What is jaggery?
Jaggery is an unrefined natural sugar that is produced without adding any chemicals. More than 70% of the total world jaggery production is done in India. Jaggery is popularly known as the “medicinal sugar” and is nutritionally comparable with honey.
What are the forms of jaggery
Forms of Jaggery
Jaggery is available in the market mainly in three forms namely solid jaggery, liquid jaggery and granular jaggery. Of the total production of jaggery in India, approximately 80% of the jaggery is prepared in solid form and the remaining 20% is prepared in liquid as well as granular form.
Jaggery powder
Granular or Powder Jaggery Jaggery is made in the form of granules (sieved to about 3 mm), sun dried and moisture content reduced to less than 2 per cent and packed in polyethylene polyester bags or polyethylene bottles, can be stored for longer time (more than two years), even during monsoon period with little changes in quality.
Liquid Jaggery or Kakvi Preperation-
Sugarcane juice is extracted, filtered and heated over jaggery furnace. On heating, lime (100g lime in 5 l water/100 kg juice) is added to raise the pH from 5.2-5.4 to 6.5-7.0 for coagulation of impurities. After removal of impurities, mucilaginous extract of vegetative clarificant is added for further clarification. Now juice is made acidic by adding phosphoric acid and is vigorously boiled. As soon as the temperature reaches 105-106oC, it is removed from pan, cooled and packed in glass or PET bottles
How does organic jaggery prepared?
Organic jaggery
In manufacturing of organic jaggery, the process starts from cultivation of sugar cane. In sugar cane cultivation, the only natural organic fertilizer used is cow dung. The difference between organic and commercial jaggery making is mainly in clarification process. In organic jaggery making process, only organic clarifying agents and little bit of lime (to decrease the acidity of juice) can be used. So organic jaggery will be dark coloured when compared with commercial jaggery.
Jaggery vs Sugar
Is jaggery healthier than sugar ?
Jaggery exhibits supremacy over sugar in many ways, as:
What is the benefits of jaggery
1. It is an important source of energy (383 kCal energy per100 g of jaggery).Jaggery Calories
2. Jaggery is an essential ingredient in various baked products such as-chocolates, biscuits, breads, cakes, pastries, rolls, gajak, chikki etc.
3. It is utilized for production of several ayurvedic medicines and syrups for treating throat and lungs infections, relaxation of muscles, nerves, blood vessels, maintaining blood pressure, increase hemoglobin, prevents anemia.
4. The molasses present in jaggery acts as laxative and improves the digestion.
5. Although, sucrose recovery in jaggery production is 3-5% lower in comparison to sugar industry but it is compensated by recovery of reducing sugars, proteins, fats and minerals, which are lost during sugar production in sugar mills.
Below are the top 6 benefits of consuming jaggery:
Is jaggery good for your health?
1. Improves digestion
The chief reason why many people prefer eating jaggery after their dinners is because it prevents constipation. As it activates the enzymes in our bodies and promotes healthy bowel movement, it stimulates a proper digestion process.
2. Blood purification
Jaggery is an excellent way blood purifier owing to its incredible cleansing properties if consumed regularly but in limited amounts. This keeps your overall health intact. What’s more, it also keeps blood disorders at bay and increases hemoglobin which in turn improves immunity.
3. Liver detox
One of the crucial ways to stay healthy is to flush out toxins from your body, and jaggery is a great way for liver detoxification. Eating small bits of it regularly can prove to be a great way to cleanse your body.
4. Enhances immunity
As it is packed with fantastic anti-oxidants and minerals like selenium and zinc, jaggery helps to avert free radicals, which are said to cause early aging.
5. Treats flu
Common cold can be quite a challenge to cure, but eating jaggery to cure a cold, cough and other flu-like symptoms is an age-old solution. As it is loaded with minerals and anti-oxidants, it can boost your immunity, thus treating the flu. If added to your regular tea, this remedy for treating the flu will be even more effective.
6. Anemia prevention
Jaggery is rich in iron, and eating regular lumps of it is a natural way of curing anemia. An excellent source of iron and folate, it helps to maintain the level of blood cells, and this is truly helpful during pregnancy.