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Panela

Panela is an unrefined cane sugar commonly used to sweeten drinks, desserts, and cooked sauces.

Panela — illustrative ingredient image

About Panela

Panela is a minimally refined cane-sugar product made by concentrating sugar-cane juice and allowing it to solidify without the refining steps used for white granulated sugar. It is used to sweeten drinks, desserts, baked goods, preserves, and cooked sauces.

Its flavor is sweet, with cooked-cane and caramel-like notes. Molded panela is dense and may be moist or crumbly, while hardness and handling vary with concentration, storage, and processing. These differences can affect how readily it dissolves or breaks apart.

Panela is commonly sold as a hard block, cone, disc, or irregular piece, with a golden-brown to dark brown color. It may also be grated, chopped, powdered, granulated, or dissolved; these forms differ in moisture and handling from molded blocks.

Ingredient type
sweetener

Forms & related ingredients

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Where panela appears

7 linked foods

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Desserts

Breakfasts

Ingredient connections awaiting review · Coverage is still growing, including packaged snacks.

Name examples awaiting language review. Confirm the specific food or product.

Local names for panela

Names and romanised forms to recognise on menus and labels.

English

Panela

Available names only. Languages may be spoken in other countries; a name alone does not identify every ingredient in a dish.

Panela nutrition & diet

Panela nutritional value

Reference: Jaggery, sugarcane, solid

Per 100 g of the edible portion of the stated reference food.

Calories
385kcal
Protein
0.5g
Carbs
95.4g
Fat
0.1g

Per 100 g edible portion. Shaheen et al., Food Composition Table for Bangladesh, University of Dhaka (2013), FAO repository. The energy cell reports (kcal) followed by kJ; these figures use kcal. Carbohydrate is available carbohydrate by difference. This reference describes the named food form, not every cultivar, brand or recipe.

Portions & preparation

Panela is typically used in small portions to sweeten beverages, batters, desserts, and sauces. Crumbling or dissolving it improves distribution, while solid blocks may require weighing after breaking. Preparation with added fats, dairy, or cereal ingredients changes the overall dish more than the sweetener alone.

Compare the right form: Match references to unrefined cane sugar sold as a solid block, granulated panela, or dissolved syrup, not another cane-sugar product.

Diet considerations

Panela is plant-derived cane sugar, but compatibility depends on the finished recipe. Confirm that no dairy, egg, animal fat, gelatin, or other animal-derived additions are present. Blended drink powders and desserts may include cereal ingredients. Its carbohydrate contribution is portion-dependent and changes with dilution or incorporation into a larger dish.

AI-authored reading notes · Awaiting editorial review. Measured values, where available, have a separate source above.

Dietary compatibility

  • Vegan
    Depends on the version
  • Vegetarian
    Depends on the version
  • Pescatarian
    Depends on the version
  • Keto
    Typically incompatible
  • Paleo
    Typically incompatible
  • Low-carb
    Depends on the version
  • Halal
    Not established
  • Kosher
    Not established
What these diet assessments mean
Vegan · Depends on the version
Check the refining process and processing aids for the particular producer.
Vegetarian · Depends on the version
Check the refining process and processing aids for the particular producer.
Pescatarian · Depends on the version
Check the refining process and processing aids for the particular producer.
Keto · Typically incompatible
A concentrated sugar ingredient; the amount used matters. No serving-level carbohydrate calculation is available.
Paleo · Typically incompatible
This profile falls outside the conventional paleo pattern used here (grains and pseudograins, legumes, dairy or refined sugar).
Low-carb · Depends on the version
A concentrated sugar ingredient; the amount used matters. No serving-level carbohydrate calculation is available.
Halal · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish halal status.
Kosher · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish kosher status.

For the plain ingredient · Awaiting review. Diet compatibility is not allergy suitability or halal/kosher certification. Keto and low-carb depend on the portion.

Reviewed ingredient entryIngredient reference · Preparations vary

AI-generated illustration for visual context. It does not identify a particular product or establish allergen content.

Sources & review

Nutrition reference: Food Composition Table for Bangladesh (2013) — 15_0004 ↗. Values are scaled from 100 g of the recorded edible form. Individual portions have no assumed fixed weight.

Expanded overview, name examples and nutrition notes are database drafts awaiting editorial review. Numeric nutrition values, where shown, have their own source and food-form reference.

The ingredient description and dish connections come from the draft catalogue and may change after review.

Last recorded verification: .