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Jaggery / palm sugar

Sweeteners & chocolate · Sugars

Jaggery / palm sugar

Unrefined sugar from boiled cane juice or palm sap, sold in blocks or granules; deep, earthy caramel flavour.

Also called: gur, gud, palm sugar, gula melaka, nam tan pip, coconut sugar, rapadura

A kind of sugar

83 recipes with it

Photo: Badagnani, via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-3.0)

What it is

Jaggery (gur) is made by boiling down sugar cane juice until it solidifies, without separating the molasses. Palm sugar is made the same way from palm sap: Thai nam tan pip is pale and fudgy, Malaysian gula melaka is dark and smoky, and coconut sugar is a granulated form. Colour and hardness vary from golden and soft to dark and rock-hard.

How it’s used

  • Indian sweets: payasam, chikki, laddoo and til gur
  • Balancing tamarind and chilli in sambar, rasam and Gujarati dal
  • Thai curries, pad thai and nam pla dressings (palm sugar)
  • Gula melaka syrup for cendol and sago pudding
  • Sweetening tea and drinks

Characteristics

Taste
Deep caramel, molasses, earthy; palm sugar is smoky or buttery.
When cooked
Grate or shave hard blocks, or melt in a little water and strain out any grit.
Sold as
whole, ground
Cooking uses
Mainly a seasoning, Suitable for baking

Storage

Pantry-stable. Airtight in a cool, dry place; it absorbs moisture and becomes sticky in humid weather.

Diet, allergens and safety

No major allergens in typical versions.

  • Vegetarian
  • Vegan
  • Dairy-free
  • Egg-free
  • Gluten-free
  • Nut-free
  • Soy-free
  • Caffeine-free

Nutrition per 100 g

Energy
380 kcal
Protein
0.12 g
Carbohydrate
98.09 g
Fat
0 g
Fibre
0 g
Sugars
97.02 g

USDA FoodData Central: Sugars, brown (a close stand-in).

Substitutes

Optional — what works if you don’t have it, and how it changes the dish.

  • Brown sugar — Dark brown or muscovado, 1:1 by weight; slightly less complex.

Related ingredients

Recipes with jaggery / palm sugar

See all 83

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