How is Pure and Natural Cane Jaggery Made?

 Jaggery, also known as gur in various parts of the country, is considered a popular substitute for white refined sugar. Most people are now becoming increasingly aware of the health benefits of jaggery and the harmful effects that white sugar can have. This is the reason why natural jaggery is often used in place of sugar. Other than India, jaggery is also widely used in different Asian countries like Indonesia, Thailand, and Pakistan, and other parts of the world.

While the cane jaggery is well-liked by people mostly in North India, in the other parts of the country you can find jaggery made with other ingredients like palm sap and coconut. All these are often used in place of sugar due to the health benefits they have. In case you wish to try any other jaggery then you can buy pure jaggery online. Different varieties of jaggery are used in multiple cuisines in making delicacies.

Watching the jaggery being made can be a fascinating experience. For something that looks so simple to eat, it is equally tricky to make. Making jaggery uses tremendous skills. The process involves continuous attention and effort. While passing from different highways, especially the UP highway, you can easily witness jaggery production taking place in the production units. The production units are usually set up in the middle of farmland, right across the highways. You cannot even closely have a look at how pure jaggery is made but can also buy the freshest gur for yourself from there. You can also buy natural jaggery online if it isn’t possible for you to travel for miles to buy the same.

A lowdown of the process of making jaggery will explain better how tedious and skillful the whole method is.

The main prerequisite for making pure cane jaggery is sugarcane. This is also another reason why most of the time jaggery is made close to the farms where the cane is cultivated and directly used in making jaggery. After the sugarcane is collected, the process of making jaggery starts.

Extraction Process: The juice or sap of sugarcanes is first extracted by pressing them through machines. Usually, big roller mills are used for extracting the juice. After this, whatever residue is visible to the human eye is removed from the same juice.

Clarification Process: The juice is then poured into big containers where it is clarified further and all the remaining sediments are removed. The clarification process involves the removal of inorganic salts, fiber, lipids, gums, etc. Different clarifying agents are used for this process. Some mills used natural clarifying agents like Sulkali and Doela. While some sugarcane manufacturing mills may also use inorganic clarifying agents like lime and sulfur phosphate. These agents help in efficiently removing the impurities from the sugarcane juice as they tend to come on the surface. Strainers are then used to remove the impurities that begin to appear on the top.

Concentration Process: The clarified juice is then shifted to large pans that contain between 400 to 500 liters of the clarified juice. The large pans are placed on furnaces where the process of vigorous boiling takes place. The manufacturers are required to continuously stir a large quantity of liquid to avoid it from burning or sticking to the surface as the temperature at that moment is as high as 110–120 degrees Celsius. The juice is continuously boiled for almost 3 hours till the sugarcane juice changes color and becomes thicker.

Finally, a thickened juice that is free from impurities is obtained after vigorous stirring at high temperatures. The boiling hot concentrate is lifted by men and transferred to huge molds and left to cool. After placing in the moulids, the liquid then solidifies and begins to look like the jaggery that we get in our homes.

Natural and pure jaggery has multiple health benefits that are hard to ignore. If compared with crystalized sugar, jaggery is far more nutritious, healthy, and even tastier because of the slightly caramelized taste it has. The sugarcane jaggery is also sold as shakkar, which is the same thing as gur but in a powdered form. For substituting sugar with jaggery you can buy shakkar online and use it in your beverages.

Jaggery is not popular just because of the distinct taste it has. It is also the added health benefits along with the sweet and caramelized taste that make it a popular choice among people. Throughout the year, consuming jaggery in regulated quantities can prove to be beneficial for the body. Especially during the winter season when the cough and cold get a grip on the body, jaggery with warm water can prove to cure the flu-like symptoms. Another well-known ability of jaggery is that it purifies the blood. Clean blood keeps the body healthy and immune from other diseases. Other than all these health benefits, jaggery also helps in maintaining weight, relieving joint pain, and boosting the energy levels in the body, etc. Using jaggery in your daily life will not only help in keeping you healthy but will also promote the growth of local manufacturers who make that jaggery.

Source: https://mohitsinha1.medium.com/how-is-pure-and-natural-cane-jaggery-made-cf9a59665798