Burlap & Barrel - Panela
Category: Spices
Warm and buttery with a hint of fresh green cane flavor, our panela cane sugar is produced using traditional methods and materials in the lush mountains of Colombia. Use instead of white or brown sugar in baking, sprinkle over fresh fruit or mix with hot water to make the traditional beverage agua panela.
The heirloom cane is cut by hand and carried to the estate's own trapiche, where the cane is pressed into juice and cooked into sugar. The juice is boiled in a series of pots, which are heated by burning the leftover cane fiber after the juice is pressed out. The boiling process requires constant attention by skilled artisans, up to the final step where the reduced sugar syrup is tossed through a window, one bowl at a time, and then whipped using a long-handled paddle to create a light, fluffy, granulated sugar texture.
$17.99
Burlap & Barrel
Burlap & Barrel is a Public Benefit Corporation building new international food supply chains that are equitable, transparent and traceable.
A single origin spice company, Burlap & Barrel buys spices from farmers around the globe, who they call partners. They’ve eliminated the intermediaries who have traditionally bought and sold spices multiple times before any jar of spice lands in a U.S. customer’s kitchen cabinet. This means their spices are fresher than what you can find from the big spice companies. Spices so potent that they suggest new customers use just half a serving at first, as they sometimes get feedback from customers that the spices are too strong. It's not that the spices are too strong, but rather we are just accustomed to cooking with old spices! Did you know that supermarket spices sometimes have been in transit for three years?!?!?
Another benefit to eliminating spice brokers is that Burlap & Barrel can pay the farmers more for their crops while offering quality spices to the public at affordable prices.
SUPPORTING SMALLHOLDER FARMERS
Burlap & Barrel is working towards ending inequality and exploitation in food systems that disenfranchise skilled farmers.
They do this by:
- Connecting smallholder farmers to high-value markets
- Educating consumers about the impact of product traceability on human rights
- Sourcing unique foods with terroir that are grown biodynamically and organically using traditional techniques
REDEFINING SUSTAINABILITY
Mainstream conversations around food sustainability rarely consider the people involved in growing, harvesting, transporting, processing and cooking food. Sustainability is discussed in terms of environmental impact, or the comfort of livestock providing meat, dairy or eggs.
The folks at Burlap & Barrel believe that the standard measures of sustainability must evolve to consider the conditions in which the farmers who drive global food supply chains earn their livelihoods. Single origin ingredients draw attention to the unique environments in which incredible ingredients grow and to the farmers with the expertise and commitment to grow them well.