This sugar comes from the liquid sap in coconut flowers. Use it just as it is in desserts, without heating it up, to fully appreciate its caramel aroma and subtle scent of coconut.
Coconut blossom sugar has been used in the West for a few years as a healthy alternative to traditional white sugar. It contains multiple minerals and has a low glycemic index (around 35), which is almost half that of brown or white cane sugars. It is very popular in several Southeast Asian countries and has been for millennia. It is produced with the nectar of coconut flowers. Its traditional harvest is carried out by villagers using ancestral methods that have not changed for centuries, with no additives or preservatives added.
The production method is very similar to that of palm sugar from Cambodia. Harvesters climb the trees, incise the flowers, and collect their sap in pots made from bamboo stems. The sap is then boiled. Once the water has evaporated and the molasses dried, what remains is the sugar. This sugar is then manually ground into powder using a carved round stone. Indonesia, particularly central Java, is known as a major producing region of this golden sugar.
