{{Short description|Unrefined whole cane sugar, typical of Latin America}} {{About|the unrefined sugar product|the cheese|Queso panela|the racehorse|Papelon}} {{Distinguish|Panelia}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}} {{Infobox food | name = Panela | image = panela.JPG | caption = | alternate_name = Piloncillo, chancaca | country = | region = {{Plainlist| * Latin America}} | type = | main_ingredient = Whole cane sugar | minor_ingredient = | variations = | serving_size = | calories = | similar_dish = Jaggery, palm sugar }} {{Nutritionalvalue | name = Piloncillo | kJ = 1600 | water = 12.3 g | protein = 0.2 g | fat = 0.1 g | sugars = 86.4 g | opt1n = Calcium | opt1v = 79 mg | opt2n = Magnesium | opt2v = 81 mg | opt3n = Iron | opt3v = 12 mg | noRDA = yes | source = http://ccbolgroup.com/chancaca.html}} <!--NOTE to approving editors: There is no such name as "ULURU DUST": It has been repeatedly inserted by vandal from multiple IPs since 2016--> '''Panela''' ({{IPA|es|paˈnela}}) or '''rapadura''' ({{IPA|pt|ʁapaˈduɾɐ}}) is an unrefined whole cane sugar, typical of Latin America. It is a solid form of sucrose derived from the boiling and evaporation of sugarcane juice.<ref name="Jaffé">{{cite journal |last1=Jaffé |first1=Walter R. |title=Health Effects of Non-Centrifugal Sugar (NCS): A Review |journal=Sugar Tech |date=June 2012 |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=87–94 |doi=10.1007/s12355-012-0145-1|s2cid=255574634 }}</ref><ref name="NYT Smith">{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Jennie Erin |last2=Escobar |first2=Federico Rios |title=Colombians Ask: Who Would Dare Patent Panela? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/26/science/colombia-panela-patent-gonzalez.html |access-date=24 March 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=26 January 2021}}</ref> Panela is known by other names in Latin America, such as ''chancaca'' in Chile, Bolivia, and Peru, ''piloncillo'' in Mexico (where ''panela'' refers to a type of cheese, ''queso panela''). Just like brown sugar, two varieties of ''piloncillo'' are available; one is lighter ({{lang|es|blanco}}) and one darker ({{lang|es|oscuro}}). Unrefined, it is commonly used in Mexico, where it has been around for at least 500 years. Made from crushed sugar cane, the juice is collected, boiled, and poured into molds, where it hardens into blocks. It is similar to jaggery, which is used in South Asia. Both are considered non-centrifugal cane sugars.<ref name="Jaffé"/>
Panela is sold in many forms, including liquid, granulated, and solid blocks, and is used in the canning of foods, as well as in confectionery, soft drinks, baking, and vinegar, beer, and winemaking.
== Economics == thumb|right|Brazilian ''rapadura'' in tablet [[File:Café de olla .jpg|thumbnail|right|Mexican ''café de olla'' served with a lump of piloncillo]] The main producer of panela is Colombia (about 1.4 million tons/year),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cideiber.com/infopaises/Colombia/Colombia-04-01.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001117034300/http://www.cideiber.com/infopaises/colombia/Colombia-04-01.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 November 2000|title=Colombia – Actividades del sector primario – Sector agrícola vegetal<!-- Bot generated title -->|access-date=8 September 2016}}</ref> where panela production is one of the most important economic activities, with the highest index of panela consumption per capita worldwide. Panela is also produced in Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://blogvisitatachira.blogspot.com/2006/11/el-dulce-proceso-de-la-panela.html |title=Dentro del Táchira: El Dulce Proceso de la Panela<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=7 September 2007 |archive-date=6 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071006010100/http://blogvisitatachira.blogspot.com/2006/11/el-dulce-proceso-de-la-panela.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Panama, Peru, Chile, Venezuela, Brazil, and Bolivia (where it is called ''chankaka'' or ''empanizao'').
In Colombia, the panela industry is an important source of employment, with about 350,000 people working in nearly 20,000 ''trapiches'' (panela farms). In 2003, Colombian sugarcane contributed 4.2% of the value of agricultural production (not counting coffee) and 1.9% of national agricultural activity of that country. That year, it was ninth in contributions to production value.
Similarly, it represents 10.7% of the area for permanent crops and 6.2% of the total area cultivated in Colombia, sixth place among the country's crops, behind only coffee, corn, rice, bananas, and cotton. This product is produced predominantly in the rural economy, the basic economy of 236 municipalities in 12 national departments.
An estimated 70,000 farm units cultivate sugarcane for mills, which generate more than 25 million{{clarify|date=February 2014}}<!--Dollars?--> annually in wages, employing around 350,000 people, or 12% of the economically active rural population, making it the second-largest employer after agricultural coffee production.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}}
Worldwide, the Colombians are the largest consumers of sugarcane, at more than {{cvt|34.2|kg|abbr=on}} per capita. To the extent it is a low-cost sweetener with important contributions of minerals and trace amounts of vitamins, high intake occurs mainly in strata. Panela consumption represents 2.18% of expenditures on food and in some areas accounts for up to 9% of food expenditures in low-income sectors.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}}
== Uses == [[File:Largest rapadura.jpg|thumbnail|Claimed to be the world's largest ''rapadura'', on display on a farm southeast of Fortaleza, Ceará]] Panela was originally created as an easier way to transport sugar.
