Miel de palma (lit. palm honey, also palm syrup) is an edible sweet

syrup In cooking, a syrup (less commonly sirup; from ar, شراب; , beverage, wine and la, sirupus) is a condiment that is a thick, viscous liquid consisting primarily of a solution of sugar in water, containing a large amount of dissolved suga ...

produced from the

sap Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separ ...

of a number of palms. It is produced in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Mo ...

and coastal regions of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

Species

In the Canary Islands, palm syrup (''miel de palma'') is produced from the Canary Island Date Palm ('' Phoenix canariensis''). In

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

, palm syrup (''miel de palma'') is produced from the

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

Chilean Wine Palm ''Jubaea'' is a genus of palms with one species, ''Jubaea chilensis'' or ''Jubaea spectabilis'', commonly known in English as the Chilean wine palm or Chile cocopalm, and palma chilena in Spanish. It is native to southwestern South America and i ...

('' Jubaea chilensis'').C. Michael Hogan. 2008
''Chilean Wine Palm: Jubaea chilensis'', GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
Other species used include the coconut palm, sugar palm, and palmyra palm.

Production in the Canary Islands

Most guarapo and miel de palma production occurs in the municipality of Vallehermoso on

La Gomera La Gomera () is one of Spain's Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. With an area of , it is the third smallest of the eight main islands of this archipelago. It belongs to the province of Santa Cruz de Ten ...

. The process of collecting sap from the palm and concentrating it into syrup is similar in many ways to the process used for

maple syrup Maple syrup is a syrup made from the sap of maple trees. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before winter; the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in late winter and early spring. Maple t ...

. The sap, known as ''guarapo'' or ''garapa'', is collected from a bowl-shaped depression cut into the

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

of the tree. As guarapo spoils quickly in sunlight, the harvesting is done overnight. Every evening during the harvesting season, the ''guarapero'' (farmer) prepares each tree. He climbs to the top of the tree, often using a

ladder A ladder is a vertical or inclined set of rungs or steps used for climbing or descending. There are two types: rigid ladders that are self-supporting or that may be leaned against a vertical surface such as a wall, and rollable ladders, such ...

, uses a sharp

knife A knife ( : knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evide ...

chisel A chisel is a tool with a characteristically shaped cutting edge (such that wood chisels have lent part of their name to a particular grind) of blade on its end, for carving or cutting a hard material such as wood, stone, or metal by hand, s ...

to trim the bowl to remove surface crust and open the pores, and hoists a bucket into place beneath a pipe or channel leading from the bowl.bienmesabe.org, "La Gomera. La cultura de la palma (1)" (in Spanish)
/ref> Early the next morning, he returns and collects the filled buckets, containing ten or more litres from each tree. The harvested guarapo is then brought to, or collected by, a local processing plant, or may be processed on site. Processing involves boiling the guarapo for several hours until it is reduced by about 90% to a dark brown syrup that is rich and sweet. It is then packaged, typically in glass jars.pellagofio.com, "De la savia de las palmeras, un jarabe llamado ‘miel’" (in Spanish)
/ref> Palm syrup will tend to thicken and crystallize over time. After about four to five months of being harvested every day, during the period January to June, a tree needs five years to recuperate before it is used again.

Uses

Miel de palma is used to accompany many pastries and desserts, such as

pancake A pancake (or hotcake, griddlecake, or flapjack) is a flat cake, often thin and round, prepared from a starch-based batter that may contain eggs, milk and butter and cooked on a hot surface such as a griddle or frying pan, often frying wit ...

s and

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as ...

. The syrup is widely used in Southeast Asian cooking. In

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the four ...

, where it is known as ''jhola gur'', is only obtainable in winter. Its sweetness tempers the flavours of spicy

curries A curry is a dish with a sauce seasoned with spices, mainly associated with South Asian cuisine. In southern India, leaves from the curry tree may be included. There are many varieties of curry. The choice of spices for each dish in tradit ...

, adding its rich,

molasses Molasses () is a viscous substance resulting from refining sugarcane or sugar beets into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, method of extraction and age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is primarily used to sweeten and flavour foods ...

-like flavour to the food. It is also widely used as an ingredient in desserts, or drizzled over prepared foods. Palm sap is a refreshing drink, and fermented palm syrup is distilled to produce various alcohols such as

arrack Arrack is a distilled alcoholic drink typically produced in India, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, made from the fermented sap of coconut flowers or sugarcane, and also with grain (e.g. red rice) or fruit depending upon the country of origin. It ...

, a spirit similar to

rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is usually aged in oak barrels. Rum is produced in nearly every sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Phi ...

. On La Gomera, the palm honey obtained from the sap is mixed with 'Parra' (similar to grappa) to produce Gomerón. Palm syrup is also traditionally used on La Gomera for general medicinal purposes.

References

{{reflist

External links

Photo-series showing the production of miel de palma
Canary Islands cuisine La Gomera Syrup Edible palms

Species

Production in the Canary Islands

Uses

See also

References

External links