Palm Sugar

palm sugar Palm sugar is refined from the sap of the sugar palm and is produced and widely used in India, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and other parts of Southeast Asia. It is available in South and Southeast Asian groceries, often sold in round disks about half an inch thick and three inches across. You may also find it in cellophane-wrapped blocks (looking rather like maple sugar). In either case, the lumps of sugar are very hard, and we have found the easiest way to handle it is to use a sharp knife to scrape off shavings of sugar. These are easy to measure and also dissolve more quickly than lumps do. Palm sugar has a delightful, slightly smoky taste; brown sugar may be substituted.