Sugars!
Sugar & baking
There are hundreds of sugars and sweeteners on the market and in the food we eat. It can be argued that some are “more natural” and “better for you” than others in terms of their mineral content and refinement but fundamentally they are all sugars and share the same undesirable effects should they be consumed in excess. The problem doesn’t have to come from baking at home but from avoiding buying products with hidden sugars that don’t even need to be sweet and drinking caloric beverages. That is where the excess comes from and why so many of us are eating too much sugar without even realizing it.
You can take control of how much sugar you eat by avoiding processed foods and by controlling how much sugar you put in your baked goods at home. Ultimately, though, sugar is sugar and I feel confident saying that eating too much of it is bad for your health. That being said, not all sugars are created equally and whilst I cut back on it or cut it out entirely in all my recipes, you can take it a step further using less of the highly processed varieties.
Frustratingly, sugar has a bigger role than just adding sweetness to baked goods, which makes it harder to replace than by simply omitting it all together. It adds moisture, and helps with leavening and tenderizing and whilst most recipes can withstand loosing up to 1/3 of the sugar without having detrimental effects, any more than that and you will have to consider how to replace it in both volume and for the reasons listed above.
The most familiar
Coarse sugar – Also known as pearl or decorating sugar. Coarse sugar has a larger grain than table sugar and is recovered when molasses-rich, sugar syrups high in sucrose are allowed to crystallize. The large size of coarse sugar gