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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 (natural brown sugar), but is now often produced by the addition of molasses to refined white sugar (commercial brown sugar).
The Codex Alimentarius requires brown sugar to contain at least 88% sucrose plus invert sugar. [1] Commercial brown sugar contains from 3.5% molasses (light brown sugar) to 6.5% molasses (dark brown sugar) based on its total volume. [2] Based on total weight, regular commercial brown sugar contains up to 10% molasses. [3] The product is naturally moist from the hygroscopic nature of the molasses and is often labeled "soft." The product may undergo processing to make it flow better for industrial handling. The addition of dyes or other chemicals may be permitted in some areas or for industrial products.
Particle size is variable but generally smaller than that of granulated white sugar. Products for industrial use (e.g., the industrial production of cakes) may be based on caster sugar, which has crystals of approximately 0.35 mm.
The meaning of the term 'brown sugar' has changed over time. In the 19th century, American works referred to 'refining brown sugar'. [4] Americans also referred to the 'Brown sugar of Commerce', which could be refined with a yield of 70% of white sugar. [5] In the United Kingdom it was the same. There were two kinds of raw sugar. The most common kind was muscovado a.k.a. brown sugar, and was processed by British sugar refineries. The other kind of raw sugar was brown sugar which had been clayed and was known as clayed sugar. It was used for domestic purposes, but this usage was diminishing. [6] In the 19th century United States the same meaning of the words raw sugar, brown sugar and muscovado was also noted: "Raw sugar, commonly called muscovado or brown sugar, not advanced beyond its raw state by claying, boiling, clarifying or other process". [7]
In the mid 20th century United States, 'brown sugar' could refer to two products. It could be a raw sugar which had been centrifuged to a purity of about 97% pure sugar and that was offered as brown sugar in health food shops. However, in most cases it was white sugar to which molasses had been added. For the latter, a consumer magazine said, "contrary to opinion, this brown sugar is a product of the refinery." [8] The most important consideration is that the term 'brown sugar' now came to refer to a product for consumers, instead of referring to a type of sugar that was processed by sugar refineries.
In the late 19th century, 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". [9] This campaign of disinformation was also felt in other sectors using raw or brown sugar such as brewing;
Raw sugars are all more or less liable to be contaminated with decomposing nitrogenous matters, fermentative germs, and other living organisms, both animal and vegetable....For this reason, raw sugars must always be considered dangerous brewing materials.
— E. R. Southby. A Systematic Handbook of Practical Brewing 1885 [10]
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Brown sugar is often produced by adding sugarcane molasses to completely refined white sugar crystals 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 by simply washing to reveal the underlying white sugar crystals; in contrast, with unrefined brown sugar, washing will reveal underlying crystals which are off-white due to the inclusion of molasses.
The molasses usually used for food is obtained from sugar cane, because the flavor is generally preferred over beet sugar molasses, although in some areas, especially in Belgium and the Netherlands, sugar beet molasses is used. The white sugar used can be from either beet or cane, as the chemical composition, nutritional value, color, and taste of fully refined white sugar is for practical purposes the same, no matter from what plant it originates. Even with less-than-perfect refining, the small differences in color, odor, and taste of the white sugar will be masked by the molasses.
Natural brown sugar, raw sugar or whole cane sugar is sugar that retains some amount of the molasses from the mother liquor (the partially evaporated sugar cane juice). The term 'Natural brown sugar' can be traced back to at least the 1940s, when it was noted that the sugar refiners had pushed the brown sugar from the plantation owner out of the consumer market. [11] Natural brown sugar was: 'The raw sugar, not the brown sugar most easily obtained, which usually is white sugar artificially colored.' [12] So the term 'Natural brown sugar' came up to distinguish brown sugar that still contained part of its molasses from brown sugar that was really white sugar to which molasses had been added.
