Talk:Jaggery

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[edit] Disputed Health Benefits

"Jaggery is considered as a wholesome sugar and unlike refined sugar retains more mineral salts making it much healthier. Moreover, the process is natural without the use of chemicals. It is medicinally considered to be much safer and is beneficial in treating throat and lung infections." -- By whom? I'm further exceedingly skeptical of the claim that it's beneficial in treating infections. I'd like to see a citation of these facts, or the sentences should be reworded to "Some consider" to make it clear that its supposedly health benefits are somewhat disputed. This sounds like typical health nut "it's natural so it must be good" chatter, IMHO. --FreelanceWizard 02:37, 29 August 2005 (UTC)


[edit] Study from the Industrial Toxicology Research Centre in Lucknow

Here's a study from the Industrial Toxicology Research Centre in Lucknow, India. It is entitled "Enhanced Translocation of Particles from Lungs by Jaggery". As near as I can tell, it is a true study of the effects of Jaggery on foreign particulate matter in the lungs.

Their findings stated "The effect of carbohydrates on fibrogenesis is not as well studied as the effects related to nucleic acids or proteins, but it does appear that jaggery and its constituents are capable of enhancing the defense mechanisms of the lungs and protecting them against lesions induced by dust particles."

Strange as it may seem, it looks as if Jaggery actually DOES have positive effects on the health. http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/members/1994/Suppl-5/sahu-full.html -- Nortonew 18:09, 25 November 2005 (UTC)

Yup, ask any carpenter, labourer who works in dusty environments, and he would confirm it.--Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut, which held its ground 14:10, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
However, such reports would not generally be verifiable, which is why we needed the citation from a reputable journal to remove whichever thing I tagged it as long ago (I think dubious). That's long since handled, however. ;) --FreelanceWizard 09:14, 2 September 2006 (UTC)
How cool is that. ;) Okay, I'll make the changes and add that citation. --FreelanceWizard 21:24, 28 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Ambiguous spellings

What is the spelling of the Hindi word for jaggery? I found 2 different spellings in the article: "gur" in the text and "gud" in the caption of a pic. Experts please verify. -- DaCentaur

In Punjab (and North India), I have not heard anyone say "gud"........I think in the caption, it may have been a typo, as R and D keys too are next to each other....In my opinion it is "gur"--Nothing is free in this world (talk) 02:10, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Used as an excellent & tastier alternative to sugar

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by DaCentaur (talk • contribs) .

If that phrase were to be added, it would be POV unless backed up by some cited evidence on preferences. It's obviously used as an alternative to sugar, of course, by inclusion in its category and by the text. While it may be tastier to you, it certainly isn't to me, and possibly to others; what's an excellent and tasty alternative is a matter of opinion, not fact. FreelanceWizard 03:59, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Name in South India

Jaggery is called Vellam with a V and not B in Tamil... So the spelling Bellam is either wrong or used by minor sub sections...

[edit] Ridiculous Citation Request

"Jaggery is also considered auspicious in many parts of India, and is eaten raw before commencement of good work or any important new venture.[citation needed]"

What do you mean citation needed? I didnt put this in, but I am from India and it is an unquestioned fact in most parts of India (maybe that should be specified). It is an obvious part of the Indian culture, since jaggery was the traditional sweetner before refined sugars became available.

Asking for citation is akin to asking for some kind of written recognition for this from the western media. I think this is ridiculous. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 67.186.153.25 (talk • contribs) 06:47, 3 December 2006 (UTC).


The fact is that most people reading this article are NOT from India and are trying to learn about the subject. The nature of Wikipedia is that anyone can make an edit to an article. If I wanted to I could put something silly in the article like, "Jaggery, when rubbed into the bellybutton, produces a feeling of euphoria." Without a citation, I have no way to evaluate whether the information given is factual or nonsense. It's intended for the best interest of the article and isn't meant as a personal affront to people who personally know about the subject. For more on the subject, read Wikipedia:Verifiability. By the way, I didn't put up the citation needed tag, I'm just trying to help out :-). --Elipongo 15:10, 3 December 2006 (UTC)
67.186.153.25, is "raw, sweet food before commencement of good work or any important new venture" the obvious part of Indian culture that you're talking about? If so, and if every English speaker in the world intuitively understands that obvious tradition or superstition or whatever it is (I don't even know), then, sure, I see your point about jaggery being the oldest sweet. But: To what non-Indian is the rest of it "obvious"? I don't even know what events you and the original poster are talking about! Signing a contract? Joining the Army? Having a surgical operation? Face it: I don't even know what's "obvious" to other native English-speakers in my own country, so, if someone is going to claim that it's customary to lasso the trophy at the end of the rodeo, how the crap am I (or YOU) supposed to know if it's for real or not! Citations, that's how. The English speaking world is very huge, 67.186.153.25, and people like you have to stop thinking everyone else owes some extraordinary sensitivity. 68.124.137.173 02:30, 14 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Other nations

Burma is mentioned as a place where toddy palm syrup is used to make jaggery, but I believe this is also done in Vietnam, Thailand, and other mainland Southeast Asian nations. Badagnani 00:21, 6 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] WikiProject class rating

This article was automatically assessed because at least one WikiProject had rated the article as start, and the rating on other projects was brought up to start class. BetacommandBot 18:16, 9 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Alternative spelling

Resolved. alternative transliteration provided. Thank you!—Elipongo (Talk contribs) 22:18, 26 December 2007 (UTC)

There is an alternative spelling of "jaggeree", which, as far as Google can tell me, exists mainly in a short story by Edgar Allen Poe. I mention this as I've just been all around the internet trying to find out what on earth "jaggeree" was before ending up here. I doubt I'm the only one - so hopefully a reference here will draw people to this fine article. --Waynemarkstubbs (talk) 15:19, 26 December 2007 (UTC)