


General and cited references

* Flach, M. and F. Rumawas, eds. (1996). ''Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) No. 9: Plants Yielding Non-Seed Carbohydrates''. Leiden: Blackhuys. * Lie, Goan-Hong. (1980). "The Comparative Nutritional Roles of Sago and Cassava in Indonesia." In: Stanton, W.R. and M. Flach, eds., ''Sago: The Equatorial Swamp as a Natural Resource''. The Hague, Boston, London: Martinus Nijhoff. * McClatchey, W., H.I. Manner, and C.R. Elevitch. (2005)

Further reading

*


External links

* [http://www.agroforestry.net/tti/Metroxylon-sagopalm.pdf Species profile for ''Metroxylon sagu''">"''Metroxylon amicarum'', ''M. paulcoxii'', ''M. sagu'', ''M. salomonense'', ''M. vitiense'', and ''M. warburgii'' (sago palm), ver. 1.1". In: Elevitch, C.R. (ed.) ''Species Profiles for Pacific Island Agroforestry''. Permanent Agriculture Resources (PAR), Holualoa, Hawaii. * Pickell, D. (2002). ''Between the Tides: A Fascinating Journey Among the Kamoro of New Guinea''. Singapore: Periplus Press. * * Stanton, W.R. and M. Flach, eds., ''Sago: The Equatorial Swamp as a Natural Resource''. The Hague, Boston, London: Martinus Nijhoff.


Further reading

*


External links


Species profile for ''Metroxylon sagu''
* http://www.fao.org/ag/agA/AGAP/FRG/AFRIS/Data/416.HTM
control Edible thickening agents
Food ingredients Indian cuisine Indonesian cuisine Melanesian cuisine Oceanian cuisine Papua New Guinean cuisine Staple foods Tropical agriculture