Coconut Sugar is natural sugar made from the juice of coconut flower stems which is commonly referred to as coconut sap. This sugar has other names as brown sugar, Javanese sugar, or Melaka sugar. This form of sugar can be in the form of powdered sugar, liquid sugar, or solid sugar molded on bamboo sticks or coconut shells. The color is yellowish-brown and has a delicious aroma typical of coconut and a slightly smoky smell. This brown sugar comes from Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines are the countries that produce this sugar. Most Malay people call this sugar “Gula Melaka” because many sugar producers can be found around the Malacca peninsula.
In Southeast Asia, natural sweeteners are used to sweeten traditional foods and drinks as well as modern foods and drinks. Manufacturers of flavorings such as sweet soy sauce and salty soy sauce use this sweetener to mix with soybean extraction. So the taste of the soy sauce will be sweeter and tastier and will have a dark color. Apart from that, traditional drinks such as herbal medicine, Dawet and Bandrek use this sweetener. Bread, pudding, and boba milk tea use liquid sugar as a topping. You can also create food and drink recipe ideas using this “healthy” sweetener.
Is Coconut Sugar Healthy?
This sweetener has a low glycemic index, so many people believe it to be a healthy sweetener. A low glycemic index indicates a gradual release of glucose so that it does not cause a rapid spike in blood sugar. Some people believe this sweetener is safe for consumption by diabetes sufferers. However, even though it is a natural sugar, the use of this sweetener should not exceed the daily Nutritional Requirements Index limit. Currently, the trend of using brown sugar is very massive to replace the regular use of coconut sugar. Especially for those who are on the keto diet and sugar diet for their body fitness.
Many people in Europe and America have replaced cane sugar with brown sugar as a sweetener for their food and drinks. Even though the price of coconut sugar is more expensive than cane sugar, the enthusiasm for using this sweetener has not decreased. This is different from people in Asia who still use cane sugar as their regular sweetener.