Panela
Encyclopedia
Panela is unrefined whole cane sugar
, typical of Latin America, which is basically a solid piece of sucrose
and fructose
obtained from the boiling and evaporation of sugarcane
juice.
Common Spanish
names: chancaca, papelón, piloncillo, panocha, rapadura, atado dulce or empanizao. In India
, Pakistan
, and Sri Lanka
a similar product is made which is called gur or jaggery
. In Brazil
, it is known as rapadura
. In Laos, it is called nam oy (ນ້ຳອ້ອຍ).
The main producer of panela is Colombia (about 1.4 million tons/year), where panela production is one of the most important economic
activities, with the highest index of panela consumption per capita
worldwide. Panela is also produced in Ecuador
, Guatemala
, Mexico
, Panama
, Peru
, Venezuela
and Bolivia
(where it is called chankaka or empanizao). In Colombia, the panela industry is an important source of employment with about 350,000 people working in nearly 20,000 trapiches (panela farms).
Besides sugar, panela also contains large amounts of proteins, calcium
, iron
and ascorbic acid
.
which is one of the most widely drunk beverages in Colombia. Also it is used as a sweetener
and in the preparation of dessert
s. Since it is a very solid block, most Colombian homes have a resistant river stone (la piedra de la panela) to break the panela into smaller, more manageable pieces. Panela can be purchased in markets, local grocers, and online stores. A very popular type of panela is named "Mi Dulzura" which translates into "My Sweetness". It is made in Villeta, Colombia, and is 100% organic.
Known as piloncillo in México
, it is most often seen in the shape of small truncated cones. Many Mexican desserts are made with piloncillo, such as atole
, capirotada
, champurrado and flan
. It is also made blending different spices such as anise
, cayenne
or chocolate
.
In Peru
, chancaca is used in typical food such as "champús", "picarones", "calabaza al horno", and "mazamorra
cochina". In Costa Rica
, it is used in preparations such as "tapa de dulce" and "agua de sapo".
In the Philippines
, panocha or in Filipinized term panutsá and its Visayan name Tam-is is traditionally used as an ingredient for "latík" and "kalamay" as well as a comfort food eaten straight.
, Colombia on 30 November 2009 broke the world record for the largest and heaviest panela, with one that measured 10 feet and 20 inches and weighing 715 kg. For this purpose 70 tons of sugar cane were needed, and 90 people worked for 28 consecutive hours. This panela is the equivalent at 1210 regular 510 gram panelas. The record has not yet been registered by Guinness World Records
.
Whole cane sugar
Whole cane sugar refers to unrefined sugar, which is obtained from sugar cane. Minimal processing produces products like Panela from Latin America, Rapadura from Brazil, Muscovado from the Philippines, Jaggery which can be found in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean, and Sucanat...
, typical of Latin America, which is basically a solid piece of sucrose
Sucrose
Sucrose is the organic compound commonly known as table sugar and sometimes called saccharose. A white, odorless, crystalline powder with a sweet taste, it is best known for its role in human nutrition. The molecule is a disaccharide composed of glucose and fructose with the molecular formula...
and fructose
Fructose
Fructose, or fruit sugar, is a simple monosaccharide found in many plants. It is one of the three dietary monosaccharides, along with glucose and galactose, that are absorbed directly into the bloodstream during digestion. Fructose was discovered by French chemist Augustin-Pierre Dubrunfaut in 1847...
obtained from the boiling and evaporation of sugarcane
Sugarcane
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...
juice.
Common Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
names: chancaca, papelón, piloncillo, panocha, rapadura, atado dulce or empanizao. In India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, and Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
a similar product is made which is called gur or jaggery
Jaggery
Jaggery is a traditional unrefined non-centrifugal whole cane sugar consumed in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. It is a concentrated product of cane juice without separation of the molasses and crystals, and can vary from golden brown to dark brown in color...
. In Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, it is known as rapadura
Rapadura
Rapadura is the Portuguese name for a form of sugarcane juice, used as a sweetener or as a candy, common in Latin American countries such as Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela and the Caribbean. See also panela...
. In Laos, it is called nam oy (ນ້ຳອ້ອຍ).
