It’s in the peak of winter that the sap of the date palm trees is sweetest. Sharing their own memories of eating nolen gur in winter, the co-founders of Earth Story Farms talk to Throvnica Chandrasekar about making date palm jaggery, and its skilled makers.
Twenty minutes into our conversation with the team at Earth Story Farms, I realised that we had mostly been talking about films, poetry, and music. If someone had listened in, they may not have easily known that at the centre of it was nolen gur, or date palm jaggery. After all, there’s so much to speak of the gur’s significance in West Bengal—its prominent role in their culinary heritage, literature, and even cinema.
When Senjuti Mahato and Abhishek Choudhury became entrepreneurs with Earth Story Farms, they wanted to bring to the world what they’ve relished all their lives: nolen gur. As Bengalis, their familiarity and passion for date jaggery is not uncommon—not only does the taste evoke nostalgia, but it also holds great cultural significance. In his poem ‘Bhalo Rey Bhalo’, Sukumar Ray, a pioneering bard of Bengal, wrote about how while there are many good things in life, such as the smell of flowers, the rhythm of the poem, rain in summers, and simul cotton, nothing beat the taste of nolen gur with bread!
Senjuti’s earliest memory of eating nolen gur is during winter vacation at her maternal grandmother’s home. She remembers sitting with her cousins on assans—hand woven mats made out of cotton—with their names inscribed on them. There were no rules around how to eat nolen gur. “My favourite was to eat it with triangular parathas so thin that we could see each other through it. I would dip it in runny nolen gur. We ate nolen gur almost every day for dessert in the winter.”
For Abhishek, the memories of nolen gur are centred around the harvest festival of Makar Sankranti in mid-January. In Bengal, this is also when the date sap to make gur is at its sweetest. During this time, traditional sweets like peethe, murki, and payesh are cooked with date jaggery. Many sweet shops and home kitchens are starting to recreate global and Indian desserts in their nolen gur versions too.
Senjuti is, understandably, in awe of nolen gur’s versatility. After all, it is a product native to some of the most remote parts of Bengal which has now found a place in progressive restaurant kitchens around the world—in sticky toffee puddings, shortbreads, mascarpone desserts, cookie sandwiches, tarts.
“My favourite was to eat it with triangular parathas so thin that we could see each other through it. I would dip it in runny nolen gur. We ate nolen gur almost every day for dessert in the winter.”
As entrepreneurs with a keen interest in producing native, pure, and preservative-free ingredients using traditional methods, bringing nolen gur into their operations was an easy decision. They took what already existed of the nolen gur-making process, without much alteration, and applied the Earth Story Farms philosophy to it—returning to older processes, and committing to making chemical-free products.
For example, even though the sap from date palms was traditionally collected in earthen pots, in recent years, these have been replaced by plastic pots which are more durable and affordable. But Senjuti and Abhishek have been actively encouraging artisans to go back to terracotta pots, and supporting them through it. They had felt that the flavours exuded by these pots into the sap was distinct, and lacking when it came to plastic.
This often impacts their profit margins and time efficiency, but is central to their philosophy of preserving certain traditional methodologies which produce the best quality food. They firmly believe that the process of making nolen gur is both an artistic and scientific endeavour.
Knowledge passed through generations
It’s in the peak of winter that nolen gur tappers begin to collect the sap from wild date palm trees. This is usually between mid-November to February in West Bengal; the sap is sweetest in cool temperatures. To collect the sap, they make an incision on the trunk, and fix a channel (a funnel-like pipe) to the trunk. The sap flows through the channel, and gets collected in terracotta pots.
They firmly believe that the process of making nolen gur is both an artistic and scientific endeavour.
The sap is then taken to the processing unit and filtered through cloth, after which it is cooked over low heat in a flat oven until it reduces, and turns ochre in colour. This is known as nolen gur, often referred to as liquid gold for its aureate colour and exquisite sweetness. When cooked further, the liquid crystallises and becomes jhola gur, which has a grainy texture. The jhola gur is cooked further to attain viscosity that can solidify into patali, then poured into moulds.
In recent years, the preservation of the traditional nolen gur-making process has taken on added significance as skilled artisans are dwindling in number. Most nolen gur artisans are hereditary artisans that have learnt their craft from their fathers and forefathers, with inter-generational knowledge passed on through oral history and hands-on experience. At present, there are very few of them who have mastered the art of making nolen gur the traditional way.
For Pintu Da, a senior gur artisan at Earth Story Farms, the learning doesn’t ever stop. He has been making nolen gur for 30 years now. Recognising the value of this precious craft, Earth Story Farms employs these artisans and pays them competent wages which dissuades them from looking for jobs elsewhere.
Not surprisingly, one of the challenges of date palm jaggery production today is the climate crisis, owing to which winters are shorter. Even with a little warmth, the date sap will ferment and turn into toddy. Shorter winters also mean reduced yield for each season, and lesser profits.
In Bengal, nolen gur is cherished throughout its season (from mid-December till mid-February), and sorely missed when it’s unavailable for the rest of the year. So much so that for generations, women have tried their luck in finding ways to elongate its shelf life. Abhishek’s grandmother would rely on batasha—nolen gur drops that have been made by heating nolen gur, and solidifying them in dollops. This is used in the summers to flavour desserts with nolen gur when the fresh version is unavailable.
Earth Story Farms too have found a way to make nolen gur last through the year—by powdering it. This dried and powdered version has a prolonged shelf life.
For most customers, Earth Story Farms’ nolen gur is a sort of time travel concoction that instantly takes them back to their childhood. Which is also why they chose ‘Time machine’ as their campaign concept for nolen gur this year. The traditional nolen gur possesses a dark, caramel-like richness and a complex, smoky-sweet flavour, unlike the sugary hard syrup you often find in the markets now. The co-founders often hear from their customers about how their nolen gur products taste so familiar to their grandparents. It is gratifying feedback like this that fuels their faith in the work they do, and their commitment to preserving traditional food practices.
As someone who has grown up in South India, I wasn’t aware of how treasured nolen gur is for Bengalis, and all the associations that they hold close. Discussions with the founders of Earth Story Farms probed me to look at all the things dear to the culture I grew up in, that is most likely unfamiliar to those on the outside. I also realised that many such cherished ingredients and dishes, such as the panamkilangu or palmyra sprout that I recollect eating in my grandmother’s home, have now been forgotten with the changing nature of consumerism.
When we are learning about a hyperlocal ingredient, especially one that is hard to preserve, it’s critical for us to pay attention to the people who grow or produce it. As we mull over the flavours of nolen gur, we must also remember that for someone like Pintu Da, making nolen gur is a practice of art and love because he is able to create something that so many people across the world crave, and long for.
To read more about Earth Story Farms and their practices and efforts, check out our producer page here. This is a paid partnership with Earth Story Farms. We strive to keep the practices of a producer transparent and honest across all forms of partnerships.
