What is coconut palm sugar?

Question

What is coconut palm sugar?

Answer 1

In India, unopened flowers of Palm are protected by a hard sheath. If the tip of the sheath is bruised, it starts to 'weep' continuously as a brown colored sap. The sap is very sweet, known as 'Neera'. 22% of Neera is sugar. Collected Neera is cooked and reduced over heat to make sugar cakes or Jaggery. This is your coconut Palm Sugar.

The same process is used in most of the South Asia, Philipines, and Mexico.

http://www.indiacurry.com/faqterms/toddy...

What is a Toddy, Arrack, Palm Jaggery, Coconut vinegar

Toddy

Unopened flowers of Palm are protected by a hard sheath. If the tip of the sheath is bruised, it starts to 'weep' continuously as a brown colored sap. The sap is very sweet, known as 'Neera'. 22% of Neera is sugar.

The natural wild yeast from air starts to ferment Neera immediately. Within 2 hours, it can have 4% alcohol. The fermented sap is called 'Sweet Toddy'. In Mexico and Philippines, Toddy is  called Tuba. In Indonesia, it is called Tuwak.

Eventually, the fermentation stops, or you can add some herbs to kill the yeast. Naturally, the fermentation may stop near 8% alcohol. This is called 'Mature Toddy'.

On a given tree, a bunch of un-opened flowers can produce one gallon of the sweet fluid per day.

The bees gather the honey from the opened flowers.

Arrack

The 'Mature Toddy' is distilled to make country liquor. Arrack is illegal in India. Arrack can have the alcohol content of 190 proof or 95%.

Coconut Vinegar

Neera is left to continue fermenting for 10 to 15 weeks to make coconut vinegar. It is very sharp and acidic.

Jaggery

The Neera is reduced over low fire to make Palm Jaggery.

Answer 2

Palm sugar and coconut sugars (nahm dtahn bpeep/buk & nahm dtahn maprao): Although the names are used interchangeably, palm sugar and coconut sugar are not the same. One comes from the palmyra or sugar palm and the other from coconut palm, but both are produced from the sweet, watery sap that drips from cut flower buds. The sap is collected each morning and boiled in huge woks on the plantations until a sticky sugar remains. This is whipped and dropped in lumps on cellophane, or filled into containers. Because it is not highly processed like brown sugar, the color, consistency, flavor and level of sweetness can vary from batch to batch, even within the same brand.

The color can be as light as creamy beige and as dark as rich caramel brown, and the consistency soft and gooey, or rock hard, depending on how long the sap was reduced. Palm sugar usually has a darker color, a more fragrant smoky aroma and a more complex flavor than coconut sugar, though sometimes additives have been mixed in to lighten its color. Palm sugar may also be labeled as coconut sugar and vice versa. So it is best to buy your sugar by sight and feel (squeeze the plastic container to ascertain its consistency) than by its label. If you have a choice, select a soft, rich brown sugar; if not, any kind is better than none.

A  soft sugar makes it easier to spoon out and use, but more often than not, coconut and palm sugars come in hard, crystallized chunks which keep better. If so, it is best to cut and peel back the plastic container, place the lump in a bag and hammer it into small crystals for ease of usage. Some people add water and melt the sugar in the microwave; however, this often increases the likelihood of spoilage, reducing its otherwise indefinite shelf life. Neither coconut nor palm sugar needs to be refrigerated, but if it is soft and moist, take care to keep it away from heat and exposure to air which may encourage mold growth. If mold begins to appear on the sugar, remove the top half to one inch; the remainder of the dense sugar may still be fine.

Although they are used primarily for making sweets and desserts, their creamy, caramel-like sweetness also enhances the flavor of curries and rich sauces for savory dishes. Since the degree of sweetness may vary from batch to batch, add enough "to taste." = )

Answer 3

The sweet sap collected from the unopened coconut flower spate,after it has been suitably prepared for the seepage of this liquid is collected on a daily basis.To make the palm sugar or 'jaggery' as it is called in India,it is cooked in large wide mouth pans,till a desired consistency is reached,then it is tipped into moulds & allowed to set.

This palm sugar is widely used in making sweets & desserts in coconut growing countries .A similiar process is followed for making jaggery out of sugar cane juice .

Answer 4

I am a former chef and it is known in India as "Jaggery" and in most other countrys as just palm sugar, it is either in block or square pieces, the Thai and Vietnamese and Malay type is either in small round pieces or in a plastic container and it has a s***w top, it can be used like any other sugar.

Not as sweet or gritty as white or brown sugar and it has a slighty caramely creamy taste, I like it for non- Asian foods also.

Look for it in most Indian and Asian Supermarkets and store, it will be in the baking or dessert sections.