Brown Sugar.. Golden or Dark?

Jail egger · September 2008

Can anyone shed light on this subject...or is there a difference.

stike · September 2008

dark has more molasses

Mainegg · September 2008

LOL So Stike, at the risk of really opening a huge can of worms, is there any thing you do not know? :evil: :P

RU Eggsperienced · September 2008

From Wikipedia:

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).

stike · September 2008

i honestly thought that it was an obvious thing!
hahaha

you can smell it, cantcha? (the molasses i mean)
hahahaha

Broc · September 2008

Not to be confused with Sugar-in-the-Raw!

[I'm serious!]

~ B

NoobEgger · September 2008

"Sugar in the Raw"? Isn't that turbinado sugar?

stike · September 2008

sorta.

some "raw" sugers are sugars that are cleaned (steamed) just short of being clean table sugar (100% sucrose). some "raw"
sugars are perfectly clean table sugar that has had a little cane juice added back in to color it.

either way, raw sugar is 99.99% sucrose and i think you'd have to be a honey bee to taste a difference. sometimes i think i perceive a difference. probably just imagination. i just prefer it because it looks better and adds better texture to baked stuff (like on top of blueberry muffins) or in rubs. the two are almost literally the same thing, though, 100% sucrose.

table sugar melts faster because the grains are smaller. maybe that's where the "turbinado doesn't burn as easily" myth comes from. truth be told, so-called raw sugar is darker because of minute amounts of impurities. and these impurities actually mean it would burn at a LOWER temp than table sugar. like cooking oils. the more impurities, the more fragrant and flavor there is. and the lower the smoke point.

i think nature boy has some good inside info on the stuff because he buys it in larger quantities for his rubs. maybe he can shed some light on it. one thing the brand called "sugar-in-the-raw" isn't, is raw sugar. it's table sugar with cane juice added back in after steaming

just don't believe the crap about "not burning at higher temps".

nuther damn myth that won't go away.

Mainegg · September 2008

LOL

stike · September 2008

stick around. some questions get asked a lot over the years! that's the only reason we can rattle that stuff off the toppa our heads

in a few years you'll be answering those posts so i don't have to!

Nature Boy · September 2008

Yo Stike
Maybe I got sucked into believing the burning point "myth", if it is in fact not true. I have no hard facts on the burning point of these sugars. I would enjoy seeing some facts if you have them handy.

Maybe the burning point is not actually what matters though, it is the taste of the end product after it is burnt. I have done many side by side tests, and refined sugar always tastes nasty bitter when burned. Maybe it is the addition of chemicals that include Phosphoric Acid, Sulfur Dioxide, and Formic Acid. Raw sugar...including turbinado and demarara...don't have these added chemicals, and are actually evaporated cane syrup (like you say, derived from steamed sugar cane). Yeah, they have more impurities (thus richer flavor), but when the sugar does burn, it does not have anywhere near the same level of bitterness that refined sugar has. Which is why I love the stuff. Not to mention I want to cut back on my sulfur dioxide intake ;-)

Not positive about the brand "sugar in the raw" because I don't use it often, but as far as I know it is indeed a raw sugar made from the crystals left behind after dehydrating the cane syrup.

Cool how we can continue learning even when we think we know a lot ;-)
Cheers!
Chris

stike · September 2008

well, i know that YOU know exactly what's going into your rubs, so i would defer to you on this stuff.

i swear i can taste a difference too, but honestly haven't ever compared. i wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't all in my imagination.

i think another thing i like about the larger grained 'raw' stuff is that it seems less sweet, because it takes up more room when measuring. like kosher salt.

beers!

Nature Boy · September 2008

Don't defer yet! LOL. You have me really curious about this "myth" on the burning point. Our literature states that raw sugar has a higher burning point, and last thing I want to do is spread myths. Has Alton Brown dispelled this myth? Surely somebody has if it is indeed a myth.

I can personally vouch that refined sugar tastes mucho nastier when charred!

You are correct on the sweetness based on the "volume" used.

Cheers!!
Chris

stike · September 2008

if anyone can get the definitive low-down, i'm sure it's you!

what i discovered was that the folks that market what we all know as sugar-in-the-raw didn't make any claims about the higher burning point in their advertising lit.

i haven't done any tests (GG? you up for it?), so i could be tawkin out my adze!

when's waldrof next year? always the first weekend of May? Sundown wants to get a guy-bus and head down there. protection in numbers i guess. hahaha

Nature Boy · September 2008

You? Talking out your adze??

I think it's always the first weekend. A guy bus eh? Aw man. Already staggering at the pre-party? LOL

Mainegg · September 2008

HUH :blink: a "guy" bus well! :evil:

Nature Boy · September 2008

I think they need some gals to keep them in line. Ya think?

Mainegg · September 2008

Well, I just think there are laws about that... :ermm: something about discrimination or such???

stike · September 2008

not if it's a private bus!

i think you should feel free to join the crew, but be prepared for men acting like there aren't any wimmin around. belching, odd smells, stopping at the side of the road, public scratching, etc. etc.

Brown Sugar.. Golden or Dark?

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