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For the love of gond

How an edible gum works wonders for the taste buds as well as health, explains Pooja Singh

By Pooja Singh
 During childhood, winters were spent running around the house with my grandmother chasing me. “Just one bite. It will save you from cough and cold,” badi mammi would say, carrying a laddoo made of gond (edible gum) in her hand. She knew how to make the laddoo from the age of 10, when she was married. “Your dada (grandfather) used to love them,” badi mammi told me once while forcing one down my throat. I had nothing against laddoos, just the idea of adding gond to a food item was difficult to digest. But today I know its importance.

Besides protecting against cold, gond has been used to heal wounds. It is also known to treat cardiovascular ailments and chronic kidney diseases. Doctors recommend gond for patients of celiac disease—a digestive disorder that occurs when the immune system mounts an inflammatory response to gluten, found in wheat, rye and barley. A study published in The American Journal of Cardiology says that gond can help lower cholesterol. The use of gond in medicine dates back about 5,000 years to the time of ancient Egyptians. Traditionally, gond laddoos are given to new mothers to meet their nutrition needs, but there is not enough evidence to prove this.

Today, at 78, badi mammi is as enthusiastic about making gond laddoos (see recipe). She is happier because I have grown fond of them. But she has a complaint: “When will you learn how to make gond laddoo?”

Traditional Knowledge Traditional Knowledge Nutrition Nutrition India Health Down to earth Food