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 it is 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) based on total volume. Based on total weight, regular brown sugar contains up to 10% molasses.[1] The product is naturally moist from the hygroscopic nature of the molasses and is often labelled as "soft." The product may undergo processing to give a product that flows better for industrial handling. The addition of dyes and/or other chemicals may be permitted in some areas or for industrial products.
Particle size is variable but generally less than granulated white sugar. Products for industrial use (e.g., the industrial production of cakes) may be based on caster sugar which has crystals of approximately 0.35 mm.
Contents |
Brown sugar is often produced by adding cane molasses to completely refined white sugar crystals in order to more carefully control the ratio of molasses to sugar crystals and to reduce manufacturing costs.[2] This also allows the production of brown sugars to be based predominantly on beet sugar. Brown sugar that is prepared in this manner is often much coarser than its unrefined equivalent and its molasses may be easily separated from the crystals by simply washing to reveal the underlying white sugar crystals; with unrefined brown there is inclusion of molasses within the crystal which will appear off-white if washed.
The molasses usually used is that obtained from sugar cane, because the flavor is generally preferred over beet sugar molasses, although in some areas, especially in Belgium and the Netherlands, sugar beet molasses is used. The white sugar used can be from either beet or cane, as the chemical composition, nutritional value, color and taste of fully refined white sugar is for practical purposes the same, no matter what plant it originates from. Even with less-than-perfect refining, the small differences in color, odor and taste of the white sugar will be masked by the molasses.
For domestic purposes one can create the exact equivalent of brown sugar by mixing white sugar with molasses. Suitable proportions would be about one tablespoon of molasses to each cup of sugar (one-sixteenth or 6.25% of the total volume). Molasses comprises 10% of brown sugar's total weight,[1] which is about 11.11% of the white sugar weight. Blend it well, either manually or in a blender. Due to varying qualities and colors of molasses products,[1] for lighter or darker sugar, reduce or increase its proportion according to taste. If the requirement is for cooking rather than a product for the table, then blending usually is unnecessary and the sugar and molasses can be added separately.
In following a modern recipe that specifies "brown sugar", one usually may assume that the intended meaning is light brown sugar, but which one prefers is largely a matter of taste, except in recipes such as cakes where the moisture content might be critical. Realistically however, the amount of water involved is so small that it rarely will make any practical difference. More importantly, adding dark brown sugar or molasses will impart a stronger flavor with more of a suggestion of caramel.
| Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |
|---|---|
| Energy | 1,590 kJ (380 kcal) |
| - Sugars | 97 g |
| Fat | 0.00 g |
| Protein | 0.12 g |
| Water | 1.3 g |
| Sucrose | 94.5 g |
| Source: USDA Nutrient Database | |
Brown sugar has a slightly lower caloric value by mass than white sugar due to the presence of water. One hundred grams of brown sugar contains 373 calories, as opposed to 396 calories in white sugar.[2] However, brown sugar packs more densely than white sugar due to the smaller crystal size and may have more calories when measured by volume.
In the late 1800s, the newly consolidated refined white sugar industry, which did not have full control over brown sugar production, mounted a smear campaign against brown sugar, reproducing microscopic photographs of harmless but repulsive-looking microbes living in brown sugar. The effort was so successful that by 1900, a best-selling cookbook warned that brown sugar was of inferior quality and was susceptible to infestation by "a minute insect."[3]
Natural brown sugar, or raw sugar is a brown sugar produced from the first crystallization of the sugar cane. Based upon weight, unrefined brown sugar from sugar cane, when fully refined, yields about 70% white sugar.[4][5] There is more molasses in natural brown sugar, giving it a higher mineral content. Some natural brown sugars have particular names and characteristics, and are sold as Turbinado, Muscovado, or Demerara sugar.
Turbinado and Demerara sugars are made by crystallizing raw sugar cane juice, then spinning it in a centrifuge to remove water and some impurities.[6][7]
Muscovado (also moscovado) is an unrefined, dark brown sugar that is produced without centrifuging and has much smaller crystals than turbinado sugar. The sugar cane extract is heated to thicken it and then pan-evaporated in the sun and pounded to yield an unprocessed, damp sugar that retains all of the natural minerals.[8]