Palm Jaggery - Karuppatti - Pana Vellam
Palm jaggery is darker and richer in colour. It can be used as an excellent substitute for white sugar. When compared to sugar, palm jaggery is an excellent nutritional sweetener.Palm Jaggery also known as Karupatti is a healthy traditional product made from palm juice (Pathani) without using any chemicals. In Kerala, it is called by the name കരുപെട്ടി ‘ Karuppatti ‘ and in Tamilnadu it is called பனை வெல்லம் pana vellam. Apart from its sweet taste all the essential nutrients of sugar get flushed out during processing. On the other hand, the preparation of jaggery involves no chemicals or artificial ingredients. Since it is prepared from the extracts of palm trees, palm jaggery has minerals and vitamins in abundance. How Palm Jaggery is made? In the initial stage, the sap from palm trees is collected in slacked lime treated earthen pots by tappers. The sap is then cleared of unwanted materials by the process of sedimentation and filtration. It is then boiled in a galvanized iron pan