Muscovado

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Brown sugar types: muscovado (top), dark brown (left), light brown (right) Brown sugar examples.JPG
Brown sugar types: muscovado (top), dark brown (left), light brown (right)

Muscovado is a type of partially refined to unrefined sugar with a strong molasses content and flavour, and dark brown in colour. It is technically considered either a non-centrifugal cane sugar or a centrifuged, partially refined sugar according to the process used by the manufacturer. [1] [2] Muscovado contains higher levels of various minerals than processed white sugar, and is considered by some to be healthier. [3] [4] [5] Its main uses are in food and confectionery, and the manufacture of rum and other forms of alcohol. The largest producer and consumer of muscovado is India. [6] [7]

Contents

Terminology

The English name "muscovado" is derived from a corruption of Portuguese açúcar mascavado (unrefined sugar). [8] [9] The Indian English names for this type of sugar are khandsari and khand (sometimes spelled khaand).

There is no legal definition of muscovado, and no international standards for it such as Codex Alimentarius or Protected Designation of Origin . This has led to manufacturers calling various sugar products "muscovado", and has led to confusion between muscovado, brown sugar, and even jaggery.

History

The earliest known production of crystalline sugar began in northern India, after the introduction of sugarcane by Austronesian traders from Island Southeast Asia at around 1000 BCE. However, the exact date of the first cane sugar production is unclear. [10] The earliest evidence of sugar production comes from ancient Sanskrit and Pali texts. [11] Around the 8th century, Muslim and Arab traders introduced sugar from medieval India to the other parts of the Abbasid Caliphate in the Mediterranean, Mesopotamia, Egypt, North Africa, and Andalusia. By the 10th century, sources state that every village in Mesopotamia grew sugarcane. [12]

The early modern era, which saw the European colonization of the Americas and Asia, also led to a rapid increase in sugar production. Sugar plantations were established in numerous places colonized by European nations, such as islands in the Indian Ocean, the West Indies and South and North America. [13] Labor for these plantations were typically provided by indentured servants, slaves or kidnapped Pacific Islanders, which saw the rise of the transatlantic and Indian Ocean slave trades to supply enslaved laborers to cash crop plantations (including those producing sugar). Sugarcane was typically refined into raw sugar or distilled into rum on colonial plantations or sent elsewhere to be processed. [14] [15]

Raw sugar was brought to port in a variety of purities that could be sold either as raw sugar directly to market for producing alcohol, or as muscovado exported sugar refineries in Europe and the Americas. [16] In 19th-century Europe, raw sugars that had been refined enough to lose most of their molasses content were termed raw and deemed higher quality, while poor quality sugars with a high molasses content were referred to as muscovado, though the term brown sugar was sometimes used interchangeably. [16]

Production

Production methods

Traditional non-centrifugal sugar production
Jaggery preparation8.jpg
Boiling sugarcane juice to make molasses
Jaggery preparation5.jpg
Pouring molasses for granulation by shearing

Muscovado is made from the juice of sugar cane that is evaporated until crystallisation occurs. The viscous suspension of crystals and mother liquor (molasses) is called massecuite. In the 19th century several techniques were used for sugar production. [17] [18] [19] [2] [1] [20] Muscovado is today produced by three main methods: [21] [22]

Massecuite is also used in the production of jaggery, in which it is set into moulds directly (without shearing, centrifuging, or spray drying). [21]

Producer nations

Total global production is 10 million to 11 million tons annually by 20 nations. The largest producer is India (58%), followed by Colombia (14%), Myanmar (9%), Pakistan (6%), Brazil (4%), Bangladesh (3%), and China (3%). [6] [7]

In India, most khand (muscovado) is produced by 150 small to medium scale private manufacturers overseen by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission. These producers use traditional chemical-free organic manual shearing methods, each operating between 100 and 120 days per year, with a typical capacity of between 200 and 350 tons of sugarcane per day. [6] The largest producing states in India are Maharashtra (58%), Bihar (6%), Karnataka (5%), Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh (6%). [6]

In Mauritius, muscovado is produced by centrifuging massecuite, from which the molasses is left to drain naturally. [2]

In the Philippines, muscovado may be generated by any of the three methods. [1] [20] [21] [22] In the past, muscovado was one of the islands’ prominent export commodities, especially from the Negros island region in the Western Visayas, from the 19th century until the late 1970s. [23]

The production of muscovado in the Philippines, Barbados, and elsewhere had experienced a long period of decline when large mills took over sugar production from small farmers with small mills. In recent years an increased consumer interest in healthy and organic foods has revived interest in muscovado, creating a new market for small mills. [24]

Nutrition

When produced under regulated conditions muscovado is nutritionally richer than sugars, [25] [ better source needed ] and retains more of the natural minerals in sugar cane juice, as shown in the following nutritional analysis (per 100 g): [26]

Uses

Food and confectionery

Masala tea and Indian filter coffee are sweetened with gur khand (muscovado). Masala Tea and South Indian Filter Coffee.jpg
Masala tea and Indian filter coffee are sweetened with gur khand (muscovado).

