Editing Sago

{{short description|Starch extracted from tropical palm stems}}
{{for multi|tapioca sago (sabudana)|Tapioca|other uses|Sago (disambiguation)}}
{{More footnotes|date=April 2009}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2021}}
[[File:Sago (Metroxylon sagu) in New Guinea.jpg|thumb|right|Sago palms (''[[Metroxylon sagu]]'') in New Guinea]]
[[File:Metroxylon sagu, Sago Preparation.jpg|thumb|Peeling and pounding a segment of sago palm stem to produce an edible starch. Sepik River, Papua New Guinea]]
'''Sago''' ({{IPAc-en|'|s|eI|g|oU}}) is a [[starch]] extracted from the [[pith]], or spongy core tissue, of various tropical palm stems, especially those of ''[[Metroxylon sagu]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Karim |first1=A. A. |title=Starch from the Sago (Metroxylon sagu) Palm Tree—Properties, Prospects, and Challenges as a New Industrial Source for Food and Other Uses |journal=Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety |date=2008 |volume=7 |issue=3 |pages=215–228 |doi=10.1111/j.1541-4337.2008.00042.x |pmid=33467803 |url=http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/7386/1/Starch%20from%20the%20Sago%20%28Metroxylon%20sagu%29.pdf |doi-access=free }}</ref> It is a major [[staple food]] for the lowland peoples of [[New Guinea]] and the [[Maluku Islands]], where it is called ''saksak'', ''rabia'' and ''sagu''. The largest supply of sago comes from [[Melanesia]] region, particularly [[Eastern Indonesia]]. Large quantities of sago are sent to [[Europe]] and [[North America]] for cooking purposes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Flour or meal of sago, starchy roots or tubers (HS: 110620) Product Trade, Exporters and Importers {{!}} OEC |url=https://oec.world/en/profile/hs92/flour-or-meal-of-sago-starchy-roots-or-tubers |access-date=2022-04-26 |website=OEC - The Observatory of Economic Complexity |language=en}}</ref> It is traditionally cooked and eaten in various forms, such as rolled into balls, mixed with boiling water to form a glue-like paste ([[Papeda (food)|papeda]]), or as a [[pancake]].

Sago is often produced commercially in the form of "pearls" (small rounded starch aggregates, partly [[Starch gelatinization|gelatinized]] by heating). Sago pearls can be boiled with water or milk and sugar to make a sweet [[sago pudding]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mycookinghut.com/2010/05/23/sago-pudding-with-palm-sugar-sago-gula-melaka/ |title=Sago Pudding with Palm Sugar (Sago Gula Melaka) |publisher=mycookinghut.com |access-date=9 March 2011|date=2010-05-23 }}</ref> Sago pearls are similar in appearance to the pearled starches of other origin, e.g. [[cassava]] starch ([[tapioca]]) and potato starch. They may be used interchangeably in some dishes,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Learn How to Cook Perfect Tapioca Pearls |url=https://www.thespruceeats.com/sago-vs-tapioca-pearl-3030148 |access-date=2022-03-18 |website=The Spruce Eats |language=en}}</ref> and tapioca pearls are often marketed as "sago", since they are much cheaper to produce.<ref name="real-sago">{{Cite web|url=https://hot-thai-kitchen.com/real-sago/|title=Real Sago vs Tapioca Pearls + Sago Pudding Recipe|date=15 October 2021}}</ref>  Compared to tapioca pearls, real sago pearls are off-white, uneven in size, brittle and cook very quickly.<ref name="real-sago"/>

The name ''sago'' is also sometimes used for starch extracted from other sources, especially the sago cycad, ''[[Cycas revoluta]]''. The sago cycad is also commonly known as the sago palm, although this is a misnomer as [[cycad]]s are not [[palm (plant)|palms]]. Extracting edible starch from the sago cycad requires special care due to the poisonous nature of cycads.<ref name=lafferty>{{cite web | last = Lafferty | first = Jamie | title=How a Plant Saved a Japanese Island|publisher=BBC|url=http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20200106-how-a-plant-saved-a-japanese-island| date=2020-01-07}}</ref> Cycad sago is used for many of the same purposes as palm sago.

