Panela is beloved in Colombia, where it is a go-to sweetener over the more processed white sugar. It is a type of unrefined sugar where the molasses naturally present in the sugarcane are preserved, unlike refined white sugar.

The molasses gives the panela a more complex caramel flavor and makes it richer in minerals and vitamins. But this sweet nectar doesn't come cheap. In Colombia, depending on where it is made, panela can cost up to 17,000 pesos per kilogram. In the US, it can cost 20 times more than white sugar. So, how is wild panela made? And is this what makes it so expensive?

00:00 Intro
1:09 Sugar mill
02:31 Boiling sugarcane juice
05:28 Harvesting white sugarcane
08:39 How wild panela is sold
11:04 Competition with farmed sugarcane panela

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Why Indigenous Panela Sugar Is So Expensive | So Expensive Food | Insider Business