ABOUT COCONUT SUGAR
Lately, coconut palm sugar sweetener increasingly popular as a healthier alternative than other types on the market. Proved by tests conducted Food and Nutrition Research Institute and Department of Science Technology of the Philippines has revealed a low Glycemic index (GI) of 35 Compared to that of table sugar's GI index of 64. Low glucose index food is good for proper control of diabetes mellitus and has shown to lower the LDL (low density lipoprotein) cholesterol or known as the bad cholesterol. It has been Also Noted that it's good for weight maintenance, Thus Preventing obesity or being overweight.
Another fact about coconut sugar is made and consumed the people in Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia and the Philippines since hundreds of years ago. To make coconut sugar is not difficult, it proved a lot of people with traditional equipment capable of making palm sugar into a healthy sweetener. Coconut sugar comes in crystal or granule form, block or liquid. Essentially it is a two-step process. It starts with harvesting or "tapping" the blossoms of a coconut tree. Farmers make a cut on the spadix and the sap starts to flow from the cut. The sap is then collected in bamboo containers. The collected sap is then transferred into large woks and placed over moderate heat to evaporate the moisture content of the sap. The sap is translucent and is about 80% water. As the water evaporates, it starts to transform into a thick syrup-like substance known as a "toddy". From this form, it is further reduced to crystal, block or soft paste form, or it remains in this form. The process is very simple, allowing anyone with coconut palm trees on their land to easily convert their coconut palms into an instant cash crop that reaps great financial benefits.
There are two types of coconut sugar which will be found in the market, organic and non-organic or more commonly known as "conventional coconut sugar". The difference is for organic coconut sugar contains no additives, all the ingredients are natural. For conventional coconut sugar, made with the addition of chemical substances, but with the quality and nutritional value are not much different from organic products. Of course, conventional palm sugar can also be consumed for diabetics and others. Conventional coconut sugar made as an option for people who want to get the health benefits of coconut sugar, but the price is more efficient than organic coconut sugar.
