View source for Chemistry:Panela

{{Short description|Unrefined whole cane sugar, typical of Central America and Latin America}}
{{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 = [[Chemistry:Jaggery|Jaggery]], [[Biology:Palm sugar|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
| right = 1
| source = http://ccbolgroup.com/chancaca.html
}}

'''Panela''' ({{IPA-es|paˈnela}}) or '''rapadura''' (Portuguese pronunciation: {{IPA-pt|ʁapaˈduɾɐ|}}) is an unrefined whole cane sugar, typical of Central and Latin America. It is a solid form of [[Chemistry:Sucrose|sucrose]] derived from the boiling and evaporation of [[Biology:Sugarcane|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}}</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''). The name ''piloncillo'' means ''little loaf'', because of the traditional shape in which this smoky, caramelly and earthy sugar is produced.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mymissiontastesofsf.wordpress.com/2012/05/03/la-diferencia-5-coooking-ingredients-with-an-accent-find-them-in-the-mission/|title=La Diferencia- 5 cooking ingredients with an accent: Find them in the Mission|first=My Mission: Tastes of|last=SF|date=3 May 2012|access-date=8 September 2016}}</ref> Just like brown sugar, there are two varieties of piloncillo; one is lighter (blanco) and one darker (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. Panela is also known as '''rapadura''' in Portuguese. Elsewhere in the world, the word [[Chemistry:Jaggery|jaggery]] describes a similar foodstuff. Both of them are considered [[Chemistry:Non-centrifugal cane sugar|non-centrifugal cane sugar]]s.<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 wine-making.

==Regional names==
<!--C-->
* ''[[Chemistry:Chancaca|Chancaca]]'' 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
<!--G-->
* ''Gura'' in Afghanistan
* ''Gurr'' in Pakistan
<!--J-->
* ''Jaggery'', ''Bella'' (ಬೆಲ್ಲ), ''Gur'', ''Sharkara'', or ''Vellam''  in India
<!--N-->
* ''Nam oy'' in Laos
<!--P-->
* ''Panela'' in Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela
* ''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, Cuba, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, and the Dominican Republic
* ''Raspadura'' in Cuba, Ecuador and Panama
<!--T-->
* ''Tapa de dulce'' or ''Dulce (de tapa)'' in Costa Rica and Nicaragua

== Economics ==
[[Image:Rapadura na tábua.jpg|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 [[Social:Per capita|per capita]] worldwide. Panela is also produced in Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico,<ref>[http://blogvisitatachira.blogspot.com/2006/11/el-dulce-proceso-de-la-panela.html Dentro del Táchira: El Dulce Proceso de la Panela<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Panama, Peru, {{wipe|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 [[Finance:Rural economics|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}} 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 ==
Panela was originally created as an easier way to transport sugar.

It is used to make ''[[Chemistry:Chancaca|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 sopaipilla.

A  very common use of panela in Colombia is for ''aguapanela'', one of the most widely consumed beverages in Colombia, 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 [[Biology:Anise|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}}</ref>

==Health claims==
Panela manufacturers and advocates claim the substance to be healthier than refined sugar, suggesting it has immunological benefits, a lower [[Medicine:Glycemic index|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 Barclay|last1=Ph.D|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>

===Patent===
In May 2019, the following patent was issued, claiming health benefits achieved by a particular method of processing raw sugarcane:

{{patent|US|10632167|"System and method for processing raw sugarcane maximizing the preservation of policosanols during production of a shelf stable potable cholesterol-reducing product"}}<ref name="NYT Smith"/>
== National Panela Pageant ==
The National Panela Pageant takes place in the town of Villeta, Cundinamarca, in Colombia.  This town is famous for its production of sugarcane, but the festivities occur in almost all national departments of Colombia in January of each year. Villeta is located {{cvt|91|km}} from Bogota and has 37,300 inhabitants. The festival has been celebrated since 1977 as a tribute to the hard work and craftsmanship with which the people of the region make panela. It creates a sense of regional and national unity and the sharing of a common bond. Each year, a National Queen is crowned, on the basis of beauty, popularity, and knowledge about the production and marketing of panela.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
|This is the front of the Museum of Brown Sugar, a sugar plantation with historic features in the city of Aquiraz, Ceará, Brazil.
|Rapadura with cashew from ''Museu da Rapadura''
File:Largest rapadura.jpg|Claimed to be the world's largest ''rapadura'', on display on a farm southeast of Fortaleza, Ceara.</gallery>

==See also==
*Caramelization
*[[Biology:Palm sugar|Palm sugar]]
*''Papelón con limón'', a drink made with panela
*''[[Chemistry:Peen tong|Peen tong]]'', a Chinese slab brown sugar and sugar candy

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==


[[Category:Food technology]]
[[Category:Sugar]]

{{Sourceattribution|Panela|1}}