Khmer ethnic people in An Giang province’s Tinh Bien district are very
proud of their sweet speciality, Thot not sugar, which is made from the
sap of palmyra palms.
This kind of palm sugar is
distinguished by its dark yellow colour, sweat taste and special
flavour, which is quite different from other sorts of sugar.
In Tinh Bien district, almost all houses owned by the Khmer people are surrounded by palmyra palms, sometimes fields full.
Thot
not trees have the appearance of both coconut palms and sugar date
palms. Every year, the trees produce fruit from October to the following
April, according to the lunar calendar.
Thot
not sugar has become popular for its sweet smell. It can be used for
preparing sweetened porridge or other similar dishes.
According to a research by Indian scientists, palmyra palm sugar can
be used for preventing diabetes because of its light sweet taste. It is
also good for preventing strokes and heart problems, especially for
children and women.
Thot not sugar is produced by tapping the sap
from the inflorescence of a palmyra palm. It takes a palmyra palm 15
years to flower and produce enough sap for cooking sugar.
In
order to collect the sap, workers must climb to the top of the palm
tree, cut its flowers and then catch the liquid oozing from the cuts.
Once the sap is collected, it must be cooked within 12 hours. Otherwise
it can become sour.
In April every year, in all corners of the area inhabited by the Khmer people, sugar workshops operate.
Palm sap is poured into a pan and is cooked until it becomes condensed and fragrant.
At
first, the cooking stage is thought to be simple, but it is not so. If
the cook is not careful, the batch of sugar will be burned. Therefore,
it is necessary for the cook to watch the fire and stir constantly for
many hours to get a delicious batch of sugar.
Neang Quach, a
producer of Thot not sugar in Nhon Hung Commune, Tinh Bien district said
for each batch of sugar, she pours around 30 litres of sap and then she
will add some more when it evaporates.
According to her, about 90 litres of sap can produce around 16 kilos of
sugar. When the sap is condensed, she will take the pan out and stir
firmly. Moreover, it is necessary to control the fire carefully.
When
the cooking stage is finished, palm sugar is poured into small round
moulds and then packed in plastic bags. There is also a traditional way
of packaging where the sugar is covered by dry palm leaves.
Today, Thot not sugar is distributed in many localities in the country and also exported to Japan.
A
palm tree can only give about 20 kilos of sugar each crop. In order to
cook a batch of sugar, it is necessary to extract from so many trees.
During the peak season, even at night, many people still work hard to
get the last drops of the sap from the trees.
An Giang
province now accommodates 30,000 palmyra palms that can produce more
than 6,000 tonnes of sugar a year. This is the main income source of the
Khmer people.-VNA