I've read that jaggery has lots of minerals and 'friendly' sugars especially for diabetics. Does anybody know anything about this cane sugar?
Regards,
Martin
I have heard this too, but have not seen any evidence, personal, anecdotal or scientific. To get enough minerals from it, you will need to be consuming a fair bit, which is going to be bad for diabetics. I don't't think that it is any different from unrefined sugar.
You may be interested in this; http://www.ayushveda.com/womens-magazine/health-benefits-of-jaggery/
Hi Mamta, thanks for your reply. I think I'll use jaggery as a sweetener as it appears there are no contraindications for diabetics, other than to use within sensible moderations.
By the way, I made a batch of the green chilli pickle and, amongst other recipients I gave a jar to an Indian colleague of mine who is the director and consultant on public health. His family loved the pickle and even asked me for the recipe!
Great recipe, I love it too!
Thanks,
Martin
I love jaggery too and often use it in place of sugar in deserts.
I think that every house on northern India makes this sort of chilli/other vegetable pickles, with minor variations. I am glad that your friend likes it.
How do you use Jaggery then? Do you just substitute it directly for sugar, or do you have to prepare it a particular way?
Thank you
Jaggery is a type of brown, raw sugar, made by boiling the sugar cane juice in huge pans. It is also made from Palm tree sap, but I prefer the taste and flavour of cane jaggery. So, it is raw sugar, without any whitening or cleaning agents added to it. It still contains molasses and has a lovely flavour and taste. As I write this, I can see those big vats boiling away in my mind?s eye. My father was a sugar chemist and I grew up around sugar factories and jaggery. Your question reminded me of my childhood and youth :).
You can use it wherever you would use brown/muscovado/raw cane sugar. Jaggery is mostly sold in blocks, which requires grating, though you can now buy it in coarse powder form as well, making its use much easier. I still buy it in a block generally, which have a better flavour. I grate it on a coarse grater.
It is used in all sorts of Indian sweet and even eaten as a sweet in its own right. We often eat it as it is, with Makka Roti and Bajra Roti, taking bites off a small block, with each mouthful of roti. You can grate it and add it to plain, steamed rice, along with a dollop of ghee clarified butter. This is a popular way of eating it in north Indian villages and traditional homes. You can use it to make chutneys, replacing white sugar, especially chutneys like tamarind. I have not tried it in jam yet, not sure how well it will set.
hi
I love Jaggery too, I am from Goa so our Goan sweets have lots of jaggery and coconut milk in them.
You can make savoury Jams with jaggery but adding chillipowder and whatever else you use to the jaggery and make it into a liquid you can add your additions like finely chopped pineapple, raw mango to this to make a sweet and spicy pickle