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SAGO

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Originally appearing in Volume V23, Page 1003 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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SAGO , a See also:

food-See also:starch prepared from a See also:deposit in the See also:trunk of several palms, the See also:principal source being the sago See also:palm (Metroxylon Sagu) (see fig.), a native of the See also:East See also:Indian See also:Archipelago, the sago forests being especially extensive in the See also:island of See also:Ceram. The trees flourish only in See also:low marshy situations, seldom attaining a height of 30 ft., with a thick-set trunk. They attain maturity as starch-yielding See also:plants at the See also:age of about fifteen years, when the See also:stem is gorged with an enormous See also:mass of spongy medullary See also:matter, around which is an See also:outer rind consisting of a hard dense woody See also:wall about 2 in. thick. When the See also:fruit is allowed to See also:form and ripen, the whole of this starchy core disappears, leaving the stem a See also:mere hollow See also:shell; and the See also:tree immediately after ripening its fruit See also:dies. When ripe the palms are cut down, the stems divided into sections and split up, and the starchy See also:pith extracted and grated to a See also:powder. The powder is then kneaded with See also:water over a strainer, through which the starch passes, leaving the woody fibre behind. The starch settles in the bottom of a trough, in which it is floated, and after one or two washings is See also:fit for use by the natives for their cakes and soups. That intended for exportation is mixed into a See also:paste with water and rubbed through See also:sieves into small grains, from the See also:size of a See also:coriander See also:seed and larger, whence it is known according to size as See also:pearl sago, bulletsago, &c. A large proportion of the sago imported into See also:Europe comes from See also:Borneo, and the increasing demand has led to a large See also:extension of sago-palm planting along the marshy See also:river-See also:banks of See also:Sarawak. Sago is also obtained from Metroxylon Rumphii as well as from various other East Indian palms such as the Gomuti palm (Arenga saccharifera), the Kittul palm (Caryota wrens), the Sago Palm (Metroxylon Sagu), much reduced. 1, Portion of See also:leaf. 4, Spike of male See also:flowers.

2, Portion of See also:

female inflo- rescence in fruiting See also:stage. 5, Same cut lengthwise. 6, Fruit. 3, See also:Branch of male inflorescence. 7, See also:Section of fruit and seed, s; e, embryo. See also:cabbage palm (Corypha umbraculifera), besides CoryphaGebagan, Raphia flabelliformis and See also:Phoenix farinifera, also from Mauritia flexuosa and Guilielma speciosa, two See also:South See also:American See also:species. It is also obtained from the pith of species of Cycas.

End of Article: SAGO

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