The [[fruit]] of palm trees from which the sago is produced is not allowed to ripen fully, as full ripening completes the life cycle of the tree and exhausts the starch reserves in the trunk to produce the seeds to the point of death, leaving a hollow shell. The palms are cut down when they are about 15 years old, just before or shortly after the [[inflorescence]] appears. The stems, which grow {{convert|10|to|15|m|ft|round=5|abbr=off|sp=us}} high, are split out. The starch-containing [[pith]] is taken from the stems and ground to powder. The powder is kneaded in water over a cloth or [[sieve]] to release the starch. The water with the starch passes into a trough where the starch settles. After a few washings, the starch is ready to be used in cooking. A single palm yields about {{convert|360|kg|lb|sigfig=1|abbr=off}} of dry starch.

== Historical records ==
Sago was noted by the Chinese historian [[Zhao Rukuo]] (1170–1231) during the [[Song dynasty]]. In his ''[[Zhu Fan Zhi]]'' (1225), a collection of descriptions of foreign countries, he writes that the [[Brunei|kingdom of Boni]] "produces no wheat, but hemp and rice, and they use ''sha-hu'' (sago) for grain".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Harrisson|first1=Tom |author-link1=Tom Harrisson |date=1969 |title=Volume 1 |journal=[[Brunei Museum Journal]] |volume=1 |page=106 |publisher=[[Brunei Museum|Muzium Brunei]]}}</ref><!--Ultimately from Friedrich Hirth's 1991 translation of the Chu-fan-chï-->

==Sources, extraction and preparation==

===Palm sago===
[[File:Sago Palm being harvested for Sago production PNG.jpg|right|thumb|A sago palm being harvested for sago production]]
[[File:Sago logs.jpg|thumb|Sago logs ready for processing in Kampung Medong, [[Sarawak]], [[Malaysia]].]]
The sago palm, ''[[Metroxylon sagu]]'', is found in tropical lowland forest and freshwater swamps across [[Southeast Asia]] and [[New Guinea]] and is the primary source of sago. It tolerates a wide variety of soils and may reach 30 meters in height (including the leaves). Several other species of the genus ''Metroxylon'', particularly ''[[Metroxylon salomonense]]'' and ''[[Metroxylon amicarum]]'', are also used as sources of sago throughout [[Melanesia]] and [[Micronesia]].

Sago palms grow very quickly, in clumps of different ages similar to bananas, one sucker matures, then flowers and dies. It is replaced by another sucker, with up to 1.5&nbsp;m of vertical stem growth per year. The stems are thick and are either self-supporting or have a moderate climbing [[Habit (biology)|habit]]; the leaves are [[pinnate]]. Each palm trunk produces a single [[inflorescence]] at its tip at the end of its life. Sago palms are harvested at the age of 7–15 years, just before or shortly after the inflorescence appears and when the stems are full of starch stored for use in reproduction. One palm can yield 150–300&nbsp;kg of starch.

[[File:Sago starch filter PNG.jpg|right|thumb|A sago starch filter]]
Sago is extracted from ''Metroxylon'' palms by splitting the stem lengthwise and removing the pith which is then crushed and kneaded to release the starch before being washed and strained to extract the starch from the fibrous residue. The raw starch suspension in water is then collected in a settling container.

===Cycad sago===
The sago cycad, ''[[Cycas revoluta]]'', is a slow-growing wild or [[ornamental plant]]. Its common names "sago palm" and "king sago palm" are misnomers as [[cycad]]s are not [[palm (plant)|palms]]. Processed starch known as sago is made from this and other cycads. It is a less-common food source for some peoples of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Unlike palms, cycads are highly poisonous: most parts of the plant contain the [[neurotoxin]]s [[cycasin]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/p/plant_toxin_induced_liver_damage_cycasin/intro.htm
|title=Plant toxin-induced liver damage - Cycasin |publisher=Health Grades Inc. |access-date=28 December 2009}}</ref> and [[BMAA]]. Consumption of cycad seeds has been implicated in the outbreak of [[Parkinson's disease]]-like neurological disorder in [[Guam]] and other locations in the Pacific.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sacks|first1=Oliver|title=The Island of the Colour-blind and Cycad Island|date=1996|publisher=Picador|isbn=978-0330350822|pages=109–226}}</ref> Thus, before any part of the plant may safely be eaten the toxins must be removed through extended processing.

