Processed
Palm Jaggery
S tier
Palm jaggery is boiled sap from palmyra, date, or other palms, set into dark, aromatic lumps. It is smokier and more butterscotch than many cane gurs, and it is the sweetener of Tamil, Bengal, and Southeast Asian sweets that specify karupatti or nolen gur in season. Winter date-palm jaggery is a perishable delicacy, not a pantry brick. It melts into payesh and sauces with a perfume cane jaggery will not give. A cheap "palm" block that tastes only of burnt sugar is often cane dyed dark. Buy from a source that names the palm. Store airtight; the lumps drink humidity.
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History
Palmyra and date-palm saps were boiled into jaggery across South Asia.
Bengali nolen gur and Tamil karupatti became seasonally prized palm jaggeries.
Packaged palm jaggery reached cities far from the tapping belts.
Seasonal date-palm jaggery became a restaurant ingredient beyond its home kitchens.