Specialty Sugars

[Gabriel Lewis]

Recently I became interested in specialty sugars, which a number of chefs and cookbook authors promote, but seldom define precisely. I got to wondering what exactly was the difference between muscovado and demerera?

I've more or less sorted them out now though, largely thanks to Mcgee and this article by Rose Levy Berenbaum.

To put it briefly, in sugar production sugarcane is washed, milled, and crushed to produce cane juice. This is then then clarified by heating with added lime (not the citrus fruit), and concetrated under a vacuum, resulting in a dark brown syrup. This syrup is then crystallized and centrifuged three times to extract as much sucrose as possible. Each crystallization/centrifugation yields a different sugar/molasses.

According to Mcgee, Demerera originally referred to the first crytallization, and Muscovado to the third. Rose Levy Berenbaum says Turbinado is raw sugar from the second crystallization washed with steam. But these are, as Mcgee says, classic definitions. A quick internet search will reveal many others.

Ironically all of these sugars cost more than regular white sugar despite being refined less. I wonder if there is any physical basis to this?

But what I'm most interested in is availability and use. Muscovado seems to be the hardest to find in my experience; the only places I have found it to date are Sur le Table (ridiculously priced) and new seasons in portland. There seems to be some availability on the internet too.

Are these sugars available in your area and if so do you buy and use them? What do you like about them, and what do you use them for? Any special applications of specific types?

[Gifted Gourmet]

Any special applications of specific types?

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a fairly comprehensive look at sugar types/uses .. scroll down the page ... to What are the differences between the many types of sugars? chart ..

Edited February 20, 2007 by Gifted Gourmet (log)

[scubadoo97]

I like to use palm sugar in my Asian dishes. It is moist and the taste reminds me of cotton candy.

[Kent Wang]

I swear by Billington's sugars, the darker the better. The dark molasses is the one I use the most. It has a deep vegetal character. I make simple syrup with it and use it with cocktails. I will sometimes even just dilute the simple syrup with water and drink it straight. Simple sugar water, yes, but it is better than any soft drink.

[scubadoo97]

I tired my palm sugar in mojitos and I thougt they tasted even better than with white sugar.

[cdh]

There are a lot of interesting sugars out there. Brewers have paid a lot of attention to them of late, particularly in the context of brewing Belgian beers, which are the most traditionally sugar intensive beers out there.

One very interesting product that the food folks should look into is the dark candi syrup, a byproduct of the Belgian method of processing beets into sugar. That stuff is fantastically complex in flavor, as I described it elsewhere

It is to beets as molasses is to sugar cane. It is dark, sticky, thick and aromatic. It actually beats molasses in both flavor and aroma as far as I'm concerned. It has less sharpness and an almost woody note in its aroma. It smells a bit like a bourbon barrel, with all of the vanilla and chocolate and toasty notes that implies. On the palate it tastes like a very smooth rich caramel toffee. A pastry chef should get some of this and play around... it could make for stellar desserts. It is also reputed to be responsible for much of the flavor profile and color in a number of Belgian darker beers.

There is also a bunch of discussion of piloncillo, jaggery, palm sugar, and lots of other obscure sweet stuff in the brewing context.

See http://morebeer.com/browse.html?category_i...eyword=&x=1&y=1 for a couple of fun belgian options, and furthermore see http://ww2.babblebelt.com/newboard/thread....pg=1#1143584941 for some brewers discussions of fun with sugars.

Edited February 23, 2007 by cdh (log)

[Gabriel Lewis]

I think we're all in agreement in that whats great about these sugars is that something extra they bring to the table. They ofter subtleties and other flavors that one-dimensional white sugar doesn't have.

I actually have switched to using raw sugar for most of my sugar needs in place of white sugar, except when I need a lot of sweetening, as it is quite a bit more expensive. Raw sugar is unwashed turbinado sugar, I prefer it as I think it has more of that "extra" flavor and is actually cheaper where I buy it.

Scubadoo97: I'm a big fan of palm sugar too, I use it all the time in thai cooking. Palm sugar and its counterparts (jaggery, piloncillo) are still provided by a cottage industry, and so they tend to vary batch to batch.

Interestingly Palm Sugar and Jaggery can be the same thing. Jaggery is sometimes made from palm sap/juice, as well as sugar cane juice and dates. Julie Sahni, one of my favorite Indian cookbook others says that the best jaggery is palm jaggery.

