Palm sugar facts for kids
Palm sugar is a natural sweetener. It comes from the sap of different types of palm trees. You might hear it called "coconut palm sugar" if it comes from a coconut tree. Even though different palms make slightly different sugars, they are all made in a similar way. You can use them in the same recipes.
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Where Does Palm Sugar Come From?
Many kinds of palm trees can give us palm sugar. The main ones are the Palmyra, date, nipa, sugar, and coconut palms. Each tree grows in different parts of the world.
Palmyra Palm
The Palmyra palm grows in Africa, Asia, and New Guinea. This tree is very useful! People use it for making roofs, hats, and even writing material. Palm sugar is made from the sweet liquid, called sap, that comes from its flowers.
Date Palm
The date palm has two main types that make palm sugar. One type is common in the Mediterranean and Middle East. The other type grows mostly in Asia, like Pakistan and India. Date palms are mostly grown for their sweet dates. But their sap can also be used to make palm sugar.
Nipa Palm
The nipa palm grows along coastlines in tropical parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is special because it is the only palm that grows in watery mangrove areas. Only its leaves and flowers grow above the water. This palm also gives us a sugar-rich sap for making palm sugar.
Sugar Palm
The sugar palm is found in coastal and tropical areas of Asia. This includes places like China, Malaysia, and Indonesia. The sap from this tree is called gur in India and gula aren in Indonesia. It is a popular source for palm sugar.
Coconut Palm
The coconut palm grows in coastal areas of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Countries like Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines are big suppliers. The sap from its flowers is used to make coconut palm sugar.
How Is Palm Sugar Made?
Making palm sugar is a simple process. First, people collect the sap from the palm trees. Then, they boil this sap for a long time until it gets very thick.
Sometimes, the boiled sap is sold as a thick liquid called palm syrup. It comes in bottles or cans. Over time, this syrup can get even thicker and turn into crystals. Other times, the boiled sap is poured into molds. It then hardens into solid blocks or cakes. Palm sugar can be light golden brown, dark brown, or even almost black. For example, Indonesian gula aren is often very dark.
How Is Palm Sugar Used?
Palm sugar is a popular ingredient in many dishes. You can find it in both sweet and savory foods. It is used a lot in cooking across Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa.
Different Kinds of Palm Sugar
Palm sugar has many different names. These names often depend on what palm tree it came from. They also depend on how it was made or where it is from.
In Indonesia, it is known as gula jawa (Javanese sugar). In Malaysia, it is called gula melaka. There is a special way of naming palm sugar in Indonesia. If it is made from coconut sap, it is called gula jawa or gula merah (red sugar). But if it is made specifically from the sap of the sugar palm, it is called gula aren.
Gula jawa has a rich, earthy smell and a deep sweet taste. It is usually darker in color, like molasses. Gula aren is often lighter in color.
Gula Melaka
Gula melaka is a type of palm sugar. It is usually made from the sap of coconut palm flowers. Sometimes, it can come from other palms too. It is often dense and sticky. This sugar is also known as malacca sugar in English. This name probably comes from the state of Malacca in Malaysia.
To make gula melaka, people first collect the sap from the coconut tree's flower bud. They make small cuts in the bud and tie a pot underneath to catch the sap. Then, the sap is boiled until it becomes thick. After that, it is poured into bamboo tubes. These tubes are about 3 to 5 inches (8 to 13 cm) long. The sap is left to cool and harden into cylindrical blocks.
Making gula melaka takes a lot of work. Because of this, it can be more expensive than regular sugar. It is used in some savory dishes. However, it is mostly used in sweet desserts and cakes in Southeast Asia.
Many delicious desserts use gula melaka. One example is gula melaka sago pudding. This can be served hot or cold. Other popular treats include chendol and ondeh ondeh. Ondeh ondeh are small, ball-shaped desserts. They are made from sticky rice flour, filled with gula melaka, and covered in shredded coconut.