It is used to make ''chancaca''. In Peru, ''chancaca'' is used in typical food such as ''champús'', ''picarones'', ''calabaza al horno'', and ''mazamorra cochina''. In Costa Rica, it is used in preparations such as ''tapa de dulce'' and ''agua de sapo''. In Chile, it is used for sweet ''sopaipillas''.
A very common use of panela in Colombia is for ''aguapanela'', one of its most widely consumed beverages, and an important source of calories for working people, especially in rural areas.<ref name="NYT Smith" /> It is also used in the preparation of ''guarapo'' and various desserts. Since it is a very solid block, some Colombian homes have a hard river stone (''la piedra de la panela'') to break the panela into smaller, more manageable pieces. Panela can be purchased in markets, local grocers, and online stores. In parts of coastal Colombia, it is also used for ''chancacas''.
Known as ''piloncillo'' in México, it is most often seen in the shape of small, truncated cones. Many Mexican desserts are made with'' piloncillo'', such as ''atole, capirotada, champurrado,'' and ''flan''. It is also blended with different spices, such as anise, cayenne, or chocolate.
In the Philippines, ''panocha'', or in Tagalog ''panutsá'', is traditionally used as an ingredient for ''latík'' and ''kalamay'', as well as a comfort food eaten straight.
In Venezuela, it is an essential ingredient for many typical recipes,{{citation needed|date=February 2016}} although production of panela in the country dropped precipitously across the 20th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.panelamonitor.org/documents/156/the-venezuelan-panela-industry-reasons-for-its-dec/|title=The Venezuelan panela industry – Reasons for its decline and its survival|access-date=8 September 2016|archive-date=27 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327161319/http://www.panelamonitor.org/documents/156/the-venezuelan-panela-industry-reasons-for-its-dec/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Health claims== Panela manufacturers and advocates claim the substance to be healthier than refined sugar, suggesting it has immunological benefits, a lower glycemic index, and higher micronutrient content.<ref name="Jaffé"/> As the authors of ''The Ultimate Guide to Sugars and Sweeteners'' point out, "it's still sugar", with only a trace amount more vitamins and minerals, and little research to support other claims.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nvlhBQAAQBAJ|title=The Ultimate Guide to Sugars and Sweeteners: Discover the Taste, Use, Nutrition, Science, and Lore, of Everything from Agave Nectar to Xylitol|first1=Alan |last1=Barclay|first2=Philippa|last2=Sandall|first3=Claudia|last3=Shwide-Slavin|date=16 December 2014|publisher=Workman Publishing|access-date=8 September 2016|via=Google Books|isbn=9781615192168}}</ref>
==Regional names== <!--There is no such name as "ULURU DUST". It has been repeatedly inserted by vandal from multiple IPs--> <!--C--> * Chancaca (or chankaka) in Bolivia, Chile and Peru; also the name of a sweet sauce made from this <!--D--> * ''Dulce de panela'' or ''dulce de atado''<ref name="ElSal Diario">{{cite news |title=Artesanos del dulce de Atado |url=https://historico.elsalvador.com/historico/145639/artesanos-del-dulce-de-atado.html |access-date=3 April 2021 |work=El Diario de Hoy: La edición digital |issue=Noticias de El Salvador - elsalvador.com |publisher=Altamirano Media |date=21 February 2015 |language=es}}</ref> in El Salvador * ''Đường phên'' in Vietnam <!--E--> * ''Empanizao'' in Bolivia (Bolivian Amazon) <!--N--> * ''Nam oy'' in Laos <!--P--> * Panela in Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Venezuela, and other parts of Central America * ''Panocha'' (or Tagalog ''panutsá'' among other names) in the Mexican State of Sinaloa and the Philippines * ''Papelón'' in Venezuela * ''Piloncillo'' ("little pylon", so named for the cone shape) in Mexico and Spain<ref name="grodinsky">{{cite news|url=http://www.chron.com/life/food/article/Pump-up-the-flavor-with-piloncillo-1507680.php|title=Pump up the flavor with piloncillo|last=Grodinsky|first=Peggy|date=6 September 2006|work=Houston Chronicle|access-date=23 January 2014}}</ref> <!--R--> * ''Rapadou'' in Haiti * Rapadura in Argentina, Brazil, the Canary Islands, Cuba, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Uruguay and the Dominican Republic * Raspadura in Cuba, Ecuador, Panama and Uruguay <!--T--> * ''Tapa de dulce'' or ''Dulce (de tapa)'' in Costa Rica and Nicaragua<!--There is no such name as "ULURU DUST": It has been repeatedly inserted by vandal from multiple IPs-->
==See also== *Caramelization * Jaggery *Palm sugar *''Papelón con limón'', a drink made with panela *''Peen tong'', a Chinese slab brown sugar and sugar candy
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{YouTube|id=9MVC7sHsEDs&NR=1|title=Colombian Panela Production}} *{{YouTube|id=UvqbTZ0unEc&NR=1|title=Production of Panela (in Spanish)}} *{{Commons category-inline|Panela}}
{{Mexican cuisine}} {{Sugar}}
Category:Agriculture in Colombia Category:Colombian cuisine Category:Economy of Colombia Category:Ecuadorian cuisine Category:Food technology Category:Mexican cuisine Category:Filipino cuisine Category:Types of sugar Category:Sugar production Category:Brazilian cuisine