Organic Coconut Palm Sugar

23 Sep 2021 7 Comments

by promacnyc in All Natural, coffee, General, New, News, organic, Prices, Products, Rave, Staple, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update, vegetarian, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


(UPDATED) This brand “Wholesome” organic coconut palm sugar has has now been replaced by Trader Joe’s own brand, “Trader Joe’s Organic Coconut Sugar”.

FAIR TRADE. CERTIFIED ORGANIC. ALL NATURAL. LOW GLYCEMIC INDEX

“Made from the nectar of the coconut palm tree flower”

I really like this organic coconut palm sugar sold at TJ’s under the original brand name, “Wholesome”. For one thing it tastes amazing in my morning coffee, specifically my Moka pot, Cafe con Leche that I make every morning (#mokapotlover).

https://www.seriouseats.com/moka-pot-cheap-espresso-alternative

This coconut palm sugar is a brownish, granulated sugar which has its own distinctive but subtle taste. The taste of coconut palm sugar is a bit different from brown cane sugar or Turbinado sugar, and I’ve switched to this palm sugar especially for coffee, as it just adds a little something, a very nice subtle flavor. It’s delicious with just a hint of caramel and vanilla notes. I am also using it on yogurt too, just a little sprinkling is excellent. This palm sugar is excellent in any Chinese or Asian recipe which calls for sugar, which most do.

I see people on the net saying how this is “low glycemic” compared to cane sugar, but frankly I don’t know much about that, but I figure it’s important to those watching their blood sugar levels as it may relate to diabetes. So in that sense, this must be a better sugar if you are concerned with your blood sugar level.

TJ sells this palm sugar for $3.99 a one pound bag (which is cheaper than Wholesome sells it for directly) LINK BELOW TO “WHOLESOME” WEBSITE WITH MORE INFO

Organic Coconut Palm Sugar

“Wholesome Organic Coconut Palm Sugar is a rich, unrefined brown sugar that makes an ideal substitute for conventional brown and white sugar. Beyond baking, it’s an excellent choice for sweetening your preferred coffee, preparing sauces and perfecting your favorite Asian dishes, all thanks to its rich molasses taste and caramel overtones.

Made with Care
Contrary to its name, this sugar doesn’t actually come from a coconut, nor does it remotely taste like coconut. The brown sugar’s rich caramel flavor is produced by tapping the sweet nectar from the tropical coconut palm tree flower (a process that’s similar to how maple trees are tapped for maple syrup production).  The nutrient-rich juice is dried in a large open kettle drum and condensed into a delicious whole brown sugar. A natural sugar substitute for baking, this organic product will add depths of flavor to all your favorite recipes.”

RECIPES HERE ON WHOLESOME’S SITE

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Trader Joe’s ORGANIC SUGAR

05 Jun 2018 4 Comments

by promacnyc in General, organic, Products, Rave, Trader Joes Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,


“Trader Joe’s Organic Cane Sugar contains only one ingredient: pure, natural, organic evaporated cane juice…”

…Grown in plantations in Paraguay, the sugar cane is cut by hand…. and delivered to a facility where the cane juice is extracted and evaporated into pure sugar crystals. The evaporation process produces perfect sugar crystals, rich in flavor and molasses.”

EXACTLY. Keep It Natural! The less you do (process) to food products, generally the better it is. For this sugar, the result is a high quality sugar with sugar crystals that have a distinct flavor and slight crunch to the tooth (crystals of this sugar are bigger than refined white “regular” Domino sugar). Its very similar to some sugar I usually look for in Hispanic grocery stores called AZUCAR MORENO (Blond Sugar) which is a “special” sugar that I find especially delicious in coffee. Its kind of hard for me to find Azucar Moreno consistently and this TJ product is almost an exact match for just a tiny bit more per bag, so its a good find for me.

What does this taste like? Very good. It has a very subtle taste of brown sugar but it’s lighter in flavor and color than say “light brown sugar” – which is actually regular refined “white sugar” that has had molasses added back to it. It is molasses, a by product of sugar refinery that has the taste we think of as “brown sugar”.

TJ’s ORGANIC SUGAR has more flavor than regular (white) sugar, but its not as “strong” as brown sugar. It will add just a bit more flavor but not overpower the ingredient it is added to. I think this is especially excellent in coffee, and I also like it sprinkled on plain yogurt, or oatmeal. On yogurt, I like the way it crunches a little bit when you bite it, it doesnt melt immediately, as the grains are bigger than regular white sugar.

A 2 lb. bag of ORGANIC SUGAR costs $3.49, ($1.75/lb) So compared to regular white sugar like Domino I would not call this cheap (Domino or other regular sugar usually costs about 50-60 cents a pound…?) So I personally don’t use this to replace all the regular sugar I use. I still use regular sugar in some things, but I use this stuff in my coffee for example, on my yogurt in the morning, my tea… on cinnamon toast….really whenever I want to taste a premium sugar. So you can use this perhaps as an “affordable luxury” where a little bit kind of goes a long way.

PS – Trader Joe’s does sells molasses, the leftover product that is what is normally extracted in the sugar making process. It has a very strong flavor, and is frequently used in baking. A little molasses also goes a long way. It’s delicious, especially used in baking. They also carry TURBINADO sugar. A bit darker than this one (has more molasses in it) and that is also really excellent!

UPDATE: When I bought this recently the back of the bag no longer says its “Grown on sugar farms in Paraguay”. It says something more generic. the bag had “PRODUCT OF ARGENTINA” electronically printed on it. This sugar compared to my last bag was noticeably a lighter shade in color than the previous bag I had. So it’s a bit different now.

 

 

 

 

 

RECIPE FOR CRYSTALIZED GINGER

26 Jan 2012 2 Comments

by promacnyc in Rave, recipe, Recipes, Trader Joes Tags: , , , ,


Dear Trader Joe’s

We are fed up waiting for you to get back the “Uncrystallized Candied Ginger” in stock.

So here’s a recipe* to make your own, people!  OK. It may not be quite as good as the TJ’s stuff, but it will be tasty and give you your needed ginger candy fix!

RECIPE FOR CRYSTALIZED GINGER

Ingredients

  • 1 pound fresh ginger root
  • non-stick spray
  • 5 cups water
  • Approximately 1 pound granulated sugar

Directions

  • Spray a cooling rack with nonstick spray and set it in a half sheet pan lined with parchment.
  • Peel the ginger root and slice into 1/8-inch thick slices using a mandoline.
  • Place into a 4-quart saucepan with the water and set over medium-high heat. Cover and cook for 35 minutes or until the ginger is tender.

Transfer the ginger to a colander to drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid. Weigh the ginger and measure out an equal amount of sugar. Return the ginger and 1/4 cup water to the pan and add the sugar. Set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently, until the sugar syrup looks dry, has almost evaporated and begins to recrystallize, approximately 20 minutes. Transfer the ginger immediately to the cooling rack and spread to separate the individual pieces. Once completely cool, store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Save the sugar that drops beneath the cooling rack and use to top ginger snaps, sprinkled over ice cream or to sweeten coffee.

PS The fresher the ginger (and younger) the better!

recipe: *courtesy of Alton Brown; Food Network