Pages

January 29, 2013

Sugar Palm fruit and its health benefit

Sugar palm or Toddy palm fruit is also called by the name Palmyra palm. It is called Ice-apple in British English. Palmyra palm tree is the national tree of Cambodia and Borassus flabellifer is the Latin name. It grows in the suitable climate of Southeast Asian countries.

The sweet sap of the Palmyra tree is called Toddy and is used in preparation of Palm jaggery. The sap is fermented to make Arrack which is an alcoholic beverage. Almost every part of the tree is useful to mankind. The fan shaped tall tree bears fruits like that of a coconut tree. The pulp is tender and the husk is fibrous similar to that in Coconut. The fruit has a black husk and is 4 to 7 inches in diameter. It is borne in clusters. The top portion of the fruit is cut off to reveal the three sweet jelly seed sockets.

In many places of India where the Toddy palm trees are grown, the ripened fruit is covered with clay as it falls to the ground and a plant thus gets reproduced. Later the tender shoot popping out of the fruit is boiled, roasted and eaten. The fleshy stems are found to be very nutritious and fibrous.
The ripened pulp of the sugar palm is jelly like tender, flat and round with a light brown skin. The inner portion is a juicy socket structure. It has a mild sweet taste. The pulp or the seeds become harder as they grow older.

Sugar Palm fruit health benefits and Uses:

1. Palm seeds are considered as a delicacy in India and other asian countries where the Palmyra trees are grown. During early summer, they are sold in markets and for a limited period of time. Summer holidays are enjoyed by preparing different types of drinks, pancakes and dishes prepared from the nutritious pulp.
2. The tender fruit pulp is eaten raw during summer because it gives a cooling effect to the body. The ripened fibrous outer layer of the fruit can be eaten raw, boiled, or roasted.
3. The fruit contains vitamin A, B and also Vitamin C in the form of ascorbic acid.
4. It is rich in minerals too. Minerals such as Potassium, Iron, Calcium, Phosphorous and Zinc are found in the fruit.
5. The studies conducted recently to know more about this fruit have given satisfactory results. If the Palmyra trees are grown in large scale commercial farms, it could help solve the world’s malnutrition problem.
6. In some Asian stores they are found in cans but usually they are canned in sugar syrup. Due to the sugar syrup it becomes too sweet.
7. The fresh ones are little crunchy and moderate sweet to taste. They are chopped to small pieces and used in desserts with other variety of fruits like Pineapple, Mangoes, Papaya and offered along with some good flavored ice cream.
8. Matured palm fruit juice is used in making pancakes.
9. The seed sockets of Ice-apple have been the inspiration for some sweets prepared in West Bengal. One such sweet is Jalbhara Sandesh.
10. Its medicinal uses are still unknown to people. The pulp from the mature fruit is used over the skin to cure Dermatitis.
11. Bengalis have perfected the art of preparation of many sweet dishes with the yellowish viscous fluidic substance obtained from a ripe palm fruit. They include the mustard oil fried Taler Bora or the Taalkheer made by mixing it with thickened cow’s milk.

No comments:

Post a Comment