Recent Trends in Jaggery Making Processes: A Review

Jaggery is an unrefined sugar produced by evaporating water from sugarcane juice, making it one of India’s oldest cottage industries. Approximately 25-30% of India’s total sugarcane production is used for jaggery and khandsari, with an output of 9.2 million tonnes in 2024. The process generates bagasse, a fibrous residue from crushed sugarcane, commonly used as fuel for open-pan boiling. However, this traditional method has low heat utilization efficiency, often requiring additional combustible materials, leading to higher pollution and CO2 emissions. This paper reviews the existing processes used in jaggery production, identifying best practices and future techno-economically viable improvements. One promising alternative is the freeze pre-concentration process, which selectively removes water from juice before concentration. This method, followed by steam-jacketed pan-based concentration, reduces bagasse consumption and enhances jaggery quality by minimizing prolonged high-temperature exposure. Additionally, incorporating a vapor recompression system can enable evaporation under vacuum, where compressed steam efficiently heats the jacketed pan. By evaluating various jaggery production methods, this review provides valuable insights for jaggery producers, researchers, equipment manufacturers, policymakers and stakeholders in both government and private sectors. Advancements in processing techniques can lead to energy savings, improved product quality and greater benefits for farmers.