- Bark fiber
- Saplings from North Sumatra
- Fruits harvested from Java
- Fruits preserved in syrup from the Philippines are commonly sold internationally as "kaong"
Arenga pinnata | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Clade: | Commelinids |
Order: | Arecales |
Family: | Arecaceae |
Genus: | Arenga |
Species: | A. pinnata |
Binomial name | |
Arenga pinnata | |
Arenga pinnata (syn. Arenga saccharifera) is an economically important feather palm native to tropical Asia, from eastern India east to Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines in the east. [1] Common names include sugar palm , areng palm (also aren palm or arengga palm), black sugar palm, and kaong palm, among other names. [2] [3]
It is a medium-sized palm, growing to 20 metres (66 feet) tall, with the trunk remaining covered by the rough old leaf bases. The leaves are 6–12 m (20–39 ft) long and 1.5 m (5 ft) broad, pinnate, with the pinnae in 1–6 rows, 40–70 centimetres (16–28 inches) long and 5 cm (2 in) broad. The fruit is subglobose, 7 cm (3 in) diameter, green maturing black. [4]
A. pinnata suffers from the red palm weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus , [5] and is one of its major hosts in China. [5]
It is not a threatened species, though it is locally rare in some parts of its range. It serves as an important part of the diet of several endangered species, including cloud rats of the genus Phloeomys .
Many products of the palm are used, as food, as construction materials, and for other purposes.
The sap is harvested for commercial use in southeast Asia, yielding a sugar known as gur in India, gula aren in Indonesia, and pakaskas in the Philippines. The sap is collected and made as lahang , a traditional cold sweet drink, and is also fermented into vinegar (Filipino sukang kaong ), palm wine (Filipino tubâ , Malaysian and Indonesian tuak , in eastern Indonesia sageru ), which in turn is distilled into a spirit ( sopi in Maluku, cap tikus in North Sulawesi). [3] [6] [7] [8]
Edmund Roberts talks about drinking an alcoholic beverage made in the Cavite area. He described it as a "fermented" and "intoxicating liquor". He said that it was "the pith furnished with sugar – when the liquor was properly boiled down, a farina...and of the inside of its triangular-shaped fruit a sweet bread was made." [9]
Sugar (jaggery) is also commonly derived from the fresh sap in Indonesia and the Philippines. These are traditionally prevented from fermenting by placing crushed chili or ginger in the collecting container. The sap is boiled until it reduces to a thick syrup which is then dried into a brown sugar. Similar sugar extraction methods are also traditionally used for other sugar palms, such as the buri palm ( Corypha elata ). [3]
The raw juice and pulp are caustic. This crop may develop into a major resource of biofuel (ethanol).[ citation needed ]
The immature fruits are widely consumed in the Philippines (called kaong) and Indonesia (called buah kolang-kaling or buah tap) and are made into canned fruits after they are boiled in sugar syrup. [3]
The seeds can be used in many different recipes, such as sour soup, or eaten with pandan juice, syrup, or coconut milk. These seeds have a chewy and sweet flavor .Young seeds are soft and easy to chew. When the fruits are overripe, they will have a harder texture. [10]
The boiled water obtained from boiling fruits can also be utilized as a natural dye for fabrics.
The fruit stalk can be cut it into smaller stick used as firewood. Some people also utilized it as part of furniture. [11]
In Thailand, some people eat the young shoot with chili sauce, and use them as cooking ingredients in dishes like soup. [12]
The dark fibrous bark (known as duk or doh in Javanese, [13] and in India[ what language is this? ]; iju, ejoo, eju or gomuti—a term that botanists applied as a specific or generic name to the whole plant)—in Malay; [13] ijuk in Indonesia; and yumot or cabo negro in the Philippines), is manufactured into cordage, brushes, brooms, thatch roofing, or filters. [3]
According to the study on bas-reliefs of Javanese ancient temples such as Borobudur, this type of roof is known in ancient Java vernacular architecture. It can be found today in Balinese temple roof architecture and Minangkabau Rumah Gadang gonjong horn-like curved roof architecture, such as those found in Pagaruyung Palace.[ citation needed ]
In Thailand, fibres were once used to create raincoats for miners called Jang Sui (Thai: จั่งซุ้ย). [14] The cloth made of this plant has a rough texture, making it unsuitable for most clothing. [15]
The leaves as well as the leaf midribs can be used to weave baskets and marquetry work in furniture. [3]
In Indonesia, starch can also be extracted from sugar palms and used in place of rice flour in noodles, cakes, and other dishes. [3]
The timber is used for high grade construction, posts, beams, flooring, interior finish, wharf bridge building and other uses where strength and durability are important.[ citation needed ]
The trunks are typically used for making tools and furniture. Weevils that live inside the trunk are sometimes collected as food by people harvesting the fruits.
