Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Hi,

Run, don't walk, to your local Vietnamese, Indonesian or Thai grocery store. Look for this unrefined palm sugar and be prepared for blast of flavor that is addicting.

Serious Eats said, "First encounters are reminiscent of someone's first bite of caramel when all they've had is table sugar. There are powerful notes of roasted coffee, smoke, and caramel, with the weighty satisfaction of fudge offset by an addictive bitterness and a verdant twang. Look in Indonesian- and Thai-friendly groceries for it, where it will be sold in cylinders. You can also find it online at Gilt Taste.

This is sugar best treated like a fine balsamic vinegar.... It's the only sugar I know of that should be used sparingly not because it'll oversweeten a dish, but because it'll be too pungent."

I paid $2.29 per pound in St. Louis. On-line its $5 per pound. It is much softer that panela or piloncillo and much more flavorful. I just made a batch of mascarpone and bought some wonderful smelling berries.

Do yourself a flavor and try Gula Jawa - It's also fun to say....

Tim

Gula Jawa? I think that was a character in Star Wars Episode 2.

At six mph (with sleeping breaks) I should be there in...oh, about a week.

Amy

That is good stuff, Tim! I keep a chopped up jar of it on my Asian turntable, along with the milder Thai and Vietnamese sugars, and this is the only one I eat when I take it out for a recipe (and sometimes just when I see it, when getting another ingredient! That potency you refer to is even too much in Thai dishes, but it is so good in those Malaysian dishes!

Too bad I don't have any of those ethnic stores here - It sounds great.

Gee Whiz, talk about being in the middle of a candy store. Guess I'll have to wander down to the local public market. My wife tells me there is lots of it there, though not as dark as the photo Tim posted.