At this time brown sugar is the best choice as a natural sweetener which is claimed to be “healthier” than other sweeteners. Brown sugar is natural sugar made from coconut flower extract and palm flower extract. The aroma of brown sugar in general has a sweet and distinctive aroma. However, not a few brown sugar has a bitter taste and burnt aroma. So, why does brown sugar smell burnt and taste bitter?
Source of Coconut Flower Extract
Coconut flower essence or commonly called coconut sap is harvested from coconut plantations. The taste of coconut sap is influenced by the geographical location of the coconut plantations and also the majority plants around the coconut plantations. Geographically, coconut sap that is planted near the ocean will produce coconut sap that is not too sweet, the taste tends to be salty and savory. In contrast to coconut sap which is harvested from the highlands with good irrigation and away from other plants such as rubber trees, sengon trees, teak trees, etc., it will produce sweet coconut sap. Plants around rubber plantations will affect the quality of coconut sap, for example coconut sap from coconut and sengon plantations, so the resulting coconut sap will be slightly bitter and less coconut-flavored.
Brown Sugar Cooking Process
Traditionally the coconut flower extract used as raw material for brown sugar is harvested by coconut sap farmers. Coconut flower extract from the harvest will be cooked by a coconut sugar cook. In the cooking process, the coconut sugar cook uses a large stove with wood fuel. The types of wood used are very diverse, ranging from jackfruit tree wood, mahogany tree wood, mango tree wood to coconut shells. The best wood produces long-lasting coals so that the consistency is better maintained. If the coals are too big, it will cause the brown sugar solution to smell burnt. In addition, during the cooking process, the coconut sugar cook will throw away the smoke from burning the firewood. This is to keep brown sugar away from contamination with aroma due to combustion smoke. So that the brown sugar will still have a delicious aroma and will not smell burnt.
Those are some of the factors that cause brown sugar to smell burnt. Even though it smells burnt, brown sugar is still suitable and delicious to consume. And proves that the brown sugar is processed traditionally and its production is far from using chemical fuels.
Article : BASFOOD Organic Coconut Sugar Supplier & Exporter
