Email to Linda Leone      

Sugar

Source of Recipe

Internet
sugar - Sugar or sucrose, is a carbohydrate that occurs naturally in every fruit and vegetable in the plant kingdom. It is the major product of photosynthesis, the process by which plants transform the sugar energy into food. Sugar occurs in greatest quantities in sugar cane and sugar beets from which it is separated for commercial use.

Barbados sugar – See raw sugar and muscovado sugar.

brown sugar – It is made up of sugar crystals coated with varying amounts of molasses to obtain dark or light brown sugar. This lends a slightly grainy, moist texture.

castor/caster sugar – The spelling, castor sugar, used to be the prevailing one, but caster sugar seems to be more usual now, perhaps because it is used by some sugar manufacturers on their packaging. See superfine sugar.

coarse sugar – Also known as pearl or decorating sugar. It is shaped into small pearl-like balls that are several times as big as granulated sugar crystals.

confectioners’ sugar – See powdered sugar. To keep whip cream from going watery, add icing sugar instead of white sugar.


date sugar – Date sugar is more a food than a sweetener. It is ground up from dehydrated dates, is high in fiber. Its use is limited by price and the fact it does not dissolve when added to liquids.

demerara sugar – See raw sugar.
granulated sugar – Also called table sugar or white sugar. It is the most common form of sugar and the type most frequently called for in recipes. Its main distinguishing characteristics are a paper-white color and fine crystals.

sugar cubes – They are made from moist granulated sugar that is pressed into molds and then dried.

Muscovado sugar – Also called Barbados sugar or moist 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. Light and dark brown muscovado sugars contain molasses; the darker the color is, the more molasses and therefore the stronger the flavor.

powdered sugar – Also called confectioners’ sugar. In Britain it is called icing sugar and in France sucre glace. It is granulated sugar ground to a powder, sifted, and a small amount (3%) cornstarch has been added to prevent caking. The fineness to which the granulated sugar is ground determines the family “X: factor: The “X: designations are derived from the mesh sizes of the screens used to separate powdered sugar into various sizes. Thus, 4X would have a larger particle size, whereas 10X would have a smaller particle size.14 X is finer than 12X, and so on down through 10X, 8X, 6X, and 4X (the coarsest powdered sugar). Confectioners or powdered sugar, available at supermarkets, is usually 10X. Always sift it before using.

raw sugar – It is essentially the product at the point before the molasses is removed (what’s left after sugarcane has been processed and refined). Popular types of raw sugar include demerara sugar from Guyana and Barbados sugar, a moist, fine textured sugar. Turbinado sugar is raw sugar that has been steam cleaned to remove contaminates., leaving a light molasses flavored, tan colored sugar.

superfine sugar – Sometimes called bar sugar and known as castor or caster sugar in Britain, and berry sugar in British Columbia.. It is similar to granulated sugar except that it has very tiny crystals. Since it dissolves quickly and completely, leaving no grainy texture, it’s the perfect choice for caramel, meringues, drinks, and fine-textured cakes.

Turbinado sugar – See raw sugar.