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If you are trying to make your diet healthy by cutting on white sugar and looking for healthier sweetener alternatives then you are at the right place. More and more people are making important lifestyle changes in their diet for better health and overall being. Refined sugar is poisonous to your health and the repercussions of constant consumption of white sugar are more harmful than you can imagine. But we can all agree that it is very hard to resist tempting desserts. Keeping yourself away from your favourite desserts can lead to overheating at once. So deprivation is never the answer to a healthy lifestyle. Today we will discuss two amazing all the natives to white sugar alternatives. These are jaggery and molasses.
What Are Jaggery And Molasses
Both jaggery and molasses are extracted from the same technique. Jaggery is a very famous natural sweetener that is used in South Asian and African countries and molasses, on the other hand, is a common bakery condiment. We can say that molasses is a byproduct of the production of jaggery. It is made from sugar cane juice that is boiled multiple times. Jaggery is also made from bold sugar cane juice, but it has molasses in it. It is an unrefined kind of sugar and is considered a healthier alternative to most sweeteners that are available today.
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Difference Between Jaggery And Molasses
Let's have a look at the difference between jaggery and molasses. That will help you in understanding which one is the right choice for you.
* Texture And Colour
Jaggery is light brown and caramel. The colour of jaggery also depends on the way that it has been made. You will always see that high-quality jaggery has a more uniform light brown colour and on the other hand. If your jaggery has impurities then its colour will be less uniform. The colour of molasses ranges from light to black straps. So you can easily identify each one of them by just looking at their colours. Coming to the texture, jaggery has a very solid and firm texture. Molasses on the other hand is sticky and thick in texture.
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* Production
Both of these are natural sweeteners and have a similar production process. Jaggery is manufactured by boiling sugar cane juice until it gets a firm and solid shape. This end product is cut into different shapes and mixed with other condiments after which it is sold. Molasses can be classified as a byproduct of jaggery production. Like jaggery, it is also made by boiling sugar cane juice that has the highest possible level of sugar. After boiling this once, the sugarcane juice is boiled for the second time to give it a sticky concentration. molasses can be separated during this stage from the sugar crystals.
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* Taste
Jaggery is a very popular natural sweetener in India and is used in place of white sugar to make desserts and add to tea. It has a taste which is similar to that of caramel with earthy hints of sweetness. The taste of jaggery might also depend on the type of sugarcane that is used in the production. Molasses have a bitter-sweet flavour and are slightly darker. Then jaggery in taste. It tastes like burnt sugar and dark caramel. Some people might also feel slightly bitter undertones in the sweetener. The bitterness present in molasses may also depend on the type of sugarcane that has been used in manufacturing.
* Health Benefits
Both molasses and jaggery are power-packed with a lot of health benefits. Jaggery is filled with calcium, magnesium, and iron and has lots of antioxidant properties. They're also beneficial in helping you with different types of digestive problems that you might face. Molasses have a high potassium, calcium and iron content. It is also very rich in necessary vitamins and minerals. Now you can understand why so many doctors and nutritionists stress using jaggery and molasses instead of white sugar.
* Uses
Jaggery is used to prepare a lot of dishes in India and has been used for ages. There are a lot of special things that are prepared only by specifically using jaggery. This includes almond and jaggery barfi, jaggery pares and jaggery rice. In winter, jaggery is used in almost all sweet dishes and drinks because it provides extra warmth to the body. Moreover, the caramel flavour of jaggery is also used in the preparation of a lot of chutneys and sauces that are sweet and tangy in taste. Molasses as stated above has a slightly bitter taste and adds richness to food. It is used in the preparation of chocolate cakes, cookies, gingerbread, and other bread loaves.
Both jaggery and molasses have their respective benefits and flavours. The usage of these two is quite dynamic and you can introduce these two nutritional and healthy sweeteners into your diet for better health and immunity.
