By now we are all aware that most brand name brown sugar is actually white sugar with the molasses added back in. And dark brown sugar is the same thing, just with a little more molasses. But what about those extra dark, artisanal brown sugars? Are they worth the extra cash? And what exactly is muscovado sugar?
What is muscovado sugar? Simply put, this is an unrefined cane sugar in which the molasses is not removed. It usually comes labeled 'light' (with less molasses) or 'dark.' Most of the artisanal muscovado sugars come from the island of Mauritius, off the coast of Africa.
In the photo above, you can see how much darker and richer the sugar on the right is. The first bowl contains light brown sugar, the second is dark brown sugar, and the third is dark brown muscovado sugar. The sugar is dark due to the high molasses content which in the case of this brand (Billington's) is never removed. (Note: Billington's calls this sugar Dark Brown Molasses Sugar. Other brands, such as India Tree, refer to it as Dark Muscovado.)
This sugar is amazing. It's texture is like wet sand, moist and sticky. When you taste it, the first note is sweet which then quickly dissolves into a rich, floral bittersweet. There are hints of fruit and toffee, resulting in a much more complex profile than straight white sugar, or even other brown sugars. It leaves an intriguing, slight smoky aftertaste.
While you can use dark muscovado in barbeque sauce or other savory dishes with excellent results, I usually like to use it in recipes that highlight its complex, but subtle, flavors. Ginger cookies and ice cream are a good choice, as well as simple buttercakes. It's fantastic in gingerbread or even sprinkled over yogurt with fresh strawberries. It pairs well with chocolate and can be stirred into coffee, too.
Wholesome Sweeteners, distributor for the Billington's brand, has several recipes using Dark Muscavado Sugar on their website.
Both Billington's and India Tree brands are available in bulk packs at Amazon for a fairly good price:
Billington's Dark Molasses Sugar, 10-one pound boxes, $21.00 at Amazon
India Tree Dark Muscodavo, 4-one pound bags, $18.46 at Amazon
The spoon pictured above is from Herriott Grace and the leaf-shaped bowls are from Joanna Mendicino.
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This looks and sounds wonderful! Since the texture is so moist, can this be used as-is in recipes that call for brown sugar, or do other adjustments need to be made?
I... did not know this. That's crazy! *glares at my jar of regular brown sugar*
Those artisanal sugars do look amazing...
I use the India Tree muscovado sugar exclusively now instead of buying regular brown sugar. For recipes that call for light brown sugar, or where I think the flavor might be overwhelming, I just dilute it with some regular white sugar.
I know, this "recipe" sounds crazy. But please, in god's name, give it a try!
Take a regular banana, not to ripe, sprinkle it with muscavado sugar and than with some high quality curry powder. Sounds crazy but it's taste is unbelievable.
One other question..I don't bake nearly enough to buy something like this in bulk. Is there someplace that sells smaller amounts? I'd prefer to start with a 1lb package, but I can't finds anything that small online.
@onebravegirl - trader joes
@onebravegirl - I buy my Billington's Muscovado at SuperTargets. It's delicious stuff.
onebravegirl: I agree with benefest's answer. If the recipe also calls for liquid, you can adjust it slightly by using a little less. Also, many Whole Foods stores carry Billington's.
studentsfood: That recipe sounds really interesting! I'm going to try it!
I love muscovado sugar and try to use it as much as possible. However, i have had some things turn out really badly when i substituted 1:1 for regular brown sugar. Mostly the bad results have been with cookies that spread too much and turned out sort of greasy. I have assumed that this is because of the extra moisture in the muscovado. Cakes, muffins, breads, and the like have turned out great--perhaps slightly denser, with beautiful intense caramel delicious flavor--but watch out with more delicate things like cookies.
This is my favorite muscovado recipe to date:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/11/dining/111brex.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Dark, moist, aromatic, INTENSE brownies. Highly recommended.
Trader Joe's used to carry Billington muscavado around Christmas time but, alas, they stopped carrying it. I used to love to make mulled wine with it.
Thanks for the tips, everyone! :)
I remember baking stuff and preparing desserts with my mum using muscovado sugar, back in 1991. As it seemed to me (age 5 at the time), muscovado was just a different kind of sugar to get at the supermarket here (here = Mexico).
Then again there's two possibilities (amongst others, i'm sure): 1. Either I'm right and muscovado was and is still widely availabe in Mexico, or 2. i'm wrong and muscovado never was or isn't available here anymore.
Still, one thing I do know for sure is its taste.
People: DO GET IT, DO TRY IT, DO TASTE IT.
I actually dislike sweet flavours (yes, I do), but muscovado makes me absolutely swoon!
...so what's demerara?
Demerara is also an unrefined cane sugar with some of the molasses still in (hence its light brown color.) Sugar in the Raw is a classic demerara, although with some brands it's merely refined sugar with the molasses sprayed back on. The biggest difference is that the crystals of demerara are larger than most sugar, and that they don't dissolve easily. So it should be used as topping on baked goods when you want a nice crunch or stirred into hot beverages but not as an ingredient in baking.
I've been using muscovado sugar for many years now -- it is my "secret" ingredient in things like pumpkin cake for example, my pumpkin pies, and our morning oatmeal. We use it as a replacement for whenever brown sugar is called for, which has little flavour in comparison.
We can't get it here in either Swiss or French grocery stores, although it is available in England; it is one of the few products we haul over (my husband was just on a business trip in North American, and came home with 8 pounds of muscovado sugar, both light and dark!).
You used to find it on supermarket shelves in Canada, but the sugar company stopped making it, so you have to go to special grocers to find Billington's or order India Tree from Amazon.
mschatelaine: there is a retailer location window on India Tree's website -
http://www.indiatree.com/locator3/index.php
There are a few retailers in Canada. And you can always ask a store to carry items, too!
Lovely and informative article. I'm going to have to try that brownie recipe. I can say I made a pumpkin pie a couple of weeks ago with Dark Muscovado and it turned out with a beautiful, rich caramel flavor underlying the fruitier pumpkin sweetness.
One note: In addition to ordering online from Amazon, you can find India Tree Dark Muscovado at Whole Foods in both the UK and US.
Thank you for blogging. We're honored to have been included in your write-up.