What is Jaggery? Scientifically or technically defining, jaggery is an amorphous form of unrefined and non-distilled sugar prepared from sap or juice of plants which contain considerable amount of sucrose or sugar in them, like sugar cane and palms like date palm and Palmyra. Sometimes it is also called Country Sugar as it is prepared in households in rural areas of certain countries. It is also called molasses due to its semi-solid state. Chemically, it is C12H22O12.

Jaggery is not much known in the Western Countries since it is not prepared there. Jaggery is predominantly made in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. Besides being very good to taste, it has many health benefits. Let us know more about this colourful and tasty food.

Different Types of Jaggery: Although the term “Jaggery” is generally used for the molasses obtained from the juice of Sugar Cane, it also refers to the jaggery made from the sap of palms, like Date Palm, Palmyra, Toddy Palm and a few other plants. Let us have a look at the various types of jaggery and their characteristics.
1. Sugarcane Jaggery:

• Colour: Golden Brown to Dark Brown.
• Preparation: Prepared by boiling Sugar Cane juice.
• Physical State: Amorphous solid to viscous granular liquid.
• Place of Availability: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Philippines, Malaysia, Cuba, Mexico etc. India is the biggest producer and biggest consumer.
• Taste: Very sweet, with a hint of salt, depending upon the quality of juice used.

2. Date Palm Jaggery:

• Colour: Golden Brown to Dark Brown.
• Preparation: Prepared by boiling sap of Date Palm.
• Physical State: Amorphous solid and viscous granular to clear red liquid.
• Place of Availability: India (West Bengal) & Bangladesh.
• Taste: Very sweet with typical aroma of Date Palm sap & somewhat like dark chocolate.

3.  Palmyra Jaggery:

• Colour: Off white to pale yellowish white.
• Preparation: Prepared by boiling sap of Palmyra Palm.
• Physical State: Amorphous solid.
• Place of Availability: India (West Bengal) & Bangladesh.
• Taste: Very sweet with typical aroma of Palmyra sap & somewhat like white chocolate.

4.  Toddy Palm Jaggery:

• Colour: Golden Brown.
• Preparation: Prepared by boiling sap of Toddy Palm.
• Physical State: Amorphous solid.
• Place of Availability: Myanmar.
• Taste: Very sweet with typical aroma of Toddy Palm sap.

5. Other Palm Jaggery: These days, even the sap of Sago Palm and Coconut Palm are also being used to make Jaggery, but they are rarely available and heard of. The process of preparation remains the same, that is, the sap is boiled to concentrate and to attain amorphous solid form. The colour ranges from golden yellow to golden brown to brown, depending upon the extent of boiling and the sugar content of the sap. Jaggery from these palms is made in Malaysia, Myanmar and Philippines.

Uses of Jaggery: Jaggery, apart from being used in households as a sweetener and a taste maker, is also used extensively in food and beverages industries. It is used in chocolates, candies, sorbets, health tonics such as Chyavanprash, syrups and for making alcoholic beverages, particularly Rum. It has other industrial applications too.

Health Aspects: Jaggery, of any type, is better for health than refined white sugar. Its health benefits can be summarized under following points.

• It is rich in minerals and salts, vitamins and even contains some fibre, whereas sugar, being highly refined, lacks these things. The darker the jaggery in colour, the richer it is in mineral content (particularly iron content) and better it is for health.
• It is more complex than refined sugar and hence does not increase the sugar level of blood abruptly. It provides energy slowly, for a longer period. Although diabetics should avoid jaggery, still it is better in this respect for diabetics than sugar.
• In the Indian Subcontinent, for centuries, jaggery (sugar cane jaggery) has been in use as a lung, throat and respiratory tract cleanser and also sometimes as an additive to the local remedies for cough and cold. This cleansing property of jaggery is time tested and I myself have experienced this. A regular intake of jaggery is particularly recommended for those who work in kilns, cement factories, stone crushers, dusty workplaces, furnaces and those who have to do a lot of driving.
• Palmyra Jaggery, preferably made into a drink by dissolving in water, has a remarkably cooling effect on body during summer. Perhaps, that is the reason why Palmyra Sap is harvested and Jaggery is made in summer only.
• Date Palm Jaggery, in contrary to Palmyra Jaggery, is manufactured and consumed in winters. It has a warming effect on the body and is nutritious too.

