A day at India jaggery factory

Gulf News reader Shyjith Kannur spent a day at a jaggery factory in Kerala. Jaggery is traditionally blended whole cane sugar consumed in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

It is the concentrated remains of sugarcane sap that is not separated from molasses and crystals.

Kannur visited the hill station of Marayoor, about 50km from the town of Munnar. The place is known for the production of the sweetest jaggery in India.

He said: “In India, most traditional sweets are made using jaggery because it adds sweetness and colour to them. Marayoor has thousands of acres of sugarcane fields and it was wonderful to get a chance to visit them."

In the area, there are many small producers of jaggery. It was very interesting to see the manpower invested in the procedure to make the sweetener, Kannur said.

While walking through the fields, you come across small huts that have roofs made of palm tree leaves, where the entire preparation is carried out. "They are like small, traditional factories," he said.

Preparation of jaggery starts from cultivation of sugarcane, extracting its juice, cooking it in large vessels, and stirring it for hours before letting it cool. The final step is shaping the thick produce into small balls that are sold in the market.