Palm sugar is enjoyed throughout Southeast Asia, southern China (Hainan), Sri Lanka, and India. There are many different types of palm sugar depending on the palm sap it is made from. There are, for example, palmyra, date, nipah, and coconut palms.
There may be different palms but the production process is ancient and the same.
The process of making palm sugar starts with harvesting sap from the palm. The sap could be collected from the palm inflorescence (flower), flower stem or its trunk.
For coconut inflorescence, it is cut across the stem and the sap allowed to drip into a container which the harvester will collect daily.
The collected palm sap is slow boiled until it is reduced to a thick syrup, then a paste.
The sugary paste is poured into moulds and allowed to cool and crystallise into blocks, bricks, slabs, bars, cylinders, or any form convenient for transport and storage.
The production process is the same for different types of palm sugar. Just the type of palm sap used is different.
Palmyra sugar also known as jaggery is made from the sap of the palmyra palm flower inflorescence. The stalk of flowers is sliced across the stem and its oozing sap is collected in bamboo tubes. The harvested sap is boiled in a large wok over wood fire. The sap is boiled till the sugar caramelised into a thick brown colour syrup or until it becomes semi-hardened.
Date sugar is made from date palm sap tapped from the palm's trunk. The collected sap is boiled in a large pan or wok over fire till it is caramelised into a syrup, then into a brown paste. The paste is then poured into moulds shaped like bricks or bars and allowed to cool and crystallise.
Gula apong, the pride of Sarawak, East Malaysia can be made from the sap of the nipah palm inflorescence or its stem. The rest of the process is the same as other traditional palm sugar - the harvested sap is reduced / dehydrated over slow fire into a syrup, then into a paste before it is allowed to cool and crystallise in moulds.
Gula Melaka and gula Jawa are made in the same way - they are both made from sap collected from the inflorescence of the coconut palm.
By the way, if we allow the coconut flower sap to ferment, it becomes toddy or coconut wine. It's quite a potent brew - the popular sweetish sourish wine can reach 10% alcohol, if left to ferment for a day.
The origin of palm sugar making is obscure and written records are rare.
The Legend of the Gula Jawa Maker & the Founder of the Mataram Sultanate
Kyai Ageng Mataram established the Mataram Sultanate in 1587 which lasted for over 168 years till it was defeated by the Dutch in 1755. At its height, Mataram ruled over nearly the entire Java island. It was the last great Javanese kingdom before Java was colonised.
This is the legend of its founder Kyai Ageng Mataram (also known as Ki Ageng Pamanahan) from the Chronicle of Jawa.
Kyai Ageng Giring was a gula Jawa maker. In the morning, Kyai Ageng Giring climbed his coconut tree for sap. While Kyai Ageng Giring was putting his bamboo tube in place to collect coconut flower sap, he heard a voice. It came from a young coconut from the next tree. The voice said, “Kyai Ageng, you should know that the descendants of him who drinks the juice of this young coconut until it is finished will become great kings who will hold sway over all of Java.”
When Kyai Ageng Giring heard the voice, he quickly climbed down the palm tree. At the bottom, he put down his bamboo cylinder and climbed the coconut tree with the one fruit. He picked the young coconut and took it down.
Kyai Ageng Giring quickly took the young coconut home and cut off the top end to make it ready for drinking. However, he did not drink it immediately. The reason was that Kyai Ageng considered that because it was still morning, he could not finish the juice of the whole young coconut because he was not yet thirsty. So he intended to go clear the forest first to make himself thirsty.
Kyai Ageng Giring put the young coconut away on the crockery shelf above the stove. That day, he did not care about his work of boiling the palm sap and making sugar. He only thought about the young coconut. He then left to go clear the forest.
After Kyai Ageng Giring left, Kyai Ageng Mataram arrived. Kyai Ageng Mataram and Kyai Ageng Giring were very good friends, as if they were children of the same parents.
Kyai Ageng Mataram asked the wife of Kyai Ageng Giring, “Sister, where did your husband go, as I can’t see him?” Kyai Giring's wife replied, “Your brother left for the forest to cut wood.”
Kyai Ageng Mataram then went into the kitchen to drink some sugar syrup. When he saw that the kitchen was deserted, and that there was no sugar syrup or sugar palm sap, but only a young coconut on the crockery shelf, he quickly took it, brought it into the house and sat down on a bench. Then, he made a hole in the young coconut to drink the juice, while asking Kyai Giring's wife, “Sister, why aren’t you boiling palm sap? I went to the kitchen to drink palm sap, but didn’t find any.”
Kyai Giring's wife answered, “Indeed, we usually boil palm sap, but we skipped today because your brother wanted to take a rest.”
Then Kyai Giring's wife was startled to see that Kyai Ageng Mataram was about to drink the young coconut. She quickly said, “Brother, please don’t drink that coconut. Your brother specifically warned me not to do that. If you drink it, your brother will certainly beat me.”
Kyai Ageng Mataram answered, “Sister, don’t be afraid. You say that it was I who forced you, because I was very thirsty and found the young coconut in the kitchen, so that I didn’t need to climb a tree myself.”
Having said that, he drank the juice of the young coconut in one draught without leaving a drop. It tasted wonderful.
Shortly afterwards Kyai Ageng Giring arrived carrying a load of wood. He headed straight for the kitchen. He put the wood down and wanted to drink the coconut juice. When he looked on the crockery shelf, the coconut was not there.
He quickly went into the house, found Kyai Ageng Mataram, and asked his wife, “Woman, where is the young coconut which I put on the crockery shelf?” Kyai Giring's wife answered, “It was taken by your brother here. I forbade it, but to no avail. Because he was very thirsty, he emptied it.”
Kyai Ageng Mataram replied, “It is true, brother, I drank it because I was very thirsty. If you want to be angry with me, go ahead.” When Kyai Ageng Giring heard these words, he was very disappointed and for a long time he just kept silent.
Since it had already happened, he realised that it was fated to be God’s will that Kyai Ageng Mataram would be the progenitor of the kings who would hold sway over Java. Then, he told the truth to Kyai Ageng Mataram about the voice from the young coconut.
Kyai Ageng Mataram founded the Mataram Sultanate in 1587.
Extract from The Chronicle of Jawa
So thoroughly researched, an eye-opening read, thnk you Tony Boey.
ReplyDeleteSo thoroughly researched, an eye-opening read, thnx Tony Boey.
ReplyDelete