Kitul jaggery

MAKING KITUL JAGGERY

(A HOUSE HOLD INDUSTRY OF SRI LANKA) 

Jaggery is a sweet made from palm sap and sugar cane molasses.Though this sweet is not much popular in western countries, it is much popular in south Asian countries like Sri Lanka and India.Jaggery making is a house hold industry of the rural areas of my country, Sri Lanka.This is an industry of the poor man. Because jaggery makers have to climb up tall palm trees (kithul) and tap the flowers to get the sap of it. It is from this sap they make jaggery.Climbing up tall Kitul trees is a dangerous activity. so every man doesn't venture this. But villagers who

have inherited the skill of tapping palms are engaged in this industry.In the absence of their husbands the wives of these villagers do the acting.They climb the palm trees thrice a day to tap and collect the sap. As the sap is to be used to make jaggery they obstruct its fermentation by putting some pieces of barks of the hal tree (vateria copallifera) into the vessel full of sap.

THE TRADITIONAL METHOD OF MAKING JAGGERY

After collecting sufficient volume of kitul palm sap in clay pots, they, especially village women who are engaged in the industry, begin the process of making jaggery in their traditional kitchenettes.They pour the sap into clay woks, put them on hearths of fire woods heat it until it becomes thick syrup. It is then poured into moulds of coconut shells and let it cool.Next the solid jaggery is taken out of the coconut shells and wrapped in dried kenda (Macaranga peltata) leaves or banana leaves.

 KITUL JAGGERY

Kitul jeggery is a nice alternative for brown sugar.It is widely used in sri lanka to make sweetmeats such as watalappan. People like to have herbal drinks with a piece of jaggery.They
think that jaggery is good for diabetes patients.So you also should have a piece of jaggery or a sweetmeat made with it and taste the flavor and enjoy at least once in your life.