Indian Culture

Jaggery (Gur)

Jaggery, gur in India, is unrefined sugar from boiled-down sugarcane juice or palm sap.1,2,3,4,5 Darker grades taste almost of chocolate.1

Also known as Gur, Palm sugar, Cane sugar

Jaggery, called gur in Hindi and Punjabi, vellam in Tamil and bellam in Telugu, is unrefined sugar from sugarcane juice or palm sap, such as that of the date palm.1,2,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 The juice is boiled down until the sugar sets; the molasses stays in, which is why jaggery is brown.3,4,5,6,7 It comes in blocks, often square or cone-shaped and graded by colour, but also liquid or as a powder; according to Britannica, darker grades taste almost of chocolate.1,11,12 The word came into English via Portuguese jágara, probably from Malayalam chakkara, sugar; like the word sugar, it goes back to Sanskrit śarkarā.1,10,13 In Indian cooking, jaggery goes into sweets, chutneys and sauces.1

Is jaggery just brown sugar?

It is an unrefined brown sugar. Ordinary soft brown sugar is often refined white sugar with syrup or molasses added back.1,3,10,14,15

What is the English name for jaggery?

Jaggery is itself the English word, recorded since 1631; it came via Portuguese jágara, probably from Malayalam chakkara, sugar. Dictionaries also list gur as a synonym.2,10,11,13

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Sources

  1. Britannica Editors. (2026). jaggery. In Encyclopaedia Britannica.
  2. Oxford University Press. (n.d.). gur. In Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  3. Goldstein, D. (2015). sugars, unrefined. In The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets. Oxford University Press.
  4. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. (2023). Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011, 2.8.4 Gur or Jaggery. Compendium, Chapter 2.8: Sweetening agents including Honey, pp. 10–11.
  5. Digital Dictionaries of South Asia, University of Chicago. (n.d.). guṛ. In The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary (p. 268). Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  6. Platts, J. T. (1884). guṛ. In A Dictionary of Urdu, Classical Hindi, and English (p. 908). Digital Dictionaries of South Asia, University of Chicago.
  7. Singh, M. (1895). guṛ. In The Panjabi Dictionary (p. 415). Digital Dictionaries of South Asia, University of Chicago.
  8. University of Madras. (n.d.). vellam. In Tamil Lexicon (p. 3788). Digital Dictionaries of South Asia, University of Chicago. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  9. Brown, C. P. (1903). bellamu. In A Telugu-English Dictionary (p. 904). Digital Dictionaries of South Asia, University of Chicago.
  10. Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). jaggery. In Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  11. Oxford University Press. (n.d.). jaggery. In Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  12. Indian Culture: KRG Jaggery Pulver: Zutatenliste der Packung.
  13. Yule, H. (1903). Jaggery. In Hobson-Jobson (p. 446). Digital Dictionaries of South Asia, University of Chicago.
  14. Verbraucherzentrale Hamburg. (2024). Ist Rohrohrzucker gesünder als Haushaltszucker? Verbraucherzentrale Hamburg. Verbraucherzentrale Hamburg e. V.
  15. Indian Culture: Heera Jaggery (Gur): ingredients on the pack.

Cite this entry

MLA

“Jaggery (Gur).” Indian Culture Glossary, Indian Culture, https://www.indian-culture.de/en/glossar/jaggery.

Chicago

Indian Culture Glossary, s.v. “Jaggery (Gur),” https://www.indian-culture.de/en/glossar/jaggery.

APA

Indian Culture. (n.d.). Jaggery (Gur). In Indian Culture glossary. https://www.indian-culture.de/en/glossar/jaggery