Ask three different Maharashtrian kitchens what "gul" means and you'll get three different answers — a hard amber block you have to chip at with a knife, small pre-cut cubes that dissolve fast in hot chai, or a fine powder you can spoon straight into batter. All three are jaggery. None of them is "better" in some universal sense — they're just built for different jobs. This guide is about picking the right one for what you're actually cooking, not about jaggery being a miracle food (it isn't — more on that below).
What deshi gul actually is
Jaggery, or deshi gul, is unrefined sugar made by boiling down sugarcane juice until it thickens and sets — no centrifuging, no bleaching, no chemical clarifying agents the way refined white sugar is processed. Because the molasses is never spun out, the mineral content that's normally stripped out of sugar — iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium — stays in. That's the real, checkable difference between gul and table sugar: less processing, more of the sugarcane juice's original mineral load left behind. It's still sugar, still calories, and still worth using in moderation — jaggery is not a loophole around sugar limits, whatever some product listings imply.
Most of the deshi gul on UmedMart is made using the traditional Lakdi Ghana method: sugarcane juice is extracted and slow-boiled over a wood fire in an open pan, skimmed by hand, and left to set as it thickens — a process that takes real time and attention, which is part of why small-batch, SHG-made gul costs a bit more than supermarket jaggery.
Block, cubes, or powder — what's actually different
Whole block (akhand gul): This is jaggery in its least-processed form — a solid lump you break or grate as needed. It keeps the longest of the three (less surface area exposed to moisture), and because you portion it yourself, it's the format serious cooks reach for when a recipe wants jaggery melted slowly into a curry or dal — you can shave off exactly as much as you need. The trade-off is effort: breaking a hard block needs a knife or a mortar and pestle, which isn't always convenient on a weeknight.
Cubes: Pre-cut into small, roughly uniform pieces, cubes solve the "how do I portion this" problem. Drop one or two into a cup of chai or coffee and they dissolve in a minute or two without any chopping. They're the easiest format for daily tea and coffee use, and for laddoos or halwa where you want quick, even melting. They don't keep quite as well as a whole block once the pack is opened repeatedly, simply because more surface area is exposed each time.
Powder: Ground fine, jaggery powder dissolves the fastest of the three and mixes evenly into batters, doughs, and marinades where you don't want lumps — think baking, kheer, or a quick poha or upma seasoning. It's the most convenient for measuring by the spoon, but it also absorbs ambient moisture fastest, so it needs the tightest-sealed container of the three.
There's no wrong choice here — it genuinely comes down to what you're making. A cook who mostly sweetens chai is better served by cubes; someone making dal or sabzi where jaggery needs to melt into a sauce over heat often prefers a block they can shave to taste; someone baking or making kheer usually reaches for powder.
Where UmedMart's gul comes from
UmedMart currently carries deshi gul from three different Maharashtra SHGs, each working with sugarcane from their own district:
- KAPILA, made by Kapileshwar Mahila Swayam Sahayata Samuh in Karad, Satara district — available as whole deshi gul and as cubes.
- KOLHAPUR GREENS, made by Sakhi SHG (Masegaon, Jalna district) — available as cubes and as powder.
- KALPNIL, made by Samarth Mahila Bachat Gat, working across Satara and Jalna districts — available as a 1 kg whole-block pack and as powder.
Buying any of these means the sugarcane-to-jaggery process — extraction, boiling, skimming, setting — was done by hand by a women's self-help group rather than at an industrial mill, which is also why batch-to-batch colour and texture can vary a little. That's normal for hand-made gul, not a defect.
Storing jaggery so it doesn't turn rock-hard or melt into a puddle
Jaggery is hygroscopic — it pulls in moisture from humid air and loses it in dry air, which is why a block left uncovered in Mumbai's monsoon can turn sticky while the same block in a dry hill-station winter can turn hard as a rock. An airtight container, kept in a cool, dry spot away from direct sunlight, is really the only rule that matters. If a block has hardened, a few seconds in a dry pan or a very brief spell in the sun softens it enough to grate. If it's gone slightly sticky, a spell in an airtight jar with a spoonful of rice (to absorb the excess moisture) usually fixes it.
Which one should you buy
If you're mainly sweetening tea and coffee day to day, start with cubes — the KAPILA or KOLHAPUR GREENS cube packs are the easiest to use without any prep. If you cook a lot of dal, amti, or sabzi that wants jaggery melted in gradually, the KAPILA or KALPNIL whole deshi gul gives you more control over how much goes in. If you bake, make kheer, or want jaggery that blends in without lumps, reach for the KOLHAPUR GREENS or KALPNIL powder. All three brands are handmade by Maharashtra SHGs — browse the full Jaggery & Sweeteners collection to compare packs and prices.
Stocking your pantry with other Maharashtra SHG staples? See our guide to choosing Indrayani rice, the everyday rice that pairs naturally with a jaggery-finished amti or dal.
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