Palm syrup (or Palm honey ) is an edible sweet syrup made from the juice of some types of palm . It is produced in the Canary Islands and in the coastal regions of South America .
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In the Canary Islands, palm syrup ( miel de palma ) is prepared from the Canary date palm ( Phoenix canariensis ). In Chile, palm syrup ( miel de palma ) is made from the endangered yubeya ( Jubaea chilensis ). [1] Other types of palm trees are used, such as coconut palm, sugar palm and palm tree.
Canary Islands Production
The vast majority of palm syrup production is concentrated in the municipality of Vallehermoso on the island of La Gomera . [2] The process of collecting juice from the palm and concentrating it in syrup is in many ways similar to the process used to make maple syrup . Palm juice known as guarapo is collected from a bowl-shaped incision in the crown of a tree. Since guarapo quickly deteriorates in the sunlight, picking is done at night. Every evening during the harvest, a guarapero (farmer) prepares each tree to collect the sap. He climbs to the top of the palm tree, often with the help of a ladder, using a knife or a chisel , cuts off the green branches of the crown. Then, on the trunk, directly underneath, it makes cuts, at night the palm secrets juice, which through a special drain gets into canisters. [3] In the early morning of the next day, he returns and picks up filled buckets containing 10-15 liters of sap from each tree. The assembled guarapo is either sent to a special local processing plant or processed locally. Processing includes boiling guarapo for several hours until it thickens, about 90%, to a dark brown syrup that tastes very sweet. Then it is usually packaged in glass jars. [2] Palm syrup tends to thicken and crystallize over time. After four to five months of intensive daily juice collection from January to June, the tree needs a five-year rest in order to recover before its next use. [3]
Usage
Palm syrup is used to make various cakes and desserts, such as pancakes or ice cream. Syrup is widely used in Southeast Asia for cooking. Its sweetness softens the pungency of the curry aroma, adding a taste similar to molasses to the food. It is also widely used as an ingredient in desserts or butter, after processing products. On Homer, it mixes with Parra (an analogue of grappa ) to produce a Homeron drink. Palm syrup is also traditionally used on the island of La Gomera for medicinal purposes. [3]
See also
- Palm sugar
- Birch syrup
- Mini
- Toddy
Notes
- ↑ C. Michael Hogan. 2008. Chilean Wine Palm: Jubaea chilensis , GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg Archived October 17, 2012.
- ↑ 1 2 pellagofio.com, “De la savia de las palmeras, un jarabe llamado 'miel'” (in Spanish)
- ↑ 1 2 3 bienmesabe.org, “La Gomera. La cultura de la palma (1) ”(in Spanish)