Where does Sago orignate from and how is it derived?

Sago is a powdery starch made from the processed pith found inside the trunks of the Sago Palm Metroxylon sagu. Sago forms a major staple food for the lowland peoples of New Guinea and the Moluccas.





Processed starch known as sago is also made from some cycad plants, and is a less frequent food source for some peoples of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. There is a large difference both biologically and dietarily between the two types of sago. Sago as a major dietary food source comes mainly from a palm in the genus Metroxylon. Despite their common name, cycads are not palms (i.e. they are not members of the family Arecaceae but rather from Cycadaceae, a vastly different taxonomic order: cycads are gymnosperms, while palms are angiosperms).





Because sago flour made from Metroxylon is the most widely used form, this article discusses sago from Metroxylon unless otherwise specified.





Preparation





Sago (Metroxylon) is made through the following steps:





1. Felling the sago palm tree;


2. Splitting the trunk open lengthwise;


3. Removing the pith;


4. Crushing and kneading the pith to release the starch;


5. Washing and straining to extract the starch from the fiberous residue;


6. Collection of the raw starch suspension in a settling container.





The sago starch is then either baked (resulting in a product analogous to bread or a pancake) or mixed with boiling water to form a kind of paste. Sago can be made into steamed puddings such as sago plum pudding, ground into a powder and used as a thickener for other dishes, or used as a dense glutinous flour.





In Malaysia and Indonesia, sago from Metroxylon is used as a starch in making noodles, white bread, and sago pearls (similar to tapioca). In India pearl sago (a form of sago) is called Sabudana, and is used in a variety of dishes including khichdi, wafers and puddings. The source of this sago is most likely Metroxylon rather than the cycad version.





Sago from the cycad is very different, because unlike Metroxylon, cycad seeds contain highly poisonous compounds. Consumption of cycad seeds has been implicated in the outbreak of Parkinson's Disease-like neurological disorder in various locations in the Pacific such as Guam. Highly toxic cycasin and BMAA compounds are found in most parts of the plant. These must be removed through extended processing before any part can be safely eaten. First, the pith made from the trunk, root, seeds is first ground to a coarse flour, washed carefully to leach out natural toxins, then dried and cooked to become a starchy granular fecula similar to tapioca and is used for many of the same purposes.


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Nutrition





Sago flour (Metroxylon) is nearly pure carbohydrate and has very little protein, vitamins, or minerals. However, as sago palms are typically found in areas unsuited for agriculture, sago cultivation is often the most ecologically appropriate form of land-use, and the nutritional deficiencies of the food can often be compensated for with other readily available dietary items.





One hundred grams of dry sago yields 355 calories, including an average of 94 grams of carbohydrate, 0.2 grams of protein, 0.5 grams of dietary fiber, 10mg of calcium, 1.2mg of iron, and negligible amounts of fat, carotene, thiamine, and ascorbic acid.





Sago can be stored for weeks or months, although generally it is eaten quickly after it is processed.





Botany





The palm genus Metroxylon has several species. The main source of sago flour is Metroxylon sagu. It is found in Southeast Asia, Melanesia, and some islands in Micronesia and Polynesia. Growing up to 30 meters in height, the sago palm is found in tropical lowland forest and freshwater swamps, and can grow in a wide variety of soils. It is a fast-growing species.





The Sago Cycad or "Sago Palm" (its common name but a misnomer since it is not an actual palm at all) is a slow-growing wild or ornamental plant.

Where does Sago orignate from and how is it derived?
Seems you have done a lot of research. Well done! Report It

Reply:Sago is a powdery starch made from the processed pith found inside the trunks of the Sago Palm Metroxylon sagu. Sago forms a major staple food for the lowland peoples of New Guinea and the Moluccas.





Processed starch known as sago is also made from some cycad plants, and is a less frequent food source for some peoples of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. There is a large difference both biologically and dietarily between the two types of sago. Sago as a major dietary food source comes mainly from a palm in the genus Metroxylon. Despite their common name, cycads are not palms (i.e. they are not members of the family Arecaceae but rather from Cycadaceae, a vastly different taxonomic order: cycads are gymnosperms, while palms are angiosperms).
Reply:Sago is orginally a root called Tapioca. It is processed and converted to white hard pearls.Can be made soft by soaking in water overnight.
Reply:It is the pith of the Sago palm, a native of the western pacific and SE Asia.





BAsically, the palm is cut down, broken open and the pith extracted. The starchy componant is removed from the by beating and kneading the pith and then washing to separate the starch from the fibers. The water with the starch emulsion is put into settling buckets. the starchy component is drawn off, dried and ground.





It has very little nutritional value, not much different than tapioca.
Reply:It is also the way Europeans and the British refer to large pearl Tapioca, which is derived from the cassava plant, it is ground, boiled and then rolled between rollers to form small pea size balls, now a days it is popular in the Far East and North America in Bubble teas, flavoured tea beverages with boiled tapioca that has been cooked with green or black teas and made similarly to a milkshake, only thinner and fewer calories
Reply:The rainy months from June to September are considered holy in India.The 4 month period is a time when devout Hindus eat no meat or fish. Special fasting foods are made from sago bananas peanuts yoghurt and root vegetables.


how it grows


Sago is made from the viscous sp of a tall shady tree. The tree thrives in hot dry conditions. As with rubber trees a groove is cut in the trunk of the sago palm at intervals and the sp which oozes out is collected. It is strained through special sieves which form it into little soft droplets. These are dried until hard. Depending on the size of holes in the sieve different sizes of sago are produced.


appearance and taste


Sago balls are like small pearls white and hard. On soaking in water they turn soft and as they absorb more and more fluid they become mushy. When cooked they change from opaque to translucent. The taste is bland but creamy. When cooked sago pearls have the texture of caviar spongy and slightly slippery.


Buying and storing.


Indian shops stock sago as well as a close relative tapioca. Store in a dry jar for up to 4 months.


Medicinal and other uses.


Indian medicine believes that sago and ice cool the system counteracting the heat produced by other foods. A thin sago gruel is given to patients who complain of excess bile due to body heat. The liquid left affer boiling sago in water is used to starch clothes.


Culinary uses


Sago is always washed and left to soften. Once it is soft and can be squashed between 2 fingers it is made into svouries or sweets. Kneaded together with seasoned mashed potatoes into a dough it gives texture and flavor to vadas or small patties that are shallowfried. It is also made into poppadoms that can be deepfried. Sago poppadoms look like sheets of bubbles and are sometimes tinted pink or green for decoration.

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