Brown Sugar – What is brown sugar? What are the different varieties of brown sugar?
What is brown sugar?
Brown sugar consists of sugar crystals coated in a molasses syrup with natural flavor and color. Many sugar refiners produce brown sugar by boiling a special molasses syrup until brown sugar crystals form. A centrifuge spins the crystals dry.Some of the syrup remains giving the sugar its brown color and molasses flavor. Other manufacturers produce brown sugar by blending a special molasses syrup with white sugar crystals.
Brown Sugar varieties
Turbinado sugar
This sugar is raw sugar which has been only partially processed, removing the surface molasses. It is a blond color with a mild brown sugar flavor and is often used in tea.
Brown sugar (light and dark)
Brown sugar retains some of the molasses syrup,which imparts a pleasant flavor. Brown sugar tends to clump because it contains more moisture than white sugar. Dark brown sugar has more color and a stronger molasses flavor than light brown sugar. Lighter types are generally used in baking and making butterscotch, condiments and glazes. Dark brown sugar has a rich flavor that is good for gingerbread, mincemeat, baked beans,and other full flavored foods.
Muscovado or Barbados sugar
Muscovado sugar, a British specialty brown sugar, is very dark brown and has a particularly strong molasses flavor. The crystals are slightly coarser and stickier in texture than “regular” brown sugar.
Free-flowing brown sugars
These sugars are specialty products produced by a cocrystallization process. The process yields fine, powder-like brown sugar that is less moist than “regular” brown sugar. Since it is less moist, it does not clump and is free-flowing like white sugar.
Demerara sugar
Popular in England, Demerara sugar is a light brown sugar with large golden crystals, which are slightly sticky. It is often used in tea, coffee, or on top of hot cereals.
About sugar health artciles read more
- Sugar Substitutes for your toddler
- Sugar (Sucrose) – Why you should avoid refined sugar ?
- Beyond Sweetening…The sweeteners -Jaggery-Honey-White Sugar
- Sugar candy – Kalkkandam-White Rock Sugar-Crystallized Sugar
- Marayoor Sarkkara (Marayur Jaggery) – The sweetest jaggeries in the world
