Last Updated on May 21, 2021
Palm jaggery production is one of the main occupations for a livelihood in Cambodia. As we drove down from Banteay Srei to our next destination, Tes stopped at Preah Dak, a typical Cambodian village. Here, we got to see how the locals made palm jaggery.
Finding palm jaggery at Preah Dak
Tapping palm sap to make palm jaggery has been a tradition for several generations in the Cambodian villages. The palm tree is the national tree of Cambodia, and grows wild on roadsides and intermittently on rice fields. Finding bamboo poles with dried offshoot stems as footholds secured to palm tree trunks are a common sight on the Cambodian roads.
Tapping palm sap – How is it done?
At the first light of day, men scale up the palm trees and cut off the young palm stems to allow the sap to drip into bamboo stems. The sap is then poured into huge iron vessels and kept over a high log fire. The liquid is then stirred continuously with a long wooden paddle until it reaches a rolling boil. The liquid takes an hour and a half to thicken. The heat is then lowered stirred for another hour until the palm sap turns into a sufficiently dry paste. It is then transferred into bamboo sections to form cylindrical shapes, or into coconut shells so they emerge as large shallow hemispheres, or into small baskets woven of palm leaves.
Palm jaggery in all forms
Most shops also keep souvenirs – handmade items made of palm shell, t-shirts, table mats, bags and table runners with the images of temples and Apsaras embossed, bamboo baskets, traditional dresses, and Cambodian silk items.
Another main business is white noodle production and the most famous food here is Naom Banchok, a kind of thick rice noodle with mild fish broth.
We had stopped in front of a shop where a lady was stirring an iron vessel over a fire with palm sap in it. We bought a couple of palm jaggery baskets that had palm sugar in cube form, a bottle of palm sugar gelly and a violet coloured table runner with Angkor Wat embroidered on it.
Tes said that it would take only a few minutes for a seasoned climber to reach the top of a palm tree. Near the shop where we had stopped, there was a palm tree with a bamboo pole secured. Tes tried his luck, but couldn’t go past the first few steps on the foothold. Well, he may not be a seasoned climber, but a seasoned guide he is!!!
It was time to visit the Cucumber King’s abode, the Banteay Samre temple.