Muscovado is used as an ingredient in food and confectionery, [27] [28] and as a sweetener in hot beverages. It is very dark brown and is slightly coarser and stickier than most brown sugars. Muscovado takes its flavor and color from its source, sugarcane juice. It offers good resistance to high temperatures and has a reasonably long shelf life.

Muscovado sugar can be substituted for brown sugar in most recipes by slightly reducing the liquid content of the recipe.

Gulab jamun, an Indian sweet prepared with khand. Besan laddu photo.JPG
Gulab jamun, an Indian sweet prepared with khand.

The use of khand in India in making sweets has been traced to at least 500 BC, when both raw and refined sugar were used. [27]

Along with gur, khandsari unrefined sugar is India's traditional sweetener, [28] commonly used in traditional recipes for masala chai (spiced Indian tea), eating with roti by mixing with melted ghee, traditional Indian sweets that require sugar such as kheer (Indian rice pudding), gur or khandr chawal (sweetened rice) or laddu.

Muscovado is often used to sweeten coffee.

An ayurvedic pharmacy in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand. Khandsari is used in Indian ayurveda medicine. An Ayurvedic Pharmacy, Rishikesh (1).jpg
An ayurvedic pharmacy in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand. Khandsari is used in Indian ayurveda medicine.

Alcohol

A significant proportion of India's production of Khandsari (muscovado) is used for the illicit production of desi daru, a distilled alcoholic drink. [6]

Ayurveda medicine

Khandsari (muscovado) is used in traditional Ayurveda medicine to aid blood purification, digestion, bone health and the lungs. [29]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sugar</span> Sweet-tasting, water-soluble carbohydrates

Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double sugars, are molecules made of two bonded monosaccharides; common examples are sucrose, lactose, and maltose. White sugar is a refined form of sucrose. In the body, compound sugars are hydrolysed into simple sugars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sucrose</span> Disaccharide made of glucose and fructose

Sucrose, a disaccharide, is a sugar composed of glucose and fructose subunits. It is produced naturally in plants and is the main constituent of white sugar. It has the molecular formula C
12H
22O
11.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Molasses</span> Viscous by-product of the refining of sugarcane, grapes, or sugar beets into sugar

Molasses is a viscous byproduct, principally obtained from the refining of sugarcane or sugar beet juice into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, the method of extraction and age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is usually used to sweeten and flavour foods. Molasses is a major constituent of fine commercial brown sugar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Refinery</span> Production facility for processing raw materials

A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jaggery</span> Unrefined cane sugar

Jaggery is a traditional non-centrifugal cane sugar consumed in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Central America, Brazil and Africa. It is a concentrated product of cane juice and often date or palm sap without separation of the molasses and crystals, and can vary from golden brown to dark brown in colour. It contains up to 50% sucrose, up to 20% invert sugars, and up to 20% moisture, with the remainder made up of other insoluble matter, such as wood ash, proteins, and bagasse fibres. Jaggery is very similar to muscovado, an important sweetener in Portuguese, British and French cuisine. The Kenyan Sukari ngutu/nguru has no fibre; it is dark and is made from sugarcane and also sometimes extracted from palm tree.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown sugar</span> Sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown colour

Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is by tradition an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content, but is now often produced by the addition of molasses to refined white sugar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sugar refinery</span> Factory which processes raw sugar into white sugar

A sugar refinery is a refinery which processes raw sugar from cane or sugar extracted from beets into white refined sugar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden syrup</span> Thick amber-colored form of inverted sugar syrup

Golden syrup or light treacle is a thick, amber-coloured form of inverted sugar syrup made by the process of refining sugar cane or sugar beet juice into sugar. It is used in a variety of baking recipes and desserts. It has an appearance and consistency similar to honey, and is often used as a substitute where honey is unavailable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Panela</span> Unrefined whole cane sugar, typical of Latin America

