Cranky Domestic Goddess

Have you ever heard of toddy? Toddy, also known as palm wine, is a mixture of palm sap and liquor. Wow, I didn’t know we can actually drink it … when mixed with some ingredients. Here is an article about toddy:

_{By: Sangeetha Nair}

IT may not be as popular as drinking beer at bars or as glamorous as sipping wine at lounges but drinking toddy is still a favourite pastime to a group of minority.

If you visit estates and plantations, you will notice men gathering at a toddy shack after work to chat over a glass of toddy.

Some like it warm, some like it chilled, while others have it with stout or beer.

Toddy is an alcoholic beverage made of a sugary sap from budding young flower clusters of coconut trees.

Navaretnasinggam Chelliah, 58, owns a coconut plantation in Telok Dato in Banting, Selangor. It is run for the sole purpose of tapping toddy, a drink which he says has been popular even before the 1940s.

“Selling toddy has been my family business for three generations and till today the demand is still there,” Navaretnasinggam adds.

He says toddy is popular because it is cheaper than beer and gives a quick kick when it is fermented.

“We sell it by the litre. It costs RM1.50 per litre. For the same amount, beer costs RM15.

“Toddy is a good drink. Many mistake toddy for moonshine or samsu, which can damage the liver.

“With toddy, there is no distilling involved. It is all natural but some illegal tappers mix it with water and saccharine which has given the trade a bad name,” he says.

Although the trade is legal in Malaysia, Navaretnasinggam says it is quite difficult to obtain a licence from the Government.

“There are only two licensed toddy suppliers in the Kuala Langat district and I happen to be one of them.

“There is also no way for us to expand our business as according to the customs regulations, we are only allowed to tap 200 trees per day,” he says.

He says the trees would have to be at least three and a half years old before they start producing flowers. An average coconut tree can produce sap until it is around 50 years old.

“The younger the tree, the sweeter the toddy.

“But people who drink toddy prefer the sap from the older trees as the drink will be thicker and even the taste is different,” he says.

Navaretnasinggam says the sap from the trees is collected at around 7am every morning.

“An earthen jar or white plastic container is fastened to the flower stump to collect the sap. It takes about half a day before the container is half full. After collecting the sap, the flower stump is sheared off and knocked with a blunt piece of wood to activate the production of sap and the empty container is fastened to the stump to collect more sap,” he explains.

The white liquid that initially collects tends to be very sweet and non-alcoholic. It tastes coconutty and a little tangy. The longer it is kept, the more sour it becomes.

The sap collected will then be put into plastic barrels and sent to the estates by lorry.

“I supply toddy to the Sungai Rawang estate in Rawang and Fremaugh estate in Sepang. The estates have their own toddy shack which opens for an hour daily at 2pm.

“The sap is normally kept for two hours for it to ferment before it is classified as toddy but some prefer to drink it fresh.

“Within two hours, fermentation yields an aromatic wine of up to 4% alcohol content. It may be kept for up to a day to yield a stronger, more acidic taste,” he adds.

Navaretnasinggam says toddy is also known for its healing properties as it is prepared daily without putting in preservatives or additives.

“Some adults drink two glasses of fresh sap when they suffer from constipation. Mothers would administer a tablespoon of toddy to children who lack appetite,” he says.

If you want to get a taste of toddy, contact Navaretnasinggam at 03-3181 5657.

Are you ready to taste it? I am not.

Learn about:

Hot Toddy
Palm Wine

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