MD Kithul Treacle is a single-ingredient syrup drawn from the sap of the kithul palm (Caryota urens), a species that grows naturally in the wet zone and central highlands of Sri Lanka. The sap is collected from the palm's inflorescence — its flower cluster — and then boiled down into the thick, dark brown treacle that fills each glass bottle. The label lists no ingredient other than the treacle itself, and states that no preservatives have been added.
The kithul palm is a fixture of Sri Lankan agroforestry and the wild landscape alike, and the tradition of tapping it for sap is a long-established cottage industry supporting rural communities across the island. The same sap, depending on how it is processed, can yield treacle, a cruder sugar known as jaggery, toddy, or vinegar — each the product of a different treatment of what starts as the same raw material. For treacle, prolonged boiling produces the concentrated syrup with its characteristic weight and depth of colour.
In Sri Lankan cooking, kithul treacle has a customary partner: buffalo-milk curd, known locally as meekiri. The two are served together across the country, the sharp freshness of the curd alongside the dense sweetness of the treacle. Beyond that pairing, the treacle is used as a sweetener in food, in baking, and in drinks including herbal infusions. It is also a traditional ingredient in kevum, the deep-fried rice-flour cakes associated with Sinhala and Tamil New Year.
MD is the brand of Lanka Canneries (Pvt) Ltd, a Colombo-based manufacturer established in the 1930s as the successor to the government Marketing Department. The company holds HACCP and ISO 22000 certifications and exports its range to more than thirty countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Japan and Australia. The 350 ml bottle is labelled Export Quality and carries a Country of Origin declaration for Sri Lanka.
The treacle is bottled in glass with a green screw cap and should be refrigerated once opened. The label carries a High Sugar advisory, reflecting a sugar content of 70.9 g per 100 ml. MD Kithul Treacle is available in four bottle sizes, from a compact 170 ml up to a 750 ml bottle for households that use it regularly.
