Palm sugars come in different forms (cakes, tubes, bars, bricks, granules,powder, flakes), color (pale gold to dark brown) and taste (complex taste without the cloying sweetness - very much unlike sugar as you know it). The sweet, watery sap dripping from cut flower buds are harvested from a number of different palm varieties. The process, techniques even palm sap variety used in making palm sugar contributes to a different flavor profile, color, and smell for each type of palm sugar.
The more popular sources due to their wide cultivation are Niyog / Coconuts (cocos nucifera L.) and Kaong (a.k.a. Aren, Irok) / Sugar Palms (Arenga saccharifera). Other palm types include the Palmyra (borassus flabellifer), the brackish-water loving mangrove palm Nipa/Sasa (Nypa fruticans) (a popular source of roof thatching material for the Philippines' traditional house: Bahay Kubo (English:Nipa hut).), the Buri/Buli/Silag (Corypha elata Roxb.), even the occassional Toddy/Wine palm (Caryota urens).Palm trees abound in the tropical belt where most of Asia is. Here are some of local names of palm sugars from Asian countries.
- Arabic: جوز الهند ونخيل السكر
- Bangladesh: jaggery (palmyra palm sugar), khejur gur or nolen gur (date palm sugar)
- Cambodia: skor tnot (palm sugar)
- Catalan: Sucre de palma de coco
- China: - 糖椰子糖 (coconut sugar)
- Croatian: Kokosova palma šećera
- Danish: Kokosnød palmesukker
- German: Zucker aus der Kokospalme
- Indonesia: gula jawa(literally, Javanese sugar. May be made from arenga, cocos or nypa without distinction ), gula aren (palmyra sugar)
- India - jaggeree -General term for non-centrifugal sugars which often come from sugar cane, but the toddy palm is also used in certain areas.
- Japan: 砂糖 ココ椰子 (coconut palm sugar)
- Korea: 과 야자당 yajadang (coconut sugar)
- Malaysia: gula kelapa(Coco sugar), gula melaka(Coco sugar), gula enau/anau/anao/anaw (Aren/Palmyra sugar), gula apong (Nipa sugar) - popular in western Malaysia (Negeri Sembilan) and the closest thing to Pakaskas of Batangas, Philippines
- Myanmar (Burma): Tanyet
- Philippines: - Pakaskas (Buri Palm Sugar) - Corypha elata Roxb. popular in southern Tagalog region, particularly in Batangas- Coco Sugar (Coco palm sugar), - Tibuk-tibuk (Nypa palm sugar) - reported to be most prolific sap producer, and high sucrose content
- Russia: (Русский): Кокосовое пальмового сахара
- Singapore - Gula Apong (Nypa palm sugar)
- Sri Lanka: jaggery, kitul-hakuru, tal-hakuru, pol pani
- Tamil: panam karkandu(sugar candy), karuppatti (palm sugar)
- Thailand: - nam tan ma prao / น้ำตาลมะพร้าว (moulded coconut sugar/ coconut sugar cakes)- nam tan pep /น้ำตาลปี๊บ (coconut sugar paste)
- Vietnam: đường thốt nốt(palm sugar)
Aside from using it as a drink sweetener, it is also useful in baking, and great for use in marinades and barbecue sauces. Sprinkle it over hot bread, toast, waffles, or pancakes for a unique treat!
If you have anything to add or would like to comment, please feel free to write back.