The seeds can be boiled and the stem tips can be eaten as vegetables. The young flower stalks can be bruised to obtain the juice. [16]
Various methods are employed to climb and harvest the fruits. In some regions in Thailand, locals make use of a bamboo ladder with natural step-like protrusions which in Thai known as Phaong (Thai: พะอง). Harvesters use a vine to attach this bamboo ladder to the trunk, providing them with steps to climb up and reach the fruits. Some areas utilize hemp rope and slingshot. However, this method requires at least 2 people to collect the fruits as one of them must be responsible for climbing trees and harvesting the fruits, while the other stays on the ground to pull the climbing rope.
During sap harvesting period, workers collect the sap twice a day, once in the morning and again in the evening. From a single tree, they typically obtain around 15-20 liters of fresh sap in each harvest. Bamboo tubes or plastic buckets are utilized to collect the dripping sap. [17] [18]
In the Philippines, an annual Irok Festival is celebrated in the municipality of Indang in Cavite which is a major producer of kaong fruits, sukang kaong , and tubâ in the country. Irok is a local name for Arenga pinnata in the northwestern Philippines. [19] [20]
The world's first ever crossword puzzle, labelled "Word-Cross" in the 21 December 1913 edition of New York World newspaper's Sunday Fun supplement and created by Arthur Wynne, a Liverpool, UK-born journalist, included a clue: The fibre of the gomuti plant. The answer was doh. [21]
In some areas of southern Thailand, such as Ban Khlong Bor Saen and Bang Toei, Phang Nga, cultural beliefs associated with Arenga pinnata are prevalent. The trees are intertwined with the locals' lives and serve as a source of income for the villagers over generations. The locals typically call this plant Chok (Thai: ชก) or Nao (Thai: เหนา) . [12] [22] However, it has a nickname "Ton Luk Kha Mae" (Thai: ต้นลูกฆ่าแม่) which means a child kills its mother, as the Arenga pinnata in those areas can produce fruits only once in its lifetime and it will perish within 4 -5 years. [23] [10]
A belief revolves around the practice of singing and dancing during the sap tapping process. Locals believe that when the tree is surrounded by music, it yields abundantly and the sap quality is enhanced. While climbers harvest sap, some ground workers actively engage in singing and dancing.
Moreover, some locals have specific classifications for the female trees dividing them into three types, which are Nao saw (Thai: เหนาสาว), Nao Mae Mai (Thai: เหนาแม่ม่าย), and Nao Kae (Thai: เหนาแก่). The word “Nao” refers to the tree while each subsequent word provides a different meaning that signifies the duration the tree has been tapped for sap.
Nao Saw (Thai: เหนาสาว) refers to the trees that have not been used to collect sap before. The term “Saw” (Thai: สาว) means young woman.
Nao Mae Mai (Thai: เหนาแม่หม้าย) refers to the trees that have been used to collect sap, with the process repeated around a year. The term “Mae Mai” (Thai: แม่หม้าย) means widow.
Nao Kae (Thai: เหนาแก่) refers to the trees that have been used to collect sap continuously for three years or more including very old ones. The term “Kae” (Thai: แก่) means old. [17] [22]
Maple syrup is a syrup made from the sap of maple trees. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before winter; the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in late winter and early spring. Maple trees are tapped by drilling holes into their trunks and collecting the sap, which is processed by heating to evaporate much of the water, leaving the concentrated syrup.
Palm wine, known by several local names, is an alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm trees such as the palmyra, date palms, and coconut palms. It is known by various names in different regions and is common in various parts of Africa, the Caribbean, South America, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Micronesia.
Jaggery is a traditional non-centrifugal cane sugar consumed in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, North America, Central America, Brazil and Africa. It is a concentrated product of cane juice and often date or palm sap without separation of the molasses and crystals, and can vary from golden brown to dark brown in colour. It contains up to 50% sucrose, up to 20% invert sugars, and up to 20% moisture, with the remainder made up of other insoluble matter, such as wood ash, proteins, and bagasse fibres. Jaggery is very similar to muscovado, an important sweetener in Portuguese, British and French cuisine. The Kenyan Sukari ngutu/nguru has no fibre; it is dark and is made from sugarcane and also sometimes extracted from palm tree.
