Production process and its influence on the quality of palm sugar from various regions in South Sulawesi

Abstract

Palm sugar is one of the Non Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) that have high economic value. The quality of palm sugar is one of the important factors that affected the success of the palm sugar business and this quality is determined by the raw materials and the production process. This research aims were to evaluate the quality of palm sugar produced in various regions in South Sulawesi and to analysis the factors that affected their quality. To achieve these aims, the sample of palm sugar product were collected from Maros, Bone, Sidrap and Sinjai Regencies and then all the samples evaluated their quality at The Makassar Plantation Product Industrial Office (Balai Besar Industri Hasil Perkebunan) according to Indonesian National Standard of Palm Sugar (SNI Gula Palma) No. 01-3743-1995. In addition, the production process of the palm sugar in every area also observed and recorded. The results show that the quality of all palm sugar produced from all regencies mostly meets the standard, except palm sugar from Sinjai Regency due to it is exceeding the maximum value of lead (Pb) content. Moreover, production process and the tools used by the community in these areas in general are the same. The production process of palm sugar begins with tapping the sap in the morning and evening. Furthermore, the sap is cooked for approximately 6-8 hours until the sap thickens and is ready to be molded. The tools used in this process such as pans, straw, sieves, molding tools in the form of coconut shells and wooden molds in the form of bricks, and firewood as fuel. Natural preservatives applied to inhibit the fermentation on the sap, locally known as tappajeng root and garcinia leaves. Therefore, it can be concluded that the production process which is almost the same in each region causes the quality of the palm sugar also almost the same and meets the quality of palm sugar in accordance with Indonesian National Standard of Palm Sugar (SNI Gula Palma).