Economics of panela
Economy of Colombia
Colombia has a free market economy with major commercial and investment ties to the United States. Transition from a highly regulated economy has been underway for more than a decade....
activities, with the highest index of panela consumption per capita
Per capita
Per capita is a Latin prepositional phrase: per and capita . The phrase thus means "by heads" or "for each head", i.e. per individual or per person...
worldwide. Panela is also produced in Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
and Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
(where it is called chankaka or empanizao). In Colombia, the panela industry is an important source of employment with about 350,000 people working in nearly 20,000 trapiches (panela farms).
Process
The sugarcane plant is processed in a large press, to obtain the juice, which is cooked at very high temperatures. The panela can be manufactured in disc-shaped pieces or in cubic pieces of cake form and is usually gold or brown in color.Besides sugar, panela also contains large amounts of proteins, calcium
Calcium
Calcium is the chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It has an atomic mass of 40.078 amu. Calcium is a soft gray alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth-most-abundant element by mass in the Earth's crust...
, iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
and ascorbic acid
Ascorbic acid
Ascorbic acid is a naturally occurring organic compound with antioxidant properties. It is a white solid, but impure samples can appear yellowish. It dissolves well in water to give mildly acidic solutions. Ascorbic acid is one form of vitamin C. The name is derived from a- and scorbutus , the...
.
Uses
The main use of the panela is in aguapanelaAguapanela
Aguapanela or agua de panela is a drink native to southern Central America and northern South America. It literally means "panela water" as it is an infusion made from panela which is a hardened, concentrated syrup from the cane...
which is one of the most widely drunk beverages in Colombia. Also it is used as a sweetener
Sugar substitute
A sugar substitute is a food additive that duplicates the effect of sugar in taste, usually with less food energy. Some sugar substitutes are natural and some are synthetic. Those that are not natural are, in general, called artificial sweeteners....
and in the preparation of dessert
Dessert
In cultures around the world, dessert is a course that typically comes at the end of a meal, usually consisting of sweet food. The word comes from the French language as dessert and this from Old French desservir, "to clear the table" and "to serve." Common Western desserts include cakes, biscuits,...
s. Since it is a very solid block, most Colombian homes have a resistant river stone (la piedra de la panela) to break the panela into smaller, more manageable pieces. Panela can be purchased in markets, local grocers, and online stores. A very popular type of panela is named "Mi Dulzura" which translates into "My Sweetness". It is made in Villeta, Colombia, and is 100% organic.
Known as piloncillo in México
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, it is most often seen in the shape of small truncated cones. Many Mexican desserts are made with piloncillo, such as atole
Atole
Atole is a traditional masa-based Mexican and Central American hot drink. Chocolate atole is known as champurrado or atole...
, capirotada
Capirotada
Capirotada is a common Mexican bread pudding that is traditionally eaten during Lent. It is generally composed of toasted French bread soaked in a mulled syrup, sugar, raisins, and walnuts. The syrup is mixed with a little bit of water or milk to make it less thick; piloncillo , cinnamon, and nutmeg...
, champurrado and flan
Flan
Crème caramel , flan , or caramel custard is a custard dessert with a layer of soft caramel on top, as opposed to crème brûlée, which is custard with a hard caramel top...
. It is also made blending different spices such as anise
Anise
Anise , Pimpinella anisum, also called aniseed, is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to the eastern Mediterranean region and Southwest Asia. Its flavor resembles that of liquorice, fennel, and tarragon.- Biology :...
, cayenne
Cayenne
Cayenne is the capital of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic coast. The city's motto is "Ferit Aurum Industria" which means "Work brings wealth"...
or chocolate
Chocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
.
In Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, chancaca is used in typical food such as "champús", "picarones", "calabaza al horno", and "mazamorra
Mazamorra
Mazamorra is a traditional maize-based Latin American food.-In Colombia:Mazamorra in Colombia is also known as Peto...
cochina". In Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, it is used in preparations such as "tapa de dulce" and "agua de sapo".
In the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, panocha or in Filipinized term panutsá and its Visayan name Tam-is is traditionally used as an ingredient for "latík" and "kalamay" as well as a comfort food eaten straight.
Record
The city of PalmiraPalmira
Palmira is a city and municipality in southwestern Colombia in the department of Valle del Cauca, located about east from Cali, the department's capital and main city.-Geography :...
, Colombia on 30 November 2009 broke the world record for the largest and heaviest panela, with one that measured 10 feet and 20 inches and weighing 715 kg. For this purpose 70 tons of sugar cane were needed, and 90 people worked for 28 consecutive hours. This panela is the equivalent at 1210 regular 510 gram panelas. The record has not yet been registered by Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
.