sugar: I use white granulated sugar to allow the pandan aroma to shine, but you can also use brown sugar or gula melaka (as I did in this lemongrass simple syrup. If you do, your syrup will be BROWN, not green.) Use an equal amount of sugar and liquid to make a simple syrup or double the amount of sugar to make a rich syrup. Pandan leaf comes from a tropical plant known as pandan plant or screwpine. Its scientific name is pandanus amaryllifolius. Its leaves have a strong, grassy aroma, making them ideal to be used as flavouring. Pandan grows across South and South East Asia, mostly in a warm tropical climate. It’s predominantly used in Indonesian, Filipino, Malaysian, Thai and Vietnamese cuisines.

A 1:1 substitute of pandan extract or paste for vanilla extract is usually appropriate, but when using pandan for the first time you may want to halve the amount of pandan to test the color and flavor that results. As an example, in recipes like pancakes, crêpes, and waffles I typically add a small amount of natural pandan extract to the batter (which turns it slightly green) in place of vanilla.Pandan should be used as a flavor ingredient only. The leaves have a high level of oxalic acid which makes it bad for consumption if eaten raw. Is Pandan Extract Bitter? There are over 600 species of tropical pandan plants, and many of them have edible leaves, fruit, and flowers. The fragrant, blade-shaped leaves are often used in cooking, whether wrapped around meats or steeped in teas. The fruit can be eaten raw or made into marmalades or pastes. 3 What are the benefits of pandan?

Use vanilla extract: the vanilla flavour and alcohol in the extract should help neutralise the eggy flavour What’s more, pandan has long been utilized in Ayurvedic medicine to treat constipation, boils, and cold- or flu-like symptoms ( 1, 2). SUMMARY If you’re looking for more information about pandan and how to include more of it in your diet, we’ve got everything you need to know below. What is pandan?Pandan is a tropical plant with long narrow blade-like leaves that grow abundantly in Southeast and South Asia. Although it grows like a weed in the wild, it is also a farmed crop, producing a variety without any flowers. To make an extract, wash the leaves before cutting into pieces. Fill the blender and then add a half cup of water before processing until the leaves are well pulverized. Use a strainer to separate the solids, which should be discarded. The liquid can be used sparingly to make tasty Asian-inspired desserts. Storage advice It has a warm, slightly nutty undertaste and goes very well with other Asian ingredients such as lemongrass, coconut and gula melaka sugar. Pandan cake is a light and fluffy type of chiffon cake typically made in a chiffon pan, also known as a tube pan. It’s made with pandan extract and coconut milk, which give it a wonderful floral, fresh and tropical flavour.