Technologies for Preparation of Solid and Granular Jaggery: A Review

Jaggery is unrefined sugar used in all countries of the world under different names prepared from sugarcane juice. It is a tastemaker and color maker rather than being just a sweetener. Jaggery is rich in minerals and vitamins contained more than of refined sugar. Nowadays people are very conscious about health and current food consumption. People are concentrating mainly on high-quality foods with low capital investment. Jaggery is one of the products which is cheaply and easily available to all categories of people. To meet market demand and jaggery export, with a short period of production though it is consumed throughout the year, the high quality and hygiene jaggery can be prepared by increasing the plant efficiency by considering the modifications in the design of the furnace, pan, rate of bagasse consumption, rate of heat transfer from hot flue gases. The production can also be increased by practicing good manufacturing practice (GMP), by preparing other products like liquid jaggery and granular jaggery in addition to solid jaggery. This paper discusses the various up-gradation technologies of jaggery preparation and besides, this paper gives an overview of various forms of jaggery preparation from different sources of input along with automation and advanced jaggery making process.