Sago is extracted from the sago cycad by cutting the pith from the stem, root and seeds of the cycads, grinding the pith to a coarse [[flour]], before being dried, pounded, and soaked. The starch is then washed carefully and repeatedly to leach out the natural toxins.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Whiting|first1=Marjorie Grant|title=Toxicity of cycads|journal=Economic Botany|date=October 1963|volume=17|issue=4|pages=270–302|doi=10.1007/BF02860136|bibcode=1963EcBot..17..270W |s2cid=31799259}}</ref> The starchy residue is then dried and cooked, producing a [[starch]] similar to palm sago/sabudana.

===Cassava sago===
{{main|Tapioca}}

In many countries including Australia,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/food/article/2020/11/26/8-things-you-may-not-know-about-sago|title = 8 things you may not know about sago|date = 26 November 2020}}</ref> Brazil,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.saborbrasil.it/en/ricettas/82|title=Sagu de vinho tinto (Tapioca Pearls in Red Wine)
|access-date=2019-03-19}}</ref> and India, [[tapioca balls|tapioca pearls]] made from [[cassava]] root<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Corbishley |first1=Douglas A. |chapter=TAPIOCA, ARROWROOT, AND SAGO STARCHES: PRODUCTION |date=1984 |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/B9780127462707500197 |title=Starch: Chemistry and Technology |pages=469–478  |publisher=Elsevier |language=en |doi=10.1016/b978-0-12-746270-7.50019-7 |isbn=978-0-12-746270-7 |last2=Miller |first2=William}}</ref> are also referred to as ''sago'', ''sagu'', ''sabudana'', etc.

==Uses==

===Nutrition===
Sago from ''Metroxylon'' palms is nearly pure carbohydrate and has very little protein, vitamins, or minerals. {{convert|100|g|oz|abbr=off|frac=2}} of dry sago typically comprises 94&nbsp;grams of carbohydrate, 0.2&nbsp;grams of protein, 0.5&nbsp;grams of dietary fiber, 10&nbsp;mg of calcium, 1.2&nbsp;mg of iron and negligible amounts of fat, carotene, thiamine and ascorbic acid and yields approximately {{convert|355|kcal|kJ|order=flip|abbr=off}} of [[food energy]].{{citation needed|date=September 2018}} Sago palms are typically found in areas unsuited for other forms of agriculture, so sago cultivation is often the most ecologically appropriate form of land use and the nutritional deficiencies of the food can often be compensated for with other readily available foods.

[[File:Sago pancake Papua New Guinea.jpg|right|thumb|A sago pancake]]
Sago starch can be baked (resulting in a product analogous to bread, pancake, or biscuit) or mixed with boiling water to form a paste. It is a main staple of many traditional communities in [[New Guinea]], [[Maluku Islands|Maluku]], [[Borneo]],  [[South Sulawesi]] (most known in [[Luwu Regency]]) and [[Sumatra]] in the form of [[Papeda (food)|papeda]]. In [[Palembang]], sago is one of the ingredients to make [[pempek]]. In [[Brunei]], it is used for making the popular local dish called the [[ambuyat]]. It is also used commercially in making noodles and white [[bread]]. Sago starch can also be used as a [[thickener]] for other dishes. It can be made into [[steaming|steam]]ed [[pudding]]s such as sago plum pudding.

In Malaysia, the traditional food "[[keropok lekor]]" (fish cracker) uses sago as one of its main ingredients. To make keropok lekor in Losong in [[Kuala Terengganu]], each kilogram of fish meat is mixed with half a kilogram of fine sago, with a little salt added for flavour. Tons of raw sago are imported each year into Malaysia to support the keropok lekor industry.

In 1805, two captured crew members of the shipwrecked schooner [[Betsey (schooner)|''Betsey'']] were kept alive until their escape from an undetermined island on a diet of sago.<ref>''Australian Shipwrecks - vol1 1622-1850'', [[Charles Bateson]], AH and AW Reed, Sydney, 1972, {{ISBN|0-589-07112-2}} p40</ref>

[[File:Sago1.jpg|thumb|right|Pearl sago]]
Any starch can be pearled by heating and stirring small aggregates of moist starch, producing partly [[Starch gelatinization|gelatinized]] dry kernels that swell but remain intact on boiling. Pearl sago closely resembles pearl [[tapioca]]. Both are typically small (about 2&nbsp;mm diameter) dry, opaque balls. Both may be white (if very pure) or colored naturally gray, brown or black, or artificially pink, yellow, green, etc. When soaked and cooked, both become much larger, translucent, soft and spongy. Both are widely used in [[Indian cuisine|Indian]], [[Bangladeshi cuisine|Bangladeshi]] and [[Sri Lankan cuisine|Sri Lankan]] cuisine in a variety of dishes and around the world, usually in [[pudding]]s. In [[India]], it is used in a variety of dishes such as desserts boiled with sweetened milk on occasion of religious fasts.