Some natural brown sugars have particular names and characteristics, and are sold as turbinado, demerara or raw sugar. These have been centrifuged, and therefore can be said to have been refined to a large degree. Muscovado is darkest of the modern types of natural brown sugar.
Turbinado sugar is made from crystallized, partially evaporated sugar cane juice which has been spun in a centrifuge to remove almost all of the molasses. The sugar crystals are large and golden-coloured. This sugar can be sold as is or sent to the refinery to produce white sugar. [13] Demerara sugar is now 97-99% pure sucrose and has also been centrifuged. [14] What is now sold to the United States consumer as 'raw sugar' is also a centrifuged product. [15] If it were raw sugar in the generally accepted meaning of an unrefined product, the Food and Drug Administration would take action. [16] Some say that for consumers, raw sugar means that the sugar is highly refined, but has been crystallized only once. [14]
Modern muscovado sugar sold to consumers is different from traditional Muscovado. It is made by refining sugar with lime, but not centrifuging it. This means that impurities like dirt and ash are removed, but the molasses remains.
Brown sugars that have been only mildly centrifuged or unrefined (non-centrifuged) retain a much higher degree of molasses than products sold as natural brown sugar to consumers in developed nations. These traditional brown sugars are called various names across the globe often depending on their country of origin: e.g. muscovado, panela, rapadura, jaggery, piloncillo, etc.
Muscovado from the Portuguese açúcar mascavado, was the most common type of raw sugar and was also called brown sugar. [7] In the 19th century, this was the sugar that based upon weight yielded about 70% white sugar when fully refined. [5] [4]
Muscovado, panela, piloncillo, chancaca, jaggery and other natural dark brown sugars have been minimally centrifuged or not at all. Typically these sugars are made in smaller factories or "cottage industries" in developing nations, where they are produced with traditional practices that do not make use of industrialized vacuum evaporators or centrifuges. They are commonly boiled in open pans upon wood-fired stoves until the sugar cane juice reaches approximately 30% of the former volume and sucrose crystallization begins. They are then poured into molds to solidify or onto cooling pans where they are beaten or worked vigorously to produce a granulated brown sugar. In some countries, such as Mauritius or the Philippines, a natural brown sugar called muscovado is produced by partially centrifuging the evaporated and crystallizing cane juice to create a sugar-crystal rich mush, which is allowed to drain under gravity to produce varying degrees of molasses content in the final product. This process approximates a slightly modernized practice introduced in the 19th century to generate a better quality of natural brown sugar. [4] [17] [18] [19]
A similar Japanese version of uncentrifuged natural cane sugar is called kokuto (Japanese : 黒糖, romanized: kokutō) or kurozato (Japanese : 黒砂糖, romanized: kurozatō, lit. 'black sugar'). This is a regional specialty of Okinawa and is often sold in the form of large lumps. It is sometimes used to make shochu. Okinawan brown sugar is sometimes referred to as 'black sugar' for its darker colour compared to other types of unrefined sugar, although when broken up into smaller pieces its colour becomes lighter. [20] Kokuto is commonly used as a flavouring for drinks and desserts, but can also be eaten raw as it has a taste similar to caramel. Kokuto is also an important local industry on Amami Ōshima, Kagoshima Prefecture; sugarcane cultivation and the production of brown sugar in Japan was first recorded on the island around 400 years ago, using techniques that had been developed in Fujian Province, China, and spread across the Japanese archipelago after that point. [21]
Brown sugar adds flavor to desserts and baked goods. It can be substituted for maple sugar, and maple sugar can be substituted for it in recipes. Brown sugar caramelizes much more readily than refined sugar, and this effect can be used to make glazes and gravies brown while cooking.
For domestic purposes one can create the equivalent of brown sugar by mixing white sugar with molasses. Suitable proportions are about one tablespoon of molasses to each cup of sugar (one-sixteenth of the total volume). Molasses comprises about 10% of brown sugar's total weight, [3] which is about one ninth of the white sugar weight. Due to varying qualities and colors of molasses products, [3] for lighter or darker sugar, reduce or increase its proportion according to taste.
