Alpal

Älpäl, also known as Sakaramoṭan, is a traditional Sri Lankan confectionary. It is similar to pulled jaggery or taffy.[1][2]

Älpäl
Alternative namesSakaramoṭan
TypeConfectionery
Place of originSri Lanka
Main ingredientsjaggery/sugar, water

In 1886 Ceylonese Crown Counsel, Louis Nell, in his explanatory list of Portuguese words adopted by the Sinhalese defines älpäl as being a preparation of sugar, vended in the streets by the Chinese and now Tamils. He goes further to state that it comes in two forms of long pieces either resembling the English confectionary known as rock sugar or butterscotch.[3][4]

Älpäl is considered to be derived from the Portuguese term, 'alfeloa' or 'alfelos', which is described as "clarified sugar flavoured with scented water, boiled until it forms a hard ball, kneaded on a marble slab and pulled, allowed to harden and then broken up".[5][6]

References
  1. Handbook for the Ceylon Traveller. Studio Times. 1974. p. 28.
  2. "The Curious Case of 'Traditional' Sri Lankan Food and Their Foreign Origins". Roar Media. 4 January 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  3. Nell, Louis (1886). Goonetilleke, William (ed.). "The Orientalist". Explanatory List of Portuguese words adopted by the Sinhalese. Bombay: Education Society Press. 2–3: 43.
  4. de S. Jayasuriya, Shihan (2001). Tagus to Taprobane: Portuguese Impact on the Socio-culture of Sri Lanka from 1505 AD. Vol. 20. Tisara Prakasakayo. p. 28. ISBN 9789555640626.
  5. Newman, Elizabeth Thompson (1964). A Critical Edition of an Early Portuguese Cookbook. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina. p. xxxiv.
  6. Academia das Ciências (Lisbon) (1793). Diccionario Da Lingoa Portugueza (in Portuguese). Vol. 1. Workshop of the Same Academy. p. 208.
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