Spondias purpura is a species of flowering plant in the cashew family, Anacardiaceae, that is native to tropical regions of the Americas, from Mexico to northern Colombia and the southwest Caribbean Islands. It has also been introduced to and naturalized to other parts of the American tropics, Southeast Asia, and West Africa. It is commonly known as jocote, which derives from the Nahuatl word xocotl, meaning any kind of sour or acidic fruit. Other common names include red mombin, Spanish plum, purple mombin, Jamaica plum, and hog plum.
Palm sugar is a sweetener derived from any variety of palm tree. Palm sugar is sometimes qualified by the type of palm, as in coconut palm sugar. While sugars from different palms may have slightly different compositions, all are processed similarly and can be used interchangeably.
Cendol is an iced sweet dessert that contains droplets of pandan-flavoured green rice flour jelly, coconut milk and palm sugar syrup. It is commonly found in Southeast Asia and is popular in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, and Myanmar. Next to the green jelly, additional toppings might be added, including diced jackfruit, sweetened red azuki beans, or durian.
Borassus flabellifer, commonly known as doub palm, palmyra palm, tala or tal palm, toddy palm, lontar palm, wine palm, or ice apple, is a fan palm native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is reportedly naturalized in Socotra.
Coconut sugar is a palm sugar produced from the sap of the flower bud stem of the coconut palm.
Palm syrup is an edible sweet syrup produced from the sap of a number of palms. It is produced in the Canary Islands and coastal regions of South America.
Es buah is an Indonesian iced fruit cocktail dessert. This cold and sweet beverage is made of diced fruits, such as honeydew, cantaloupe, pineapple, papaya, squash, jackfruit and kolang kaling, mixed with shaved ice or ice cubes, and sweetened with liquid sugar or syrup. The type of fruit used in this dessert may vary, some might add any available fruits such as mango, watermelon or longan — some imported fruits — such as lychee, kiwi, strawberry, pear, peach or grapes. Other ingredients might be added too, such as agar-agar jelly, grass jelly, seaweed or nata de coco.
Moke is a traditional beverage from Flores Island, Indonesia, which is made from fruits of the Borassus flabellifer and Arenga pinnata palm trees. This beverage has many names, including sopi and dewe, but it is most widely known as moke on Flores Island. Moke is considered to be a symbol of friendship and hospitality for the local people.
Philippine wine or Filipino wine are various wines produced in the Philippines. They include indigenous wines fermented from palm sap, rice, job's tears, sugarcane, and honey; as well as modern wines mostly produced from various fruit crops.
Lahang is a traditional sweet and cold beverage from West Java, Indonesia, made from the sap of Arenga pinnata. The drink is commonly known in Indonesia; however, it is usually associated with the Sundanese of West Java. It is known as a traditional isotonic drink.
Palm vinegar or sugar palm vinegar refers to vinegar made from palm or sugar palm sap:
Nipa palm vinegar, also known as sukang sasâ or sukang nipa, is a traditional Filipino vinegar made from the sap of the nipa palm. It is one of the four main types of vinegars in the Philippines, along with coconut vinegar, cane vinegar, and kaong palm vinegar. It is usually sold under the generic label of "palm vinegar".
Tubâ is a Filipino alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm trees. During the Spanish colonial period, tubâ was introduced to Guam, the Marianas, and Mexico via the Manila galleons. It remains popular in Mexico, especially in the states of Colima, Jalisco, Michoacán, Nayarit, and Guerrero. Tubâ was also introduced to the Torres Strait Islands of Australia in the mid-19th century by Filipino immigrant workers in the pearling industry.
Kaong palm vinegar, also known as irok palm vinegar or arengga palm vinegar, is a traditional Filipino vinegar made from the sap of the kaong sugar palm. It is one of the four main types of vinegars in the Philippines, along with coconut vinegar, cane vinegar, and nipa palm vinegar. It is usually sold under the generic label of "palm vinegar".
Nira or lahang is a sweet liquid obtained from the stems of plants such as sugarcane, sugar beet, sorghum, maple, or the sap of the flower stalks (spathe) of the palm family such as arenga palm, coconut, date palm, nipa palm, sago palm, tal and others.
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