Panela or rapadura is an unrefined whole cane sugar, typical of Latin America. It is a solid form of sucrose derived from the boiling and evaporation of sugarcane juice. Panela is known by other names in Latin America, such as chancaca in Chile, Bolivia, and Peru, piloncillo in Mexico. Just like brown sugar, two varieties of piloncillo are available; one is lighter (blanco) and one darker (oscuro). Unrefined, it is commonly used in Mexico, where it has been around for at least 500 years. Made from crushed sugar cane, the juice is collected, boiled, and poured into molds, where it hardens into blocks. It is similar to jaggery, which is used in South Asia. Both are considered non-centrifugal cane sugars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tilkut</span> Sweet originating in India

Tilkut also known as tilkutam, gajak, tilpatti, is a sweet made in the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand.

Mithai (sweets) are the confectionery and desserts of the Indian subcontinent. Thousands of dedicated shops in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka sell nothing but sweets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palm sugar</span> Sugar extracted from the sap of palm trees

Palm sugar is a sweetener derived from any variety of palm tree. Palm sugar is sometimes qualified by the type of palm, as in coconut palm sugar. While sugars from different palms may have slightly different compositions, all are processed similarly and can be used interchangeably.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sugarcane juice</span> Liquid extracted from sugarcane

Sugarcane juice is the liquid extracted from pressed sugarcane. It is consumed as a beverage in many places, especially where sugarcane is commercially grown, such as Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, North Africa, mainly Egypt, and also in South America. Sugarcane juice is obtained by crushing peeled sugar cane in a mill and is one of the main precursors of rum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sugarcane</span> Several species of grass used for sugar production

Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, perennial grass that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sucrose, which accumulates in the stalk internodes. Sugarcanes belong to the grass family, Poaceae, an economically important flowering plant family that includes maize, wheat, rice, and sorghum, and many forage crops. It is native to the warm temperate and tropical regions of India, Southeast Asia, and New Guinea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of sugar</span>

The history of sugar has five main phases:

  1. The extraction of sugar cane juice from the sugarcane plant, and the subsequent domestication of the plant in tropical India and Southeast Asia sometime around 4,000 BC.
  2. The invention of manufacture of cane sugar granules from sugarcane juice in India a little over two thousand years ago, followed by improvements in refining the crystal granules in India in the early centuries AD.
  3. The spread of cultivation and manufacture of cane sugar to the medieval Islamic world together with some improvements in production methods.
  4. The spread of cultivation and manufacture of cane sugar to the West Indies and tropical parts of the Americas beginning in the 16th century, followed by more intensive improvements in production in the 17th through 19th centuries in that part of the world.
  5. The development of beet sugar, high-fructose corn syrup and other sweeteners in the 19th and 20th centuries.
<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sugarcane mill</span> Factory that processes sugar cane to produce raw or white sugar

A sugar cane mill is a factory that processes sugar cane to produce raw sugar or plantation white sugar. Some sugar mills are situated next to a back-end refinery, that turns raw sugar into (refined) white sugar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Non-centrifugal cane sugar</span> Traditional raw sugar obtained by evaporating water from sugarcane juice

Non-centrifugal cane sugar (NCS) is the technical name given to traditional raw sugar obtained by evaporating water from sugarcane juice. NCS is internationally recognized as a discrete and unique product by the FAO since 1964 and by the World Customs Organization (WCO) since 2007. WCO defines NCS as "cane sugar obtained without centrifugation". It also states that "the product contains only natural anhedral micro-crystals, of irregular shape, not visible to the naked eye, which are surrounded by molasses' residues and other constituents of sugar cane". NCS is produced in most sugarcane-growing regions of the world, being known by many different names such as panela, jaggery, or gur. Some varieties of muscovado are non-centrifugal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saiyid Muhammad Hadi</span>

