Is Palm Sugar or Jaggery a Better Option than Sugar?

Over the last few years, palm sugar, also known as, jaggery has been promoted as a natural sugar alternative. It is considered to be healthier than standard cane sugar, but is this really the case? And is palm sugar or cane sugar always the best choice? Read on to learn the similarities and differences between these two options.

The Differences Between Palm Sugar and Cane Sugar

The most obvious major difference between palm sugar and cane sugar is their sources of origin. They are technically both plant based sources of sugar, but jaggery is made by reducing the sap of coconut palms, and cane sugar is made by reducing sugar from cane juice.

The second most obvious difference between the two is that palm sugar is actually much less sweet than cane sugar. Some researchers estimate that it is 75% less sweet than cane sugar. The lack of sweetness may be due to the fact that palm sugar still contains nutrients, while cane sugar typically doesn’t have many nutrients at all.

Jaggery also possesses a lower glycemic index than cane sugar, which means it doesn’t raise your blood sugar levels as easily. Palm sugar has a glycemic index of 35 while cane sugar has glycemic index of 60. Jaggery also helps to lower your blood sugar levels because it is a natural source of insulin.

When to Use Which

You can use either sugar source in place of the other, but you may not want to utilize them for the same thing. Since jaggery is less sweet than cane sugar, you will have to use more of it to get the same effect as cane sugar. This can be troublesome if you’re making something that is required to be very sweet like a dessert. If you just need to mildly sweeten up something, palm sugar makes for a better alternative.