Kent: Billingtons is the brand I bought actually, light muscovado specifically. It is soft and fine grained, and just tasting a little on its own I notice the difference from regular brown sugar, right now it just seems more complex; I'll have to work with it more to get used to it. I made some banana bread with it the other day and it turned out excellent. Does billington's offer other kinds than light/dark muscovado brown sugar? Where do you get it from and how is the pricing?

Oh and if you like the darker the better, you might be interested in the mexican Piloncillo or Panela, or Indian Jaggery or Gur. These are completely unrefined sugars; they are made by boiling down cane juice until it crystallizes, while even muscovado and demerera are partially refined. These sugars would in theory contain as much of that "dark" flavor you like as possible.

cdh: Really interesting to hear about beet molasses used in brewing; everything I've read about it says its unfit for human consumption and is used for industrial fermentation or animal feed (McGee).

[Kent Wang]

Ladies and gentlemen, I believe that we are the pioneers of this trend as so many knowledgeable people I've spoken to have never heard of these sugars. Very few people truly appreciate the value of fine sugar -- yet.

Gabriel: They are widely distributed by the HEB grocery chain here in Texas. They carry the demerara (which I've commented elsewhere is the most beautiful food word), muscovado, molasses, golden granulated and perhaps one or two others. I can't remember the price exactly but it is around $3-5 per bag. The aroma of the molasses is heady and intoxicating.

I've also baked pies with Billington's sugars. There is a phenomenal difference with pumpkin pie, especially, as the recipe calls for so much brown sugar. Baking with the molasses the pie comes out a dark brown color, which many people have mistaken for chocolate.

Those other sugars you mention sound very exciting. Do you think I can find them in your typical Mexican grocer?

cdh: This is intriguing as well. Do you think I could find them at homebrew stores or will I need to mail order?

[cdh]

cdh: This is intriguing as well. Do you think I could find them at homebrew stores or will I need to mail order?

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Check Austin Homebrew. Link!They're a nationally known shop with a very wide selection and they definitely have the dark candi syrup. You may have to mail order the other belgian beet derivatives, or convince Austin Homebrew to add them, as they're not in the web store. I know that www.morebeer.com does carry the solid moist candi sugar. Also go shopping at Fiesta... they have piloncillo certainly, and may well have interesting palm sugars too. Austin has so many great eclectic markets that I'd bet you'll be able assemble quite a variety.

Edited February 24, 2007 by cdh (log)

[cdh]

cdh: Really interesting to hear about beet molasses used in brewing; everything I've read about it says its unfit for human consumption and is used for industrial fermentation or animal feed (McGee).

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I don't know that the dark syrup is actually beet molasses. As it is explained, it sounds a lot like it might be, but nobody has said that it is. What exactly it is remains somewhat mysterious, as this is how the production is described:

Made in Belgium from White Beet Sugar - just like the rock candy we are all used to.  In fact, this syrup is a by-product of the rock making process.  The beet sugar is heated then rapidly cooled, and it is at this point that the rocks are formed.  What remains is the syrup.  The flavor this stuff imparts is huge.  Definatley the missing link in homebrewed Belgian-style ales.

I don't know the chemistry of sucrose well enough to figure out what is happening in that process... I don't know if anybody does.

Also, check out this page: http://www.babblebelt.com/newboard/thread....g=9&tpg=1&add=1 for more interesting sugar chat.

[beccaboo]

cdh: Really interesting to hear about beet molasses used in brewing; everything I've read about it says its unfit for human consumption and is used for industrial fermentation or animal feed (McGee).

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I've read that too (about its being unfit for consumption), but it's a key ingredient in Aachener Printen, one of my favorite Xmas cookies. I get beet syrup at Ikea or at the German butcher.

[cdh]

I wonder if the unfit for human consumption idea is another cultural thing, rather than a health thing. Aren't turnips considered unfit for human consumption in some countries?

So Ikea carries beet syrup? What's it called there? I must try that out in brewing soon.

Edited February 24, 2007 by cdh (log)

[eje]

I wonder if the unfit for human consumption idea is another cultural thing, rather than a health thing.  Aren't turnips considered unfit for human consumption in some countries?

So Ikea carries beet syrup? What's it called there? I must try that out in brewing soon.

