 |
| Brown sugar examples: Muscovado (top), dark brown (left), light brown (right) |
Brownsugarexporter.com
- In the late
1800s, the newly consolidated refined white sugar industry, which did not have
full control over brown sugar production, mounted a smear campaign against
brown sugar, reproducing microscopic photographs of harmless but
repulsive-looking microbes living in brown sugar. The effort was so successful
that by 1900, a best-selling cookbook warned that brown sugar was of inferior
quality and was susceptible to infestation by "a minute insect."[3]
Natural brown sugar
Natural
brown sugar, raw sugar or whole cane sugar is a brown sugar produced from the
first crystallization of the sugar cane. Based upon weight, unrefined brown
cane sugar, when fully refined, yields about 70% white sugar.[4][5] There is
more molasses in natural brown sugar, giving it a higher mineral content. Some
natural brown sugars have particular names and characteristics, and are sold as
turbinado, muscovado, or demerara sugar. It is regarded by some people as a
healthier alternative to more processed brown sugar.
Turbinado
and demerara sugars are made by crystallizing raw sugar cane juice, then
spinning it in a centrifuge to remove water and some impurities.[6][7] Demerara
sugar has less molasses than light brown sugar.[8]
Muscovado
(also moscovado), an unrefined, dark brown sugar, is produced without
centrifuging and has much smaller crystals than turbinado sugar. The sugar cane
extract is heated to thicken it and then pan-evaporated in the sun and pounded
to yield an unprocessed, damp sugar that retains all of the natural
minerals.[9]
Culinary
considerations
For
domestic purposes one can create the exact equivalent of brown sugar by mixing
white sugar with molasses. Suitable proportions would be about one tablespoon
of molasses to each cup of sugar (one-sixteenth or 6.25% of the total volume).
Molasses comprises 10% of brown sugar's total weight,[1] which is about 11.11%
of the white sugar weight. Blend it well, either manually or in a blender. Due
to varying qualities and colours of molasses products,[1] for lighter or darker
sugar, reduce or increase its proportion according to taste. If the requirement
is for cooking rather than a product for the table, then blending usually is
unnecessary and the sugar and molasses can be added separately.
In
following a modern recipe that specifies "brown sugar", one usually
may assume that the intended meaning is light brown sugar, but which one
prefers is largely a matter of taste. Even in recipes such as cakes, where the
moisture content might be critical, the amount of water involved is so small
that it rarely will make any practical difference. More importantly, adding
dark brown sugar or molasses will impart a stronger flavor, with more of a
suggestion of caramel.
Brown
sugar that has hardened can be made soft again by adding a new source of
moisture for the molasses, or by heating and remelting the molasses.(BD)