Khandsari or Desi Khand: Beyond Belief Experience with Indian Sugar

Saturday, May 2, 2020

Category: Healthy Lifestyle, Indian Healthy Food Products

Hello beautiful and peaceful soul,

I must say, most of the people have sweet tooth, but due to negative impact of refined sugars on body, such as lack of nutrition value, weight gain, diabetes, tooth cavities, heart diseases and many more (1), there is a need to cut down refined sugar from our diet. What if we have nutritive substitute for refined sugar so that we can enjoy our sweet dishes without any guilt. Thankfully, we have unrefined and partially refined sugars. Does that mean we can have as much sugar in our diet as we crave for? Hold on guys, too much sugar in any form is not good for health because all forms of sugar are high in calories, low in fiber, and absorb quickly to spike our blood glucose levels (2). The only difference is, we can expect nutrients from unrefined and partly refined sugar which have been completely depleted from refined sugar. The processing of refined sugar to make it whiter and to remove all impurities in turn results in removal of all the molasses which is the treasure of many minerals such as calcium, phosphorous, iron, magnesium potassium and antioxidants (3). Unlike refined sugar, unrefined sugar or partly refined sugar are not treated with chemicals in refining process so, molasses and nutrients remain intact (4).

It has been said that India is homeland of sugar and references of sugar making such as "Gur" and "khand" are found in many ancient texts. One of the ancient texts of "Ayurveda" created by “Vagbhata” called “Asthanghridyam”, talked about the benefits of sugar such as "Jaggery" (gur), "Khand", "Desi Mishri". So, here, I will talk about the “Khandsari” or “Desi Khand” which is obtained from sugarcane, the largest growing plant in India. Sugarcane plant is native to India and also known as “ikshu” and grown in India since vedic times (5,6). Khandsari, is technically considered either a non-centrifugal cane sugar (unrefined) or a centrifuged refined sugar (partly refined) depending on the manufacturing process. It contains high levels of various minerals and antioxidants than processed white sugar, and is therefore, considered healthier. If we talk about its storage, I prefer to store it in an airtight container as it changes its color and texture in winter and rainy season due to absorption of moisture.

It varies in color due to varying percentage of molasses in it depending on the process of manufacturing. In manual production method, it is made from the juice of sugar cane that is crystalized by evaporation. The viscous suspension of crystals and mother liquor (molasses) is called massecuite. The massecuite is crystalized by cooling it in pans with continuous shearing using a large spatula. Considering this process, I believe khandsari made from manual method should be rich in molasses and dark brown in color. Hope to see it someday. The industrial centrifuge method on the other hand involve crystallization of massecuite using a centrifuge to separate a crystal rich mush that is drained of its molasses. Therefore, I believe khandsari made by industrial method has less molasses content and light in color.

In traditional khandsari industry, sugar manufacturing involves 4 basic steps: juice extraction, purification, concentration by open pan boiling, and solidification of concentrated juice. Juice extraction was traditionally done by crushing the sugarcane with the help of animals. However, to increase the output, they started using mechanical rollers. Mechanical rollers also reduce the moisture content and loss of sugar in bagasse. Traditionally, the purification of juice was carried out by adding mucilaginous extract from various vegetables. Since these vegetable clarificants have albumin in them, it coagulates on heating. This coagulated mass, enclosing dehydrated colloids, coagulated colloids, protein matter of juice, rises to the surface on boiling juice and forms scum. This scum is then removed by bamboo or wooden sticks. The overflow of rising scum is avoided by sprinkling water or castor seed emulsion. The juice, after clarification, is transferred in iron boiling pan called “bel” with the help of ladle. These bels are then heated by firing bagasse in a furnace. This juice is first heated to 98-96^oC and then concentrated at 105-106 ^oC in numerous pans. This is followed by solidification and crystallization in crystallizers which delivers non-uniform crystals of sugar. The sugar crystals are separated from molasses by centrifugation with slight washing. The process of separating sugar crystals is mechanical hence keeping the sugar chemical free. No bleaching and refining agents are used in this process.

Modern methods on the other hand includes use of chemicals such as Sulphur dioxide as clarificant, bleaching agent and neutralizer for sugarcane juice. This is a matter of concern as sulphur is known to be responsible for varieties of respiratory diseases (7, 8). So, I recommend you to buy organic or chemical free khandsari. Moreover, I recommend to buy loose khandsari from local store instead of packaged one. As per my experience, loose khandsari has a pale brown color but packaged one is usually off white in color. So, perhaps later is more refined to get a clean color. It is recommended to always clean loose khandsari before use. Generally, I use it to make tea, coffee and occasionally in deserts where jaggery and jaggery powder cannot be used. Believe me, khandsari does not change the color or taste of food.

My experience of regular use of khandsari:

          Friends, after knowing the benefits of khandsari over refined sugar, I started using khandsari bought from a local store. I am really happy to share my experience. The changes are so remarkable that I have decided to continue using it for my whole life.

            One of the major benefits I noticed is that my acne problem has been resolved completely without any reoccurrence. I was under impression that my acne problem is because of use of comedogenic moisturizer so I started using argan oil (https://thepureknowledge.blogspot.com/2019/03/review-rouh-argan-carrier-oil.html). Though it gave me great relief, but it was more superficial. Slowly I realized that this has nothing to do with comedogenic moisturizer. Then, what else? I take simple and homemade healthy food, with minimum use of oil. Still is there something in my diet which could lead to this problem? Slowly I learned that too much sugar is also responsible for acne. Though I do not take much sugar, still I thought of giving unrefined sugar a try. Believe me, it did wonders for me. Now, no acne and I can freely use any moisturizer!!!

The other change is the disappearance of eye bags completely and reduction of dark circles.

Third and the most surprising one is that I do not crave for sugar now and feel more active and energetic.

            Guys, I am saying this again, khandsari is also added sugar, so have it in moderation or lesser quantity. As, all forms of sugars give more or less same number of calories, but unrefined or partly refined sugar also provide nutrients along with energy. So, it is a comparatively better alternative to white sugar for things where we cannot use jaggery, jaggery powder (shakkar in India).

         Hopefully, my experience will motivate you people to replace refined sugar with this Indian sugar. By using khandsari in our diet, we not only improve our health but we are also helping small farmers who have preserved the traditional way of producing these sugars in this era.

Think healthy, eat healthy

Take care all of you

Yours well wisher

Purnima Ghai  

References:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324854
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/too-much-sugar
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318719
http://www.aelsindia.com/rjcesjune2017/2.pdf
https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/agriculture/sugarcane-and-janaki-ammal/article6503564.ece
https://insa.nic.in/writereaddata/UpLoadedFiles/IJHS/Vol44_4_2_MRoy.pdf
https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/science/sweet-talk-is-white-sugar-minus-the-sulphur/
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257925266_Process_improvements_in_Khandsari_cottage_sugar_industry_in_India