The Magical Power Of Jaggery

"The greatest wealth is health"

Virgil

Jaggery... something I discovered only recently to be honest. But, I did know about it under a different name from two years ago when I visited Colombia and learnt all about something called "Panela". I now realized that it is the same thing, just coming from Central and Latin America while Jaggery is coming from India.

BUT, first things first, let's talk about what it is and then I can list a million reasons why you should start integrating it into your diet. Can you tell that I LOVE jaggery? :-)

What is jaggery

Jaggery, also called Vellam in Tamil, Gur in Bengali, Gud in Hindi, Panocha or Panutsa in the Philippines and Panela in Central or Latin America is a traditional non-centrifugal cane sugar, mainly consumed in the Indosphere. It is a concentrated product of sugar cane juice and also often of date palm sap without separation of the molasses and crystals, and can vary from golden brown to dark brown in color. The color and texture are used to grade the jaggery.

So to say it more simply, it is a type of unrefined sugar (molasses) that is extracted from the juice of sugarcane, palm sap or coconut sap.

Sugar cane is grown extensively in India and in rural India you can see every few miles someone making jaggery from the sugar cane. About 70% of the world’s jaggery production takes place in India, where it is commonly called “gur.”

If you are curious and want to know more about the process of making jaggery out of sugarcane, here is a short video for you.

Jaggery is a sweetener that’s becoming popular as a “healthy” replacement for sugar. It is often referred to as a “superfood sweetener.” Even though I also love it very much because of its smell and because it is healthier than white sugar, it is also important to understand that it still is sugar and should not be consumed in large amounts.

Is jaggery more nutritious than sugar?

Fact is, jaggery contains more nutrients than refined sugar because of its molasses content. Molasses is a nutritious by-product of the sugar making process, which is usually removed when making refined sugar. Including the molasses adds a small amount of micronutrients to the final product. The exact nutrition profile of this sweetener can vary, depending on the type of plant used to make it (cane or palm).

According to a source, 100 grams (half a cup) of jaggery may contain:

Calories: 383.

Sucrose: 65–85 grams.

Fructose and glucose: 10–15 grams.

Protein: 0.4 grams.

Fat: 0.1 grams.

Iron: 11 mg, or 61% of the RDI.

Magnesium: 70-90 mg, or about 20% of the RDI.

Potassium: 1050 mg, or 30% of the RDI.

Manganese: 0.2–0.5 mg, or 10–20% of the RDI.

However, keep in mind that this is a 100-gram (3.5-oz) serving, which is much higher than you would generally eat at once. You would probably consume closer to a tablespoon (20 grams) or teaspoon (7 grams).

Jaggery may also contain small amounts of B vitamins and minerals, including calcium, zinc, iron, phosphorus and copper.

Ways of how you can use jaggery

• You can basically use it as a replacement for refined sugar in any food or drink

• I use it for baking

• I also use it if I want to add a bit of sweetness to my coffee or tea

• and I also make my own mix of jaggery and black sesame seeds and add two tea spoons to my porridge every morning

I also just wanted to note that there are many other replacements out there for refined sugar and this one is just one that I personally like. At the same time I want to caution that these replacements are still a type of sugar and should be consumed with moderation.

So, I now wish you happy baking/cooking and hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Much love and light to you!