The [[Penan people]] of [[Borneo]] consume sago from [[Eugeissona]] palms as their staple carbohydrate.

===Textile production===
Sago starch is also used to treat fiber in a process is called [[sizing]], which makes fibers easier to machine. The process helps to bind the fiber, give it a predictable slip for running on metal, standardize the level of hydration of the fiber and give the textile more body. Most of the natural based cloth and clothing has been sized; this leaves a residue which is removed in the first wash.

===Other uses===
Because many traditional people rely on sago palm as their main food staple and because supplies are finite, in some areas commercial or industrial harvesting of wild stands of sago palm can conflict with the food needs of local communities.

Research is conducted to potentially make use of the waste from the sago palm industry as an adsorbent for cleaning up oil spills.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Malaysia |first=Universiti Putra |title=Using sago waste to absorb oil spills |url=https://phys.org/news/2015-06-sago-absorb-oil.html |access-date=2023-05-16 |website=phys.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Pertanika Journal of Social Science and Humanities |url=http://www.pertanika.upm.edu.my/pjssh/browse/regular-issue?article=JST-0335-2011 |access-date=2023-05-16 |website=www.pertanika.upm.edu.my}}</ref>

==See also==
*''[[Arenga pinnata]]''
*[[Landang]]
*[[Sandige]]

==References==
=== Citations ===
{{reflist}}

=== General and cited references ===
* Flach, M. and F. Rumawas, eds. (1996). ''Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) No. 9: Plants Yielding Non-Seed Carbohydrates''. Leiden: Blackhuys.
* Lie, Goan-Hong. (1980). "The Comparative Nutritional Roles of Sago and Cassava in Indonesia." In: Stanton, W.R. and M. Flach, eds., ''Sago: The Equatorial Swamp as a Natural Resource''. The Hague, Boston, London: Martinus Nijhoff.
* McClatchey, W., H.I. Manner, and C.R. Elevitch. (2005). [http://www.agroforestry.net/tti/Metroxylon-sagopalm.pdf "''Metroxylon amicarum'', ''M. paulcoxii'', ''M. sagu'', ''M. salomonense'', ''M. vitiense'', and ''M. warburgii'' (sago palm), ver. 1.1"]. In: Elevitch, C.R. (ed.) ''Species Profiles for Pacific Island Agroforestry''. Permanent Agriculture Resources (PAR), Holualoa, Hawaii.
* Pickell, D. (2002). ''Between the Tides: A Fascinating Journey Among the Kamoro of New Guinea''. Singapore: Periplus Press.
* {{cite journal | last1 = Rauwerdink | first1 = Jan B. | year = 1986 | title = An Essay on Metroxylon, the Sago Palm | journal = Principes | volume = 30 | issue = 4| pages = 165–180 }}
* Stanton, W.R. and M. Flach, eds., ''Sago: The Equatorial Swamp as a Natural Resource''. The Hague, Boston, London: Martinus Nijhoff.

==Further reading==
*  {{Cite book | last1 = Lal | first1 = J. J. | chapter = SAGO PALM | doi = 10.1016/B0-12-227055-X/01036-1 | title = Encyclopedia of Food Sciences and Nutrition | pages = 5035–5039 | year = 2003 | isbn = 9780122270550 }}

==External links==
* {{commonscat-inline}}
* [http://www.agroforestry.net/tti/Metroxylon-sagopalm.pdf Species profile for ''Metroxylon sagu'']
* http://www.fao.org/ag/agA/AGAP/FRG/AFRIS/Data/416.HTM
* [https://www.mentorleo.com/2022/11/sabudana-benefits.html Sago Uses]

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[[Category:Edible thickening agents]]
[[Category:Food ingredients]]
[[Category:Indian cuisine]]
[[Category:Indonesian cuisine]]
[[Category:Malagasy cuisine]]
[[Category:Melanesian cuisine]]
[[Category:Oceanian cuisine]]
[[Category:Papua New Guinean cuisine]]
[[Category:Staple foods]]
[[Category:Tropical agriculture]]