Used in Southeast Asia for thousands of years as a traditional sweetener, coconut sugar is a natural sugar produced from the sap of the flower buds of the coconut palm. With a subtly sweet, vaguely caramel taste, coconut sugar can be used instead of refined sugars and used as a sweetener in coffee, tea, cooking, and baking!
How is it made?
Coconut palm trees produce little flower blossoms, which are filled with sap that can be tapped and made into coconut sugar! Farmers cut these blossoms, allowing sap to flow out into bamboo containers, before transferring the sap into woks and placing it over heat. The sap is heated until it has the consistency of a thick syrup. It is then either bottled as a syrup, which can be substituted for honey and maple syrup, or crystallised into sugar!
Why coconut sugar?
Compared to refined table sugar, coconut sugar contains trace amounts of vitamins and minerals such as vitamin C, potassium, calcium, iron, zinc, and antioxidants! It also has a much lower reported glycaemic index (GI) than ordinary sugar, ranking at 35 as compared to 60-75, making it an ideal sweetener for those on a low GI diet.
Awesome! But how do I use it?
Easy! There are so many ways to integrate coconut sugar into your recipes! From spiced chai to brownies and cupcakes to soup, it can be used like regular sugar a full range of recipes, and even paired with coconut oil, milk, or flour for very coconutty, natural results! For recipes and inspiration, check out our recipes section or our Pinterest.
You can view more information and purchase Coconut Merchant’s Organic Coconut Sugar here.