Saiyid Muhammad Hadi was a British-trained official who worked in the United Provinces and served as a Director of Agriculture in Bhopal State. He worked on the improvement of sugarcane processing. The so-called Hadi or Bhopal method of sugarcane processing was a major improvement over early processes, with significant savings on losses. He was given the title of Khan Bahadur for his contributions.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Muscovado Sugar". Archived from the original on 17 April 2015.[ self-published source ]
  2. 1 2 3 Prince, Rose (9 November 2011). "The sweetest flames: Brown sugar from Mauritius". The Daily Telegraph . London. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  3. ↑ Education World: The Human Development Magazine. 2004. Volume 6, Issues 7-12, p.78
  4. ↑ Souvenir, Silver Jubilee Celebrations and 22nd Annual Convention, Indian Society of Agricultural Engineers, 29-31 Oct. 1985 Held at Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, pp.116
  5. 1 2 Jaggery Nutritional Value, Nutrition Facts & Analysis, Ayur Times, Dr. Jagdev Singh, 27 Nov 2014
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Bhardwaj, Amit (25 March 2013). "The Gur and Khaandsri Industry & its practical impact on Indian Sugar Consumption level" (PDF). Indian Sugar Mills Association. New Delhi: World Association of Cane and Beet Growers Conference. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 June 2015.
  7. 1 2 Dhawan, B. D. (April 15, 1967). "The Traditional versus the Modern: Case of Indian Sugar Industry". Economic and Political Weekly. 2 (15): 723, 725–7. JSTOR   4357817.
  8. ↑ "muscovado" . Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press.(Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  9. ↑ "muscovado". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  10. ↑ Daniels, Christian; Menzies, Nicholas K. (1996). Needham, Joseph (ed.). Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 6, Biology and Biological Technology, Part 3, Agro-Industries and Forestry. Cambridge University Press. pp. 177–185. ISBN   9780521419994.
  11. ↑ See:
    • George Watt (1893), The Economic Products of India, W. H. Allen & Co., Vol 6, Part II, pages 29–30;
    • J.A. Hill (1902), The Anglo-American Encyclopedia', Volume 7, page 725;
    • Thomas E. Furia (1973), CRC Handbook of Food Additives, Second Edition, Volume 1, ISBN   978-0849305429, page 7 (Chapter 1, by Thomas D. Luckey);
    • Mary Ellen Snodgrass (2004), Encyclopedia of Kitchen History, ISBN   978-1579583804, Routledge, pages 145–146
  12. ↑ Watson, Andrew. Agricultural innovation in the early Islamic world. Cambridge University Press. p. 26–7.
  13. ↑ "Triangular Trade". National Maritime Museum . Archived from the original on 25 November 2011.
  14. ↑ Abbott, Elizabeth (2009) [2008]. Sugar: A Bittersweet History . London and New York: Duckworth Overlook. ISBN   978-0-7156-3878-1.
  15. ↑ "Slavery in Rhode Island". Slavery in the North.
  16. 1 2 Accum, Fredrick Christian, Culinary Chemistry Exhibiting the Scientific Principles of Cookery (1821), London, p. 289.
  17. ↑ Orr, W. (1844), The Magazine of Domestic Economy, Vol. 5, p. 107.
  18. ↑ Reed, W. (1866), The History of Sugar and Sugar Producing Plants, pp. 82–89.
  19. ↑ Martineau, G. (1918), "Sugar from several points of view", in The Chemical News and Journal of Industrial Science, 117.
  20. 1 2 "Muscovado Sugar" (PDF). Datupagles.com. Retrieved 2016-07-30.
  21. 1 2 3 Larkin, W. (1993). "Sugar and the Origins of Modern Philippine Society". pp. 55–58.
  22. 1 2 Roger Knight, G. (2013), Commodities and Colonialism: The Story of Big Sugar in Indonesia, 1880–1942, p. 4.
  23. ↑ Larkin, John A. "Sugar and the Origins of Modern Philippine Society". Escholarship.org. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
  24. ↑ "Muscovado Sugar : A New Sunshine Industry". Agriculture Business Week. 2008-07-24. Archived from the original on 2008-10-13. Retrieved 2009-05-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  25. ↑ Zhu, Agnes (24 October 2014). "Refined sugar vs. unrefined sugar". The Daily Californian . Berkeley, CA, USA.
  26. ↑ "Muscovado Sugar". Sugarindia.com. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016.
  27. 1 2 Michael Krondl, Sweet Invention: A History of Dessert, Chicago Review Press, ISBN   978-1556529542, pp. 34–35
  28. 1 2 "Jaggery – A Traditional Indian Sweetener", P. V. K. Rao, M. Das S. K. Das, Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge, 2004, vol. 2007 6(1), January 2007, p. 95
  29. ↑ "Policy Brief – Technological and Policy Options for Modernization of Jaggery Industry in India", Indian Council of Agricultural Research, L. S. Gangwar, S. Solomon & S. I. Anwar, p .2
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