Jaggery - The Traditional Indian Sweetener
Jaggery is the preferred sweetener in India. It is a conventional sweetener used in Indian kitchens since ancient times and is a healthy substitute for sugar. Gud is a key component in many different sweets during the winter.
Of course, alternatives like white sugar are more widely used now than they were in the past, but jaggery is more affordable because it is made locally. More importantly, it has a particular flavor that gives Indian delicacies like laddu (which tastes like a truffle but is made with ghee) and kheer (rice pudding) their distinctively opulent flavors. It is rich and smokey enough to balance the sour tamarind in sambar, a spicy soup eaten with dosa.
How to cook with jaggery?
For convenience and ease of use, cut jaggery bricks into little pieces as soon as you purchase them. After everything is finished, there are numerous methods to incorporate jaggery into your recipes.
- Traditional Indian desserts like Athirasam, Vella Seedai, Sakkarai Pongal, and Payasam are made with jaggery as a sweetener.
- Recipes that call for tamarind or other sour ingredients advise adding a little jaggery to counteract the acidity. Examples include traditional Thai dishes like Pad Thai and sweet chili sauce as well as Sambar from Karnataka, Vatha Kuzhambu from Tamil Nadu, Gujarati dals, and others.
- Cold and hot beverages can both be sweetened with it. White sugar can be replaced with powdered jaggery in standard tea and coffee. Jaggery is used to sweeten Sukku kaapi, a hot beverage produced in Tamil Nadu from dry ginger and coriander seeds. Jaggery and dry ginger are the main ingredients of panagam, a summer beverage from Tamil cuisine.
- It can be substituted for raw sugar in oats, cereal, and salad dressings.
- These days, it’s also employed in baking as a sweetener.
How to Purchase Jaggery?
In addition to giving the end product a lovely golden tone, the color of the jaggery is a crucial determinant of its quality. Never purchase colored or pallid jaggery (yellow). As a general rule, fewer bleaching agents were utilized during processing the darker the colour of the jaggery.
How to store Jaggery?
It lasts for months if maintained in an airtight container. Keep it away from air, heat, and moisture. It has gone rotten if it tastes salty or sour. Jaggery of high quality has a tougher texture and no moisture.
Benefits of Jaggery
Gur is a traditional ingredient in Indian cuisine. Indians use jaggery to instantly boost their energy when they’re feeling down and to heal minor illnesses like diarrhea and acidity. It is rich in nutrients that are good for your health. Wintertime is a popular time to indulge in jaggery since it warms the body. Jaggery is the sweetener used in sweet foods like gondh ke laddo and til ki ladoo.
Despite being a healthier alternative to regular white sugar, jaggery still contains glucose and fructose, therefore it should only be consumed in moderation.
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