Tapping
The sap is extracted and collected by a tapper. Typically the sap is collected from the cut flower of the palm tree. A container is fastened to the flower stump to collect the sap. The white liquid that initially collects tends to be very sweet and non-alcoholic before it is fermented. An alternate method is the felling of the entire tree. Where this is practiced, a fire is sometimes lit at the cut end to facilitate the collection of sap. Palm wine tapping is mentioned in the novel Things Fall Apart by the Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe and is central to the plot of the groundbreaking novel The Palm Wine Drinkard by Nigerian author Amos Tutuola.
In parts of India, the unfermented sap is called neera (padaneer in Tamil Nadu) and is refrigerated, stored and distributed by semi-government agencies. A little lime is added to the sap to prevent it from fermenting. Neera is said to contain many nutrients including potash. Palm sap begins fermenting immediately after collection, due to natural yeasts in the pores of pot and air (often spurred by residual yeast left in the collecting container). Within two hours, fermentation yields an aromatic wine of up to 4% alcohol content, mildly intoxicating and sweet. The wine may be allowed to ferment longer, up to a day, to yield a stronger, more sour and acidic taste, which some people prefer. Longer fermentation produces vinegar instead of stronger wine.
In Africa, the sap used to create palm wine is most often taken from wild datepalms such as the silver date palm (Phoenix sylvestris), the palmyra, and the jaggery palm (Caryota urens), or from oil palm such as the African Oil Palm (Elaeis guineense) or from Raffia palms, kithul palms, or nipa palms. In India and South Asia, coconut palms and Palmyra palms such as the Arecaceae and Borassus are preferred. In southern Africa, palm wine (ubusulu) is produced in Maputaland, an area in the south of Mozambique between the Lobombo mountains and the Indian Ocean. It is mainly produced from the lala palm (Hyphaene coriacea) by cutting the stem and collecting the sap. In part of central and western Democratic Republic of the Congo, palm wine is called malafu. There are four types of palm wine in the central and southern DRC. From the oil palm comes ngasi, dibondo comes from the raffia palm, cocoti from the coconut palm, and mahusu from a short palm which grows in the savannah areas of western Bandundu and Kasai provinces.
In Tuvalu, the process of making toddy can clearly be seen with tapped palm trees that line Funafuti International Airport.
In some areas of India, palm wine is evaporated to produce the unrefined sugar called jaggery.
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