Jaggery Vs. Sugar

Every time you decide to make a dessert are you worried, that you are going to consume a lot of calories. Well, there are a lot of sugar alternatives, which you can use. One of the natural sugar substitutes is jaggery. Both jaggery and sugar are made from sugarcane, then what is the difference between sugar and jaggery? Is it just the difference in color, which is a differentiating point or are there also difference in health benefits? There have been studies conducted on both sugar and jaggery. Having said that, let's plunge into the jaggery vs. sugar debate and find out, which of the two is better.

What is the Difference Between Jaggery and Sugar

We will see what exactly, is jaggery before we read on jaggery vs. sugar. This will help us to understand the difference better.

What is Jaggery
Jaggery is a traditional unrefined sugar, which is consumed in Asia, Africa, Latin American and also the Caribbean. It is made from concentrated sugarcane juice, but the molasses are not separated, as is the case with sugar. The color of jaggery can vary from golden brown to dark brown.

Although traditional jaggery is manufactured using either sugarcane or date palms, but in recent times jaggery is also made from sap of coconut and sago palms. To make jaggery, raw sugarcane or palm juice is boiled in iron pans. Then the jaggery is made into blocks. Since, it does not go through additional processing, some of the natural vitamins and minerals are retained, although some of them do get depleted, due to the boiling process.

In Ayurveda, it has been used to treat various ailments. It is also said to be rich in iron, apart from the various vitamins and minerals. Hence, it is often seen that, jaggery is eaten in small slices along with a dessert or it can also be combined with various other ingredients to make a variety of desserts.

If you wonder about the taste of jaggery, the taste of jaggery can be compared to brown sugar and other raw sugar. Normally, jaggery is brown in color, but the color of jaggery is dependent on the base ingredient used to make it.

Jaggery Vs. Sugar
Both jaggery and sugar are made from the same sources, but there is a lot of difference in their properties and benefits. Jaggery and sugar can be compared to twins born of the same parents, who are yet different from each other in many respects. We will now see what is the difference between the two.

• The first difference is the difference in color. Sugar is bright white color, whereas the color of jaggery can range from golden yellow to golden brown, brown, dark brown like dark chocolate. The color is often dependent on two factors, namely the base ingredient used to make jaggery, and up to what extent was it cooked.
• Both sugar and jaggery differ a great deal in texture. While sugar crystals are solid and hard, jaggery is semi solid, softer than sugar and also amorphous. This is because the molasses and other impurities are not removed from it, as is the case with sugar.
• The next difference is the process, sugar and jaggery go through, after the initial sugarcane juice boiling process. To make sugar, the syrup is treated to remove the unwanted particles, so that after condensation and crystallization, the final product is white in color. On the other hand, in case of jaggery, there is no treatment given to the juice and it also does not undergo the crystallization process. The sugarcane juice is boiled continuously, until thick paste is formed, after which the paste is poured into molds and blocks of desired size.
• There is difference in composition of sugar and jaggery. While sugar is made only of sucrose, jaggery is made up of predominantly sucrose, mineral salts, iron and some fiber. Hence, consumption of jaggery is recommended in case of iron deficiency anemia.
• The influence sugar and jaggery have on health are different. Sugar is simplest form of sucrose, hence it is instantly absorbed in the blood and burst of energy is released. Hence, it is not recommended for people with diabetes. Jaggery on the other hand, is made up of longer chains of sucrose, therefore, it is digested slowly and energy release is also slow. Hence, energy is provided for a longer period of time and it not harmful for the body. Since jaggery is made up in iron vessels, it is also rich source of iron. Jaggery benefits as a cleansing agent and cleans the lungs, stomach, intestines, esophagus and respiratory tracts.

Now to sum up the jaggery vs. sugar debate, it is better to consume jaggery as compared to sugar for iron contents, minerals and vitamins present in it along with sucrose. However, if you are diabetic, you will have to control your intake of jaggery as well, as it predominantly is made up of sucrose.