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Well, if it is the leftovers from candy making, and the candy is intended for human consumption, I don't see how the leftovers wouldn't be.

Unless it is handled in some way after the candy making process that isn't hygienic.

A lot of sources on molasses say blackstrap isn't fit for human consumption/baking either. Yet clearly many people use it.

[eje]

I really like the C&H Washed Raw Sugar for many things. It's a free flowing, large crystal, turbinado style sugar.

It adds a subtle, yet distinct flavor to cocktails and liqueurs.

I've never tried it in a mojito, though. Probably be quite tasty. You'd want to give it a whirl in a blender or food processor beforehand to break up the crystals.

Washed Raw Sugar (C&H website)

Interesting note, this is the only C&H product that isn't filtered through bone char. So fer your really strict vegetarians out there, it's the only C&H sugar they'll eat.

Edited February 24, 2007 by eje (log)

[cdh]

Again, I question if this stuff we're talking about is the beet analog to molasses in its provenance as well as in its flavor profile. The descriptions say that they start with white beet sugar, heat it, chill it and centrifuge it. That makes it sound like caramel, not molasses... and its flavor profile jives with that.

Beet molasses would be all the non-sucrose stuff that is dissolved in what's pressed out of sugar beets. God knows if that is good stuff or not.

[Gabriel Lewis]

Kent: As cdh said Piloncillo (also known as Panela, or Panocha) should be available at any mexican grocer, they usually come in cones, just do a google image search on piloncillo to see what they look like.

Eje: Your washed raw sugar sounds pretty much identical to the stuff I use; it's great isn't it! Basically I think all this stuff is just sugar collected from one of the early centrifugations and washed with steam. Classically defined, yours would be washed demerera. Bone char is used in the latter stages of sugar processing (usually once the sugar has arrived at a processing plant in an industrialized country) as it is an effective carbon source that removes color impurities, calcium, and magnesium.

As for the beet syrup I don't see what else it could be other than molasses. The description we have is of dissolving white beet sugar and then cooling to crystallize, and collecting the crystals via centrifugation. This is essentially how all sugar is collected, as the first crystallization from cane juice doesn't extract all the sucrose and so the process is repeated. But I don't think this white beet sugar can be fully refined; fully refined beet sugar is over 99% sucrose and wouldn't leave any flavorful syrup. Perhaps this beet sugar is partially processed beet sugar that removes some of the stuff thats usually nasty?

I don't know if beet molasses has just been deemed unfit for human consumption or actually is so, it certainly seems possible considering our past reverence of all things "pure". Mcgee says there is such a thing as beet molasses, but that it has a "strong, unpleasant oder, and so is used to feed animals" (675).

Oh and molasses is caramel in part. Sugar Cane juice is an almost clear liquid; molasses gets its dark color and most of its flavor from the caramelization and other high temperature reactions going on during the repeated heatings of cane juice to extract more sucrose. It's a combination of all the things that make caramel taste like caramel (minus a lot of the sugar) and all the other things left over that didn't get trapped in the sucrose crystals during crystallization. Its a mix of sucrose, invert sugars, minerals, and I guess the rest is water.

[cdh]

Your intuition appears to be right, Gabriel. This page: http://www.sucrose.com/lbeet.html makes it pretty clear that the dark syrup is beet molasses, as the boiling, chilling and centrifuging are all described in the process. I do wonder if it is processed in any special way, or if beet molasses is just really delicious.

[beccaboo]

So Ikea carries beet syrup? What's it called there? I must try that out in brewing soon.

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I don't remember what it's called at Ikea. The German kind is called 'dark syrup,' and you have to read the label closely to see that it's actually sugar beet syrup. The Ikea kind must be called something similar, because I remember seeing it and realizing immediately that it was what I needed for my Printen, and cheaper than the kind from the butcher's.

It is a little bitter, but doesn't have a 'strong, unpleasant odor'--at least I don't think so.

[Fat Guy]

Terms like "refined" can be misleading if not defined in context. For example, as noted above, if you squeeze the juice out of sugar cane what you get is nothing like molasses or any of the dark sugars. I just had some sugar cane juice at a Vietnamese place in an Asian shopping mall in the US South and it tasted a lot more like white sugar than like molasses, turbinado, etc. So if you mean "refined" to be the removal of impurities, sure, white sugar is refined. But if you mean "refined" to be the improvement of flavor through processing (such as heating and drying) then molasses and dark sugars are covered.

