The process of making a gula kabung on a daily basis.

(Source: sentiasapanas.com)

KUALA LIPIS – ‘Gula kabung’ is a popular dish among the people of Pahang. Residents usually make it as a sweetener in cuisine and also as a business opportunity that is the main source of the local economy.

The majority of those who live in Kampung Peruang, Kuala Lipis, have been running this gula kabung business as a source of daily income since the early days of their ancestors.

Assistance and allocation are also provided to gula kabung entrepreneurs who live in the area for the planting of kabung trees, allowing the area to expand the gula kabung industry worldwide.

Abu Johar Sudin, 65, also known as Pak Abu, has proven that the gula kabung enterprise could support his family for more than 40 years due to increasing demand.

Pak Abu is in the midst of making gula kabung at his home in Kampung Peruang.

(Sumber: Harian Metro)

The demand for gula kabung grows by the day especially during the months of Ramadan and Syawal because gula kabung can produce a variety of cakes and delicacies.

“The demand for gula kabung is still growing day by day where sometimes customers’ orders cannot be accepted by the sellers because of high demands, especially this fasting month recently.

“We can produce 20 books of gula kabung in a day, which is insufficient to be distributed in Pahang alone due to the high demand from Pahang itself,” he said in the interview with Berita DIMENSi through a phone call.

“I am still selling this gula kabung at RM 7 each with two books, so there are probably still many who want to buy it because of the low price," he explained.

Rohayu Majid, 46, from Kuala Lipis is a regular customer of gula kabung even though she now lives in Sipitang, Sabah.

“I frequently ask my sister in Kuala Lipis to buy it as much as possible and post it to me, or when she comes here, I will ask her to bring it here for me.

"I usually use this gula kabung for many things, sometimes I cook at home with it, and sometimes I give it to people here since they like it,” she said in an interview with Berita DIMENSi through a phone call.

The process of making ‘Gula Kabung’.

The gula kabung process began with the kabung tree that has two parts which are the fruit and the flower. The entrepreneur had to extract ‘nira’ from fertile and healthy kabung trees to produce long-lasting gula kabung.

The process of climbing a kabung tree to get ‘nira’ from the flowers.

(Source: Berita Harian)

To prevent the gula kabung from being damaged in a short period of time, the ‘nira’ will be cooked over a steaming hot fire and stirred for more than four to five hours until it becomes thick and golden.

The heated gula kabung will be placed in a round mold and frozen for five to 10 minutes before being neatly packed.

The gula kabung that have been packed will be sent to the areas for reselling purposes and to be posted abroad due to the high demand.

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