Panela: benefits and properties of the best natural sweetener

Surely in your country you do not know her with the name of panela, and yes with the name of rapadura, raspadura, tied sweet, cover of sweet, piloncillo, papelón, chancaca or panocha. It is characterized as a very healthy food, insofar as it can be used as a completely natural sweetener, without providing the empty calories provided by other less healthy sweeteners, as for example is the case of white sugar.

Its only ingredient is the sugarcane juice, which is subjected to a drying process before going through the purification process, in which the juice turns into brown sugar.

Panela stands out as an organic product of 100% natural origin, and we could say that it is characterized precisely by being the whole sugar cane in its maximum extension. That is, when we are faced with a panela, we can be sure that we are actually faced with real cane sugar, and we should not hesitate in the same way as if we were faced with a container with granulated brown sugar that could actually it's about white tinted sugar.

What is panela?

It is quite probable that you have already tried it, especially as a sweetener in natural and homemade desserts, and you probably did not know its name; but what was it delicious? It is known by the name of panela, and depending on the place where you are also known by other names: raspadura, rapadura, sweet tied, sweet top, piloncillo, panocha, papelón, empanizao or chancaca. While in countries like Pakistan or India, it is known by the name of jaggery or gur.

It is characterized as a food whose only ingredient is the sugar cane juice, which is dried before going through the purification process. That same process that turns the juice into brown sugar.

We are faced with an extremely popular product in South America, where in fact it is known with a wide variety of names, such as scraping, rapadura, sweet tied, sweet top, chancaca or piloncillo, among many others.

As we explained briefly at the beginning, we are facing the juice extracted from sugar cane. It is original from Colombia, and its mild caramel flavor makes it an extremely delicious option when it comes to sweetening desserts and drinks.

It becomes, in fact, a much healthier and more nutritious sweetener than white sugar, mainly because Panela is a more natural, pure and handmade sweetener, which is also not refined or bleached, so that it is more healthy and adequate.

In fact, among the benefits of panela more important than we find in this wonderful natural sweetener, we can distinguish especially its large amount of nutrients, in which not only we find vitamins (especially B vitamins, in addition to vitamin A, C, D and E) but also with minerals (particularly calcium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, copper, zinc and manganese).

In addition, as you can imagine, it is a very rich carbohydrate food, among which the presence of sucrose, glucose and fructose, which have a greater biological and nutritional value.

Do you know how you get it and how to use it?

The production of panela is still carried out by hand. In this sense, for its production, the juice of the sugarcane is cooked and subjected to very high temperatures, until the moment in which it begins to form a kind of molasses very dense Later this dense paste is passed through molds to let it dry, set and solidify. It is precisely these molds that give it its curious shape and appearance, whether in the form of a spherical cap, rectangle or prism.

A total of three vessels are used in the manufacturing process. In the first of them begins the cooking of the liquid extracted from the sugar cane, to then pass it to a second where it is transferred impurities and the foam generated by boiling the liquid. And to finish, the same process occurs until reaching the third vessel.

For its production, the juice of the sugarcane is cooked and subjected to high temperatures, until it forms a kind of molasses that is characterized by being quite dense. Later it is passed to molds in the form of a prism or a spherical cap, where it is left to dry until it congeals or solidifies.

Three vessels are used in the manufacturing process, which can be made of bronze or copper. In the first it starts the cooking of the liquid coming from the cane. In the second one, the foam and other impurities that have been generated as a result of the boiling of the first one are transferred. Then, consecutively, the same process occurs until reaching the third vessel.However, the first of the vessels is the one with the best quality, standing out as a semitransparent solid of light brown color.

This elaboration is carried out above all in small factories, which are traditionally known by the name of trapiches.

Benefits of panela

From a nutritional point of view Panela provides us with all the nutrients that sugar cane offers us in its integral version and more natural, so that we are not faced with a food rich in empty calories, but quite the opposite. We can highlight the following benefits:

Incredible nutritional wealth: panela gives us interesting amounts of vitamins of group B, A, C, D and E, minerals such as zinc, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, calcium, copper and manganese, and carbohydrates, among which we can mention fructose ( which has a higher biological value).
It gives us energy: fundamental and necessary for the development of metabolic processes, also helping us to activate ourselves by acting as a totally natural energizer.
Does not contain empty calories: which means that it is a sweetener that not only provides us with essential nutrients, but also does not "steal" nutrients from the body as it does with white sugar.

Nutritional properties of panela

In addition to being a completely natural food, which is produced under totally natural production processes and in which no type of additive or preservative is used, panela provides very interesting qualities and essential nutrients:

Vitamins: Panela is very rich in vitamins of group B, A, C, D and E.
MineralsIt provides good amounts of phosphorus, calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, zinc and copper.
Carbohydrates: as sucrose, in addition to glucose and fructose (which have a higher biological value).
Proteins: although in smaller quantity than carbohydrates.

Taking into account their nutritional qualities and different properties, is not it an excellent food to replace white sugar and opt for it to sweeten your desserts and your drinks ?.

So, why replace sugar with panela?

Already in 2009 a study carried out by the Autonomous University of Barcelona warned that since 2003 the total consumption of sugar per person had increased dangerously 20%, from 24 to 30 kg. per person and year. The reason is obviously clear: we tend to think that we only eat sugar when we add it to our drinks or desserts, but the reality is very different since many of the processed products we eat every day, even if they are not sweet, contain sugars.

Moreover, as many nutritionists warn, in reality 75% of the sugar we eat each day comes from food and processed products, and we can find it in products as widely dispersed and as different as vegetable broth, sauces such as salsa tomato or mayonnaise, or even in pickled cucumbers.

The conclusion is clear: a wide variety of industrial processing products contain sugars but most consumers do not know. And the problem is even greater, because many stop consuming sweets and pastries in order to reduce their consumption of sugars but on the other hand they do not know that they can continue consuming the same amount of sugar without knowing it.

However, when we consider reducing the amount of sugars we eat every day we should not only eliminate sweeteners such as white sugar from our diet. It is also necessary to look at what foods we eat and eliminate ourselves completely from our diet. As usual the most advisable thing in this sense is to eliminate the majority of elaborated products and opt for a balanced diet based on natural foods. A good example is the wonderful Mediterranean diet, so healthy and nutritious.

Another option is substitute sugar for panela, a delicious sweetening option completely natural and that also provide a good amount of essential nutrients, so that we are not faced with a food rich in empty calories as it does with white sugar. This article is published for informational purposes only. You can not and should not replace the consultation with a Nutritionist. We advise you to consult your trusted Nutritionist.