What is sago flour?

Lumber

Sago flour is a starchy flour made from the pithy center of the sago palm.  It is used mainly in making soups and puddings.

Have you ever eaten a palm tree?  You have, if you have ever eaten a soup or a pudding made with sago flour!  Sago (pronounced SAY goh) is a starch found in the soft, pith-like center of the sago palm which grows in such tropical lands as Malaya and the East Indies.

The sago palm grows to a height of 30 feet or more.

To make sago flour, the trees are cut down as soon as the flowers appear.  If the fruit is allowed to form the starchy pith it is used up by the developing fruit, leaving the trunk a more hollow shell and causing the tree to die.

The starchy pith is chopped out and ground to a powder.  A single tree may yield 700 or more pounds of pith.

The powder is then kneaded with water over a strainer.  The water carried off the starch and leaves the woody fiber behind.

After a few washings, the sago flour is ready to use.  It is shipped to food processing plants and is put in pudding and soups. – Dick Rogers