Cultural Aspects: Jaggery, made from sugar cane juice or palm sap, reserves a distinct place in Indian culture and is used in many religious activities, rituals & customs. The sugar cane jaggery is considered sacred and is consumed before commencement of a new venture, journey, business etc. It is customarily consumed after child birth, after attending a funeral and to celebrate any good news. Jaggery is an integral part of almost all Harvest Festivals celebrated in India. In Southern India, rice is cooked in sugar cane jaggery to make Pongal, a dish offered to Gods after harvest. Similarly in Western & Northern India, sweet dishes are made from sugar cane jaggery & newly harvested crops like sesame, ground nuts, rice, wheat flour etc. to celebrate harvest. In Eastern India, fabulously tasty sweet dishes like rice cakes, rice puddings, and porridge, milk and coconut sweets are made using rice flour, milk, coconut shredding and date palm jaggery. There, this date palm jaggery is also offered to Goddess Saraswati and other Gods and Goddesses.

Crisis for Jaggery Manufacturers: The Date Palm Jaggery and the Palmyra Jaggery is going through difficult days in India. The production has reduced drastically over the past decade, the reasons being these palms getting older, cutting down of palms for construction, pollution and not plating of new palms. This has raised the price and lowered the quality. Another reason is that this business was never looked upon as an industry and was never organized. A handful of farmer families used to make this jaggery and are still making it. Their next generations are not at all interested in pursuing this business as they see no future in it. So, most of the Palm Jaggery available in the open market is adulterated with Sugar Cane Jaggery, which is far cheaper. Original & un-adulterated Palm Jaggery should melt when left open, even at room temperature. On the other hand, the future of Sugar Cane Jaggery seems to be bright enough.

Adulterations in Jaggery: Although jaggery is not a costly stuff, still the insatiable greed of man has not spared even this local delicacy. Not all jaggery is adultrated, but there are certain manufacturers who let greed prevail over good products. There are different types of adulterations for different types of jaggery. Just have a look below.

• Adultrations Sugar Cane Jaggery: The following adulterations have been detected in samples of Sugar Cane Jaggery.
  • Sodium bi Carbonate: Although it may not be called an adulteration (rather, you may say that it is a requirement of the process in some cases), still, Sodium bi Carbonate is most commonly used in preparation of sugar cane jaggery to improve colour. It does not have any adverse effect on health as such. This can be judged by the colour. The dark ones are least likely to have this while the light coloured ones are most likely.
  • ZFS (Zinc Formaldehyde Sulphoxylate): Commonly used in textile industry, this harmful chemical is used in jaggery to improve colour. (Darker the jaggery, the better is the quality of the jaggery; however the common belief is that lighter jaggery is good and hence some manufacturers add these harmful chemicals to lighten the jaggery)
  • Sodium Hydro Phosphide: This is another harmful chemical used in jaggery to give it a brighter colour .
  • Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3 ): This is added to improve colour as well as to add weight, since lime is way cheaper than jaggery. This again, can be judged by the colour (it should be light), hardness (should be very hard) and by the taste (if you have eaten un-adulterated jaggery, you can detect this).
• Date Palm Jaggery: This jaggery is commonly adulterated with the following.
  • Sugar Cane Jaggery: Sugar Cane Jaggery is much cheaper (Rs.10 to 25 per Kg.) than Date Palm Jaggery (Rs.40 to 100 per Kg.). So, the reason is obvious. It can be detected by the hardness (original un-adulterated date palm jaggery is very soft and melts even at room temperature, whereas adulterated one should be much harder) and by the taste (it lacks the typical aroma & taste of un-adulterated date palm jaggery). Sometimes, simple sugar cane jaggery blocks are coated with date palm jaggery to fool the customers. So, see what is inside before you buy.
  • Plain Sugar: Again, the reason is same as above, i.e. sugar is cheaper. It makes the jaggery harder.
• Palmyra Jaggery: You can find these things in Palmyra Jaggery.
  • Sugar: Palmyra Jaggery, being the most expensive (Rs.80 to 120 per Kg.) of all types of jaggery available in India, is most commonly adulterated with plain sugar. This can easily be detected by the hardness (test same as that of date palm jaggery adulterated with sugar cane jaggery). Sometimes, sugar crystals can also be seen embedded in the jaggery blocks on scrutiny. Again, the jaggery adulterated with sugar will be much whiter than the un-adulterated one, which is pale yellow in colour. So, check well.
  • Sodium bi Carbonate: This again, is added to give the jaggery a whiter look.
  • Yellow Colour: This colour is often added when the jaggery contains excessive sugar in it and looks very white. This may be harmful for the health as no edible colours are used in these cases.

Conclusion: Consumption of Jaggery in diet should be given more emphasis, provided you get some original and un-adulterated stuff. This industry also needs to be organized, particularly in case of palm jaggery, or soon this delicacy will be lost. So, let us strive to make our future sweet.

This article is written by Aparup Mukherjee, photograph by Fritzs.

Sources:
i. My own experiences with jaggery as I have seen making it since my childhood.
ii. Wikipedia Pages (For information regarding jaggery made in Myanmar).
iii. Text book followed in schools.
iv. Various reports on jaggery published in News Papers, Health Magazines and other media from time to time.