In following a modern recipe that specifies "brown sugar", one usually may assume that the intended meaning is light brown sugar[ citation needed ], but how dark or light one prefers one's sugar is largely a matter of taste. Even in recipes such as cakes, where the overall moisture content might be critical, the amount of water contained in brown sugar is too small to matter. Much more significant than its water content is the fact that darker brown sugar or more 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. Storing brown sugar in a freezer will prevent moisture from escaping and molasses from crystallizing, allowing for a much longer shelf life. Mildly hardened brown sugar can be broken up with utensils or placed into a closed container and shaken.
Although brown sugar has been touted as having health benefits ranging from soothing menstrual cramps to serving as an anti-aging skin treatment, [22] brown sugar is no better for health than refined sugar, despite the minerals it contains (the amounts are negligible). [23]
| Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 1,576 kJ (377 kcal) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
97.33 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sugars | 96.21 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dietary fiber | 0 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
0 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
0 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Other constituents | Quantity | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Water | 1.77 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| †Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults, [24] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies. [25] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 1,619 kJ (387 kcal) | ||||||||||||||||||||
99.98 g | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sugars | 99.91 g | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Dietary fiber | 0 g | ||||||||||||||||||||
0 g | |||||||||||||||||||||
0 g | |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| Other constituents | Quantity | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Water | 0.03 g | ||||||||||||||||||||
| †Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults, [24] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies. [25] | |||||||||||||||||||||
One hundred grams of brown sugar contains 377 Calories (nutrition table), as opposed to 387 Calories in white sugar (link to nutrition table). However, brown sugar packs more densely than white sugar due to the smaller crystal size and may have more calories when measured by volume.
Any minerals present in brown sugar come from the molasses added to the white sugar. In a 100-gram reference amount, brown sugar contains 15% of the Daily Value for iron, with no other vitamins or minerals in significant content (table).
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.
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.
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.
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.
Jaggery is a traditional non-centrifugal cane sugar consumed in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, North America, 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.
A sugarloaf was the usual form in which refined sugar was produced and sold until the late 19th century, when granulated and cube sugars were introduced. A tall cone with a rounded top was the end product of a process in which dark molasses, a rich raw sugar that was imported from sugar-growing regions such as the Caribbean and Brazil, was refined into white sugar.
Fudge is a type of confection that is made by mixing sugar, butter and milk. It has its origins in the 19th century United States, and was popular in the women's colleges of the time. Fudge can come in a variety of flavorings depending on the region or country it was made; popular flavors include fruit, nut, chocolate and caramel. Fudge is often bought as a gift from a gift shop in tourist areas and attractions.
White sugar, also called table sugar, granulated sugar, or regular sugar, is a commonly used type of sugar, made either of beet sugar or cane sugar, which has undergone a refining process. It is nearly pure sucrose.
A sugar refinery is a refinery which processes raw sugar from cane or sugar extracted from beets into white refined sugar.
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.
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 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.
Sucanat is a brand name for a variety of whole cane sugar that was introduced by Pronatec in 1978. Like panela and muscovado, Sucanat retains its molasses content. It is essentially pure dried sugar cane juice. The juice is extracted by mechanical processes, heated, and cooled, forming small brown grainy crystals.
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. Muscovado contains higher levels of various minerals than processed white sugar, and is considered by some to be healthier. Its main uses are in food and confectionery, and the manufacturing of rum and other forms of alcohol. The largest producer and consumer of muscovado is India.
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.
Coconut sugar is a palm sugar produced from the sap of the flower bud stem of the coconut palm.
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.
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.
A beet sugar factory, or sugar factory, is a type of production facility that produces sugar from sugar beets beets or alternative plants to sugarcane in making refined sugar. Nowadays, most sugar factories also act as a sugar refinery. The first beet sugar factory was built in 1802.
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