One thing to watch for: not all dark sugars come directly from the appropriate stage of the sugar-making process. They can also be reassembled later on, by combining white sugar with molasses. This is how most "brown sugar" sold in supermarkets is made, for example. So don't just assume that because it's darker in color it's not based on white sugar.

In cooking, you can do the same thing and save yourself some money: experiment with adding white sugar and molasses in combination, and you may get the flavor you want. It depends on the application. In many cases, when you're cooking, expensive sugars are as much of a waste as expensive salts -- though secondary sugar flavors are generally more durable than secondary salt flavors. Cocktail-making, table condiments and other cold applications are more likely to show the subtle flavors of alternate sugars.

It's also worth noting that white sugar made from beets is virtually indistinguishable from white sugar made from sugar cane. In much commercial sugar packaging I believe they're used interchangeably and even in combination in response to commodity pricing.

[DCP]

Are these sugars available in your area and if so do you buy and use them? What do you like about them, and what do you use them for? Any special applications of specific types?

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As others up-thread have said, I also enjoy using palm sugar in Thai cooking. It adds a depth of flavor that would otherwise be missing. It's fun to experiment, but some things just don't do well with unrefined sugars - I recall identifying with a post in another forum wherein it was discovered brown sugar and brownies don't mix. True that!

I've been able to get Muscovado at Trader Joe's on a regular basis, and piloncillo at the local Filipino market. The semi-local Korean mega-mart also carries a variety of 'unusual' sugars.

[Kent Wang]

I purchased a bottle of the Belgian candi syrup and a bag of the Belgian dark candi in rock form. The bottle of the syrup states:

"Candi syrup is a by-product of the candi sugar making process. White beet sugar is boiled, concentrated and then cooled. While cooling, rock sugar is formed and removed. What's left over is the syrup. Candi syrup has a more intense flavor and deeper color than rock candi sugar."

The syrup has a distinct toasted smell. The flavor also reflects this and is bitter and tastes like burnt coffee beans. I'm not sure it is really pleasant. I can't imagine much of a use for it. Any ideas?

The rock candi has no smell. I made a simple syrup with it and although it was as dark of a color as a simple syrup with molasses the flavor tasted just like that of conventional white sugar.

I also picked up some piloncillo from Fiesta. I made a simple syrup of it. It was also as dark as molasses syrup but at greater dilution it has a distinct green/grey tint to it, whereas the color of molasses syrup varies only from caramel to deep brown. The flavor is also unique, with notes of corn and some of the green, vegetal characteristics of sugar cane. If you've ever bitten into raw sugar cane -- a common treat back in my childhood in China -- you would know exactly what I mean.

Billington's dark brown molasses has a rich malted character to it. The smell is downright heady and intoxicating. The flavor is like dark, perfectly roasted caramel. It is the richest of the sugars I've tried. To compare against piloncillo, molasses is more of a refined product (in the sense of producing flavor not inherent to the product in its raw form) while piloncillo is more similar to raw sugar cane.

I find that smell is a good indicator of flavor. Even in dry form -- i.e. not in simple syrup -- the aroma should be easily noticeable and give a reliable indication as to the flavor.

Now, where to find some Indian jaggery?

[Gabriel Lewis]

Interesting observations Kent.

I've been doing some baking with my billington's light brown muscovado, and I have noticed a difference. Even just eating it plain it's quite different from regular brown sugar, I haven't scrutinized it thoroughly but I find it smoother and more complex. I'd love to try some of the molasses kind you've described, I'll have to look into it next time I'm in the states.

Your comments seem to jive well with what I've learnt about sugar processing. If billington's muscovado is traditional muscovado, it is the third and final extract of sucrose crystals. At this point, the original sugar cane juice has been heated/evaporated 3 times already, and muscovado is what comes off the walls of the centrifuge on the third centrifugation. Levy-Berenbaum did mention in her article that light muscovado comes from the top layer of the centrifuge, and dark from the bottom. This seems to match perfectly with your description of their molasses muscovado, as those multiple heating/concentrations would bring out the most of that rich caramel flavor and other dark notes.

The beet products you describe don't seem to match so well with the glowing descriptions cdh referenced. It'd be interesting to get to the bottom of this...

