Jaggery: A sweet secret the world is finally catching onto

The galore sources of jaggery

Jaggery is known arsenic guda successful Sanskrit and gur successful Hindi. According to Acharya Charak, an influential fig successful Ayurveda, the word guda originates from Gauda, an past sanction for Bengal, a large sugarcane-growing region. Ayurveda considers jaggery a “hot” nutrient that becomes “colder” and little digestible arsenic it is refined. Jaggery isn’t lone derived from sugarcane. In South India, it’s made from palmyra thenar juice, collected successful pots smeared with lime to forestall fermentation, and past boiled until it thickens. In Bengal, chaotic day thenar sap is acceptable successful coconut ammunition halves to solidify into patali gur.

The nolen gur I grew up seeing successful Calcutta appears lone successful winter, arsenic the day thenar histrion produces sap exclusively successful acold temperatures, making jaggery disposable from November to February. The extracted sap is dilatory cooked implicit a debased occurrence until it becomes viscous. If stopped earlier crystallisation, it remains successful liquid signifier arsenic jhola gur, which tin past six months successful a sealed jar. Further simplification produces patali gur, a acheronian brownish coagulated that melts successful the rima and tin beryllium preserved for implicit a year.

Jaggery done the ages

Jaggery has been produced since astatine slightest the 4th period BC. In Pundra Bardhan (now Bogra, Bengal), the Siuli assemblage would ascent day thenar trees astatine nighttime to extract sap, which was sold successful markets. This commercialized made the portion truthful synonymous with jaggery that Pundra Bardhan became known arsenic Gour (gur). Jaggery besides holds spiritual significance—Bengali saccharine shops traditionally connection the archetypal batch of nolen gur mishti oregon sandesh to Goddess Kali.

India produces implicit 70 per cent of the world’s jaggery, but it cannot assertion sole recognition for its popularity. Much of this comes from sugarcane jaggery, a harvest introduced to the Indian subcontinent astir 6000 BC via the Malayan Peninsula and Burma. Jaggery is 1 of the main flavouring agents successful galore curries and salads from these countries. And jaggery made from sugarcane and called gud is highly fashionable successful Pakistan. In immoderate parts of Pakistan, the jaggery is created from the Palmyrah palm, coconut palm, oregon day palm, and the thickened liquid is sold successful moulds.

Jaggery successful planetary cuisine

If we drizzle jhola gur connected luchis, crossed the border, successful Pakistan’s Punjab region, they hole jaggery atom with coconut and almonds. In the colder parts of Pakistan, jaggery chai is truthful communal that it is astir intolerable to find chai with mean sugar.

In South Asia, you tin find panela successful Colombia and overmuch of the Caribbean. Jaggery is called kokuto successful Japan and rapadura successful Brazil, and galore Thai, Malaysian, and Burmese dishes usage crumbled jaggery arsenic a sweetening agent.

I would powerfully urge you to trot implicit to your locality’s Bengali saccharine store and sensation immoderate jaggery rosogolla oregon gurer sandesh oregon gurer payesh. The distinctive caramel sensation is thing refined sweetener simply cannot replicate.

Next week, I’ll beryllium penning connected the chai I discovered portion studying successful Bombay –– cutting chai!