Jaggery is a natural sweetener that is gaining popularity as a healthier alternative to refined white sugar. The jaggery trend is often referred to as the ‘superfood sweetener’, and has been given a serious health halo.
Jaggery is prepared from the sap or the juice of plants that contains a considerable amount of sugar or sucrose. This includes plants like sugar cane and certain palms like date palm and Palmyra. Traditional jaggery is unrefined and non-distilled, so no chemicals are used in making it and all the nutrients like magnesium, calcium, iron and phosphorus are retained.
Jaggery has different names in different countries. These products include:
- Gur: India.
- Panela: Colombia.
- Piloncillo: Mexico.
- Tapa dulce: Costa Rica.
- Namtan tanode: Thailand.
- Gula Melaka: Malaysia.
- Kokuto: Japan.
Types of Jaggery
Let’s take a look at different popular types and their different characteristics:
Sugarcane Jaggery
Color: Golden brown to dark brown.
Preparation: Prepared by boiling sugar cane juice.
Physical state: Amorphous solid to viscous granular liquid.
Place of availability: Aian countries, Cuba and Mexico. India is the largest producer and biggest consumer.
Taste: Very sweet, depending upon the quality of the juice that is used.
Date Palm Jaggery
Color: Golden brown to dark brown.
Preparation: Prepared by boiling the sap of Date palm.
Physical state: Amorphous solid and viscous granular to clear red liquid.
Place of availability: India and Bangladesh.
Taste: Very sweet, with the typical aroma of Date palm sap, somewhat like dark chocolate.
Palmyra Jaggery
Color: Off-white to pale yellowish white.
Preparation: Prepared by boiling the sap of Palmyra palm.
Physical state: Amorphous solid.
Place of availability: India and Bangladesh.
Taste: Very sweet, with the typical aroma of Palmyra sap, somewhat like white chocolate.
Toddy Palm Jaggery
Color: Golden Brown.
Preparation: Prepared by boiling the sap of Toddy’s palm.
Physical state: Amorphous solid.
Place of availability: Myanmar.
Taste: Very sweet, with the typical aroma of Toddy palm sap.
Health Benefits of Jaggery
The important benefits of jaggery include its ability to cleanse your body, act as a digestive agent, sweeten your food in a healthy manner, and to provide a great amount of minerals. Most people may not find jaggery an attractive food item because of its dark yellow color and its amorphous and gooey look. However, it is loaded with health benefits.
1. Improves Digestion
It is often recommended to eat a few grams of jaggery after a heavy meal or after eating meat because it facilitates digestion. It activates digestive enzymes and functions like acetic acid in the stomach, and speeds up the digestive process.
2. Relieves Constipation
Did you know that jaggery pulls out dust and unwanted particles from the body? It can also bring relief from constipation, due to the fiber in it. As it reduces constipation and stimulates bowel movements, it further cleanses the body of toxins.
3. Cleansing Agent
You may not normally connect sweeteners and sugars with cleansing the body, but this is one of the well-proven benefits of jaggery. It effectively cleans the respiratory tracts, lungs, stomach, food pipe, and intestines.
4. Boosts Energy
We all know that carbohydrates give us energy upon oxidation. The simpler the carbohydrate, the sooner the energy is released. Jaggery, on the other hand, is a more complex form of carbohydrate than plain sugar. When you consume jaggery, it is gradually digested and absorbed and releases energy over an extended period of time. This can provide its eaters with warmth and energy without harming their internal organs.
5. Rich in Minerals
Unlike regular sugar, jaggery is super rich in minerals, mainly iron and minerals like calcium, magnesium and phosphorus. While most of the iron comes through its processing in iron vessels, the other minerals come directly from the sugar cane juice, since the juice does not undergo refinement or bleaching of any kind. Therefore, jaggery is a very good source of minerals for the body.
6. Sweetener
There are plenty of artificial and natural sweetening agents available in the market. But jaggery stands out since it’s a tasty and healthy sweetener. Don’t limit yourself to the sugarcane flavor, try date palm, palmyra jaggery or any of the other flavors available.
7. Improves Immune Function
In India and other Asian countries, jaggery is often added to tonics used to treat a variety of ailments. It is believed that the minerals and antioxidants in jaggery can support the immune system and may also help people recover from the common cold and flu.
Other Benefits of Jaggery
8. Toothpaste
Low-quality jaggery, mixed with tobacco, is said to work well as a toothpaste.
9. Hunting Bait
Low-quality jaggery is usually mixed with cattle-feed to enhance its taste and make the cattle eat more. Science has proved that it sweetens the milk of the cattle.
In other instances, jaggery is used as bait for hunting wild animals. It is dumped in the open to attract wild animals to its smell. This derived sweetener also contains salt and has a strong aroma and is therefore preferred by animals.
10. Religious Use
In certain religious ceremonies and rituals for Hindus, small idols of jaggery are prepared and offered to the Gods and Goddesses during festivals. Hindus also believe that it is customary to take a bite of jaggery after attending a funeral.
Is Jaggery Better Than Sugar?
If you’re thinking of replacing white sugar with jaggery, then you will be opening yourself up to getting a few extra nutrients with your calories. This is most definitely a healthier choice. At the end of the day, jaggery is still very similar to regular sugar and should be used in the same way – sparingly.
