Date Jaggery (Khejur Gur in English): Types, Forms and How to Use It

The food standards law answers this precisely. FSSAI's food category 11.1.6.3 defines Date Jaggery or Gur as the food made by boiling or processing juice pressed out of the date palm. So khejur gur in English is date jaggery, and the longer form is date palm jaggery; the juice comes from the palm itself, which is what separates it from dried dates. People also search for it as nolen gur and patali gur.

The standard splits gur into three categories by source plant: sugarcane for cane jaggery, palmyra or coconut palm for palm jaggery, and the date palm for date jaggery. The general gur standard, which covers the palm kinds including date jaggery, asks on a dry-weight basis for total sugars not less than 90 percent as invert sugar, sucrose not less than 60 percent, extraneous matter not more than 2 percent and total ash not more than 6 percent, with moisture not more than 10 percent for the non-liquid forms. Sulphites are capped at a 50 mg/kg residue across all three categories. Cane jaggery has its own, stricter limits, including 7 percent maximum moisture and 70 percent minimum sucrose, plus a ban on added colour. IFCT 2017 gives a composition for cane jaggery only, 354 kcal, 84.87 g of carbohydrates, 4.63 mg of iron, 107 mg of calcium and 488 mg of potassium per 100 g, shown below for context; IFCT 2017 has no composition for date palm jaggery, and the Sydney glycemic index database carries no jaggery entry of any kind, so no GI number is given. For the sugarcane version's full story, the jaggery hub covers names, nutrition and uses; the palm jaggery page covers the palmyra and coconut kinds.

Per 100 g raw, edible portion. Composition: IFCT 2017 (ICMR-NIN). — means not reported. These are average values for the food; the label on a pack gives the values for that product.

The Sugar Tech review, which is about jaggery from sugarcane juice, describes three forms based on processing: solid, liquid and granular. Since the review does not describe date jaggery itself, the three forms it names are read as the general picture. Solid jaggery is clarified juice concentrated to the striking point of 118 to 120 degrees Celsius, cooled and moulded into shapes; liquid jaggery is taken off the heat at 105 to 106 degrees Celsius, the temperature the review calls most suited to a good-quality syrup with minimum microbial growth and crystallization; granular or powder jaggery is heated to 120 to 122 degrees Celsius, cooled for crystal formation, scraped, sieved and dried to 1 to 2 percent moisture, which the review says gives this form better storability. The FSSAI standard recognises the same spread in its own way: it sets the 10 percent moisture cap for gur other than the liquid or semi-liquid variety. On the composition table in the review, the liquid form runs 30 to 35 percent moisture against 3 to 10 percent for solid gur, so a bottle of liquid gur is a syrup, not a dry sweetener.

The definition gives the method in one line: the juice of the date palm is boiled or processed into gur. The same review fills in the steps jaggery-making follows generally: the juice is clarified, then boiled and concentrated until it reaches the striking point for the form being made, then cooled and moulded, bottled or dried. The review also says the composition of jaggery varies widely with the cane variety, climate and processing method. On sucrose, the FSSAI standard asks the palm kinds for at least 60 percent where the cane standard asks 70. The step-by-step description of cane jaggery production sits on the how jaggery is made page.

The Sugar Tech review says powdered, granular and liquid gur are now manufactured to replace refined white sugar in bakery products, chocolates, confectionery and beverages. In the kitchen that means dissolving it in warm milk or tea, where the jaggery tea recipe shows how gur behaves in a hot drink, melting it into sweets, or using it in place of sugar in bakes. For nolen gur recipes, the jaggery recipes collection is the practical starting point: its recipes are written for cane gur. Remember what it is: the Dietary Guidelines for Indians list jaggery among added sugars and say limiting sugar to 25 g a day is better for health, so gur of any kind is a swap for sugar, not an addition to it.

In law, the test for gur is whether it meets the FSSAI standard: the sugar, ash, extraneous-matter and moisture limits above, and sulphite residue within 50 mg/kg. The review notes that poor hygiene in manufacturing and excessive chemicals used to get attractive colours limit the acceptance of jaggery products. Separately, the FSSAI standard bans added colour in cane gur and caps sulphites across all gur. On storage, the review says the powder form, dried to 1 to 2 percent moisture, has better storability, and the standard limits moisture in every non-liquid form. Store it dry and sealed, away from heat and moisture. The home tests written for cane gur are on the how to identify pure jaggery page, and the how to store jaggery guide takes storage further.

How to eat nolen gur?

As a sweetener, the way jaggery is generally eaten: dissolved in warm milk or tea, melted into sweets, or worked into bakes. The Sugar Tech review records gur being manufactured as a stand-in for refined white sugar in baked goods, chocolates, confectionery and drinks. Keep portions small; it is still added sugar.

How to use nolen gur?

Use it as a sugar with a job to do: stir it into warm liquids until it dissolves, melt it over gentle heat before it goes into a sweet or a batter, and in baking use it in place of white sugar, which is exactly the use the Sugar Tech review describes for gur formulations. Weigh or spoon it the way you would sugar.

How to identify pure nolen gur?

In the legal sense, gur meets the FSSAI gur standard: sugars at least 90 percent as invert sugar, sucrose at least 60 percent for the palm kinds, and sulphite residue within 50 mg/kg. The Sugar Tech review notes that excessive chemicals are used to get attractive colours; the standard separately caps sulphites across gur and bans added colour in cane gur. Buy labelled gur from a maker you can ask.

How to use patali gur?

Neither the FSSAI standard nor the Sugar Tech review mentions patali gur by name. If yours is a solid, moulded cake, it is the solid form the review describes: shave or grate it into warm milk or batter, or melt it gently in a pan before mixing it into a sweet.

How to use liquid nolen gur?

Liquid gur is a ready syrup, so spoon it where a sugar syrup would go: over sweets, into warm milk and tea, or into batters, and stir. The FSSAI standard recognises the liquid or semi-liquid variety, and the review records liquid jaggery at 30 to 35 percent moisture, so it brings water with the sweetness; account for that in bakes.

Is palm jaggery good for diabetes?

None of the references shows it is. IFCT 2017 has no composition entry for date or palm jaggery, the glycemic index database has no jaggery entry, and the Dietary Guidelines for Indians list jaggery among added sugars. If you have diabetes, talk to your doctor or dietitian before using any jaggery; the numbers are laid out on the jaggery for diabetes page.