The art to extract sap (nora) from coconut trees and make brown sugar was probably introduced into Tanah Melayu by early immigrants of Hindu-India that may go back to the time of Bujang Valley. The coconut tree climbers wore only loin cloths then until a half century ago. They were into toddy (fermented sap which contains alcohol) drinking not so much of making brown sugar or nira taking.
Traditionally, the Malays prefer to collect nira and make brown sugar (gula kabong) from the anau (kabong) palm found in abundance in natural groves in villages. The palm is easier to climb with the aid of a bamboo ladder. Chinese village shopkeepers then helped to commercialise gula melaka.
The palmyra palm found in abundance in the India-Burma region is also commonly utilised to for sap extraction.
The basic steps to make brown coconut sugar or jaggery (gula melaka):
1. Climb a young coconut tree to look for an unopened flower stalk.
2.. The upper petal of the flower-bearing stalk is bound shut to prevent the bud opening.
3. . The flower-bearing stalk is bent gradually downward and the tip is cut off so that the sap (nira) can ooze out unhampered.
4. The sap is boiled until it becomes a thick orange-brown mass which is then stirred until it crystallizes.
5. The mixture is poured into bamboo canes where it cools and turns hard that you have then to grate or chop it.
A simple way of boiling the sap.
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