Brown sugar
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- This page is about the Sugar product. For the slang term for the opioid, see Heroin. For other uses see Brown sugar (disambiguation).
Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content or produced by the addition of molasses to refined white sugar.
Brown sugar contains from 3.5% molasses (light brown sugar) to 6.5% molasses (dark brown sugar). The product is naturally moist from the hygroscopic nature of the molasses and is often labelled as "Soft". The product may undergo processing to give a product that flows better for industrial handling. The addition of dyes and or other chemicals may be permitted in some areas or for industrial products.
Particle size is variable but generally less than granulated white sugar, products for industrial use e.g. as an ingredient for industrial production of cakes may be based on caster sugar (crystals of approximately 0.35 mm).
Manufacture
Many brown sugar producers produce brown sugar by adding molasses to completely refined white sugar crystals in order to more carefully control the ratio of molasses to sugar crystals, and to reduce manufacturing costs. Brown sugar prepared in this manner is often much coarser than its unrefined equivalent, and its molasses may be easily separated from the crystals to yield white sugar (which is not possible with unrefined sugar). This is mainly done for inventory control and convenience.The molasses used is generally from sugar cane, because the flavor and quality of cane molasses is preferable. Sugar beet molasses while usable generally carries a strong vegetable odour from its beet origins. The white sugar to which the molasses is added can be from either origin as both are practically 100% pure and residual odour from production is minimal.
Brown sugar can be made at home by mixing white granulated sugar with molasses, using one tablespoon of molasses for every cup of white sugar (one-sixteenth or 6.25% of the total volume). Thorough blending will yield dark brown sugar; for light brown sugar, between one and two teaspoons of molasses per cup should be used instead. It is, however, simpler to substitute molasses for an equal portion of white sugar while cooking, without mixing them separately.
Nutritional value
Brown sugar has a slightly lower caloric value by weight than white sugar due to the presence of water. One hundred grams of brown sugar contains 373 calories, as opposed to 396 calories in white sugar. New Scientist. [I'm Sweet Enough] 21 January 2006 However, brown sugar packs more densely than white sugar due to the smaller crystal size and may have more calories when measured by volume.History
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"Levenstein, Harvey. [Revolution at the Table] Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003. 32-33.Natural brown sugar
Natural brown sugar also known as raw sugar is a brown sugar from the incomplete processing of cane. Natural brown sugar is free of additional dyes and chemicals. It has more minerals than other brown sugar (up to ten times as many). Some natural brown sugars have particular names and characteristics such as Demerara or Muscovado.Reference
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External links
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