Consumers have found it confusing. They now know there's Coco Palm Sugar but all they often see are "Palm Sugars" in the market. So, what's the difference and how can you tell them apart.
The good news is that I'm happy that people have discovered about coco palm sugars. Now, the bad news is how to tell them apart from the generic "palm sugar" moniker.
You may have heard of sugar palm trees. They're actually a reference for a group of palm trees from which sugars or syrups are derived, and not a particular kind of palm tree.
The palm sugar trees are:
Wild Date Palm (Phoenix Sylvestris)
Coconut Palm (Cocos Nuciferas)
Ceylon Sugar Palm (Caryota Urens)
Palmyra Palm (Borassus Flabelliformis)
Aren Palm (Arenga Saccharifera)
Nypa Palm (Nipa Fruticans)
Any palm sugars made from any of these trees are close to impossible to differentiate by sight or feel. A laboratory analysis could determine the difference, but it's not like your household has one in their pantry or junior's chemistry kit includes a test for it.
The health benefits (low glycemic index of 35. Food with low GI is slowly absorbed by the body, which doesn't induce the rise of blood sugar (hypoglycemia) - very important for diabetes management) discovered by the Philippine Food and Nutrition Research Institute through the research efforts of the Philippine Coconut Authority are specific to coconut trees (cocos nuciferas.)
Make sure to check the label. If it doesn't clearly state that it comes from coconuts (cocos nuciferas) then it's probably from other palm sugar trees.
It doesn't mean you've wasted your money. Palm sugars are wonderfully flavorful, and will give any food a new flavorful twist but you don't get the other health benefits now associated with coco palm sugars.
To get the best of both worlds, always look for "cocos nuciferas" in the ingredients list.
Enjoy.
