Sugar

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Did cavemen eat Twizzlers and Milky Ways? Probably not. But sugar, has been noted throughout recorded history and is even mentioned in the Bible.

Varieties
Sugar is the naturally occurring nutrient that makes food taste sweet. It is a carbohydrate along with starch. Carbohydrates are our main source of energy. Starch-rich foods include bread, rice, pasta, and potatoes, whereas sugars are found in fruit and vegetables, honey, jam and many soft drinks. The three main varieties are white, brown and liquid with several varieties each. The types of granulated sugars differ in crystal size. Each crystal size provides unique functional characteristics that make the sugar appropriate for a specific food’s special need.

Regular” or White Sugar, Extra Fine or Fine Sugar
“Regular” or white sugar, as it is known to consumers, is the sugar found in every home’s sugar bowl, and most commonly used in home food preparation. White sugar is the sugar called for in most cookbook recipes. The food industry stipulates “regular” sugar to be “extra fine” or “fine” because small crystals are ideal for bulk handling and not susceptible to caking.

Fruit Sugar
Fruit sugar is slightly finer than “regular” sugar and is used in dry mixes such as gelatin and pudding desserts, and powdered drinks.

Bakers Special Sugar
The crystal size of Bakers Special is even finer than that of fruit sugar. As its name suggests, it was developed specially for the baking industry. Bakers Special is used for sugaring doughnuts and cookies, as well as in some commercial cake recipes to create a fine crumb texture.

Superfine, Ultrafine, or Bar Sugar
This sugar’s crystal size is the finest of all the types of granulated white sugar. It is ideal for delicately textured cakes and meringues, as well as for sweetening fruits and iced-drinks since it dissolves easily.

Confectioners or powdered sugar
This sugar is granulated sugar ground to a smooth powder and then sifted. It contains about 3% cornstarch to prevent caking. Powdered sugar is ground into three different degrees of fineness. The confectioners sugar available in supermarkets – 10X – is the finest of the three and is used in icings, confections and whipping cream.

Coarse Sugar
As its name implies, the crystal size of coarse sugar is larger than that of “regular” sugar. Coarse sugar is recovered when molasses-rich, sugar syrups high in sucrose are allowed to crystallize. The large crystal size of coarse sugar makes it highly resistant to color change or inversion (natural breakdown to fructose and glucose) at cooking and baking temperatures. These characteristics are important in making fondants, confections and liquors.

Sanding Sugar
Another large crystal sugar, sanding sugar, is used mainly in the baking and confectionery industries as a sprinkle on top of baked goods. The large crystals reflect light and give the product a sparkling appearance.

Brown Sugar
This sugar is raw sugar which has been partially processed, where only the surface molasses has been washed off. It has a blond color and mild brown sugar flavor, and is often used in tea and other beverages.

Brown sugar (light and dark)
Brown sugar retains some of the surface molasses syrup, which imparts a characteristic pleasurable flavor. Dark brown sugar has a deeper color and stronger molasses flavor than light brown sugar. Lighter types are generally used in baking and making butterscotch, condiments and glazes. The rich, full flavor of dark brown sugar makes it good for gingerbread, mincemeat, baked beans, and other full flavored foods.

Liquid Sugars
There are several types of liquid sugar. Liquid sugar (sucrose) is white granulated sugar that has been dissolved in water before it is used. Liquid sugar is ideal for products whose recipes first require sugar to be dissolved. Amber liquid sugar is darker in color and can be used in foods where brown color is desired.

How To
· Tips & Hints For Cooking and Using
· Variations & Uses

History
Over 2000 years ago in the Pacific Islands, the stalks of a plant were found to contain a sweet liquid. This plant is now known as sugar cane.

In the 17th century, another plant was found to contain sugar: sugar beet. In fact, all plants use energy from sunlight to make sugars through photosynthesis. However, only sugar beet and sugar cane make enough sugar to make it worthwhile extracting.