Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Hi,

For a number of years, we have been chipping palm sugar (drying out) from it's container, just to enjoy that flavor. A new container is pretty wet but becoming harder. I'm thinking about drying it on convection but worried about that taste.

What is that wonderful taste? How do you use it without losing it?

We have tried cooking with it and it gets lost. It also gets lost in ice cream. Give us some ideas.

Tim

ps: Stoopid is as Stoopid does! I just googled and see wonderful ideas at http://www.sugarpalmtree.com/palmsugar-recipes.html

Thanks for the link - I have some and it's a bear to grate or chip off the ol' block, so I haven't used it much. Do you think I would endanger my Cuisinart by using it with the grating disk?

Darcie,

I use my very cheap cleaver to cut veal bones and chop palm sugar. Once chopped, it's safe for the processor.

I have not perfected the drying technique and hope to get to that this week. Sadly, I'm suffering with 6 fresh duck carcasses today.

Tim

I always have palm sugar on hand, both Thai and Malaysian, and surprisingly, one of the things the flavor is noticeably better in is Thai curries. In my early days of cooking Thai I figured "how could a mild flavor like that make any difference, and why waste it in such a strongly flavored dish?" When I made some to test side by side, with light brown (the usual substitute suggested) and white sugars, the flavor was preferred, but the tasters could not identify what it was. And the white sugar was preferred over the light brown, as it seemed that the molasses flavor did not blend as well with the flavors in the dish. That faintly maple syrup like flavor just seems to have an enhancement effect on many of those Thai dishes it is used in.

Have you ever tried the dark Malaysian type? This is cooked down farther, to give it a caramel flavor on top of the palm sugar flavor, which is also very good. This may be something that would hold up in an ice cream.

That link looks great! Thanks!

I use palm sugar in SE Asian dishes in place of regular sugar. I don't know that the flavor actually makes a difference, but I have the stuff around, so why not?

I buy it in big pressed disks and grate it with a microplane.