Traditional production, grading, nutritional value, packaging and value addition of palmyra, date, and coconut palm jaggery

Abstract

Palms are among the oldest cultivated plant species, Coconut, Palmyra, and Date palms are the most prominent in India. These palms produce sap that can be harvested year-round or seasonally from unopened spadices. The sap is consumed freshly or processed into value-added products such as jaggery, candy, toddy, and vinegar. Jaggery is the most commercially significant product, traditionally prepared by concentrating palm sap. While over 90% of jaggery production in India is sugarcane-based, jaggery derived from palm saps remains underutilized despite its superior nutritional profile, including higher levels of zinc (up to 2.5 mg/100 g), iron (up to 11.4 mg/100 g), and potassium (up to 1050 mg/100 g). This review comprehensively presents the traditional and improved processing methods, grading standards, nutritional value, and functional benefits of Coconut, Palmyra, and Date palm jaggery. It also discusses storage challenges due to its hygroscopic nature, the prevalence of adulteration with sugarcane derivatives, and emerging detection technologies for quality control. By consolidating fragmented knowledge and emphasizing the regulatory and technological gaps, this review highlights the untapped potential of palm jaggery as a functional sweetener with commercial and therapeutic value.