Jaggery should be readily available at any Indian/Pakistani grocer, it is also called gur. The thing to keep in mind with these unprocessed sugars though is that there is usually little standardization. I don't know about production in mexico, but in thailand palm sugar production is still a cottage industry. As such, sugars vary from batch to batch depending on the crop and the degree to which each batch is processed. One producer might boil his down more than another, resulting in a darker, dryer, and more caramel like sugar. The other to note about jaggery is that there is palm jaggery and sugar jaggery, and I think date jaggery as well. Palm jaggery is of course, from boiled down Palm tree sap. Julie Sahni, one of my favorite Indian cookbook authors says this is the best kind, but I've never come into contact with any that can be explicitly identified as so.

I did buy some nice looking soft Gula Jawa palm sugar from Indonesia the other day. I got it from a local shop that makes an effort to find high quality asian ingredients, and I'm hoping it'll be nicer then what I've found so far.

[cdh]

Kent-

You note a bitterness in the candi syrup that I have never experienced. Out of curiousity, how do you like Campari? I don't find it overwhelmingly bitter but some do. Are you particularly bitter sensitive? I agree that there are toasty notes, but I have never noticed burnt flavors.

As a use that might temper its bitterness for you, try drizzling it over vanilla ice cream.

Edited March 15, 2007 by cdh (log)

[Kent Wang]

I have some Billington's demerara on hand as well. It is the mildest sugar I have in the pantry at the moment. Because of the mildness it's hard to describe the flavor profile; I can only say that it's mostly caramel with a slight roasted note. The aroma is similar. I keep a small jar of it on hand and use it for cocktails. The large crystalline structure is ideal for abrading citrus when muddling and the mild flavor plays well with other ingredients and is not overpowering.

In terms of boldness of flavor I rank:

Billington's molasses

candi syrup

piloncillo

Billington's dark brown muscavado

Billington's demerara

Billington's golden granulated

I haven't tasted the light brown muscavado in a while so I'll refrain from comment.

cdh: I enjoy Campari but do it find quite bitter. It may be possible that I'm over-sensitive to bitter but still enjoy Campari for other aspects of its flavor profile.

I definitely would describe candi as not just being toasty as being outright burnt, closer to burnt coffee beans than it is to properly roasted beans. It may be possible that we have different brands. Does yours have the same text on it?

I'm gonna go buy some ice cream just so I can try your suggestion.

Gabriel Lewis: Thanks for the tips on buying jaggery. I'll report back soon.

Wikipedia has a great article on jaggery, and some very brief ones on sugars we have not mentioned in this thread yet: sucanat, rapadura and panela. BTW, have you read about the Boston Molasses Disaster of 1919?

[ecr]

I'm late to this thread, which I came across when I googled 'palm sugar'.

I'm a food writer based in Malaysia - my husband, a photographer, and I have been researching palm sugar here in the region off and on for about 6 months. We've observed the small-batch process in villages on Sumatra, on Bali, and here in Malaysia. What amazes me is how much the flavor of palm sugar can vary from batch to batch. Some of this variation is due to the palm the sap comes from (aren, sugar, and coconut palms are common), some to processing methods (cooked over wood or gas; natural ingredients might be added to deepen the color - darker sugars are prized on Sumatra); whether or not the sugar is aged after processing; and other, as-yet-undefined (by ourselves) factors.

I'm also amazed that Indonesian palm sugar is not more widely known in N America. I think most fans of SE Asian foods are familiar with Thai palm sugar by now. But to my tastebuds Indonesian (and Malaysian) palm sugars evince a much more complex - and interesting - flavor profile. Smoky, yes, but there's also a hint of bitterness, sometimes even a teeny bit of sourness. I think there is only one brand of Indonesian palm sugar available in the States right now (correct me if I'm wrong) - can't remember the brand. But it is produced on a fairly large scale and just can't compare to the product of small-batch producers.

A note - when buying Indonesian palm sugar look for the word 'asli' on the label - it denotes a palm sugar un-'tainted' by can sugar ('asli' means 'pure' or 'original' in Indonesian/Malaysian.

BTW, if any of you sugar lovers out there are in Chicago, we'll be giving a presentation on palm sugar to the Culinary Historians in April, focusing on Malaysian/Indonesian sugars. And, border control willing, we'll be doing a 'tasting' of sugars we've picked up on our research trips.

Cheers,

Robyn (haven't gotten around to changing my egullet 'handle' from ecr)