Have you ever considered what sugar was like before we industrialized it into the pearly white granulated stuff? When I discovered a slew of artisan sugars made the old-fashioned way retaining high levels of molasses and fronting unmistakable flavor, I began to understand how refining foods can kill the nuance of natural ingredients.
Some of these sugars are organic, some are fair trade and others are both. The best thing about all of them is that they are unrefined and have very distinct characteristics. That means when it’s brown sugar, it’s really brown from molasses – not brown from food coloring like the stuff you buy at the grocery store. It also means that it’s vegetarian friendly because it’s not bleached using bovine bones.
Add to that, the fact that many of the fair trade brands help communities in Africa sustain themselves, and you can feel good about your sweet tooth. But the best part – they taste so darn good. Welcome to a world where sugar is actually an ingredient rather than a mere sweetener. Use the dark brown varieties in marinades or with chocolate and the large crystals of raw cane are great with anything ginger or to give muffins a crispy top.
My favorite brand: Wholesome Sweeteners which also imports the UK-based Billington’s sugars. Here are some other brands:
• Florida Crystals (Organic powdered, demerara, brown and natural cane sugars)
• Trader Joes (Organic cane, demerara and brown sugars)
• Rapadura Whole Evaporated Cane Juice
• India Tree Sugars (Dark muscovado, light muscovado, demerara)
Now Foods (Sucanat)
if sugar is like wine, raw sugar is french bordeaux. after using this stuff for ages, i went back to the white stuff when a friend gave me a five pound bag he'd gotten for free as part of a grocery promotion. one use and it's now been relocated to the bathroom where i mix it with almond oil to make a body scrub cause there's no way i'm eating it.
Stacie,
Can you explain the difference between the different unrefined sugars (Cane, Demerara/Raw and Brown)? And what's muscovado and sucanat?
Thanks
thanks so much for this information. i have to admit to sometimes using white sugar at home in my coffee but i would very much like to make the switch. this information is really helpful.
Hi Amanda, a good resource to find out the difference between all these sugars is the Wholesome Sweeteners website. Most of the difference has to do in the processing and the amount of molasses that is left in the sugar. muscovado's have more molasses making them stickier, whereas the cane sugars are just spun and still others are seeded and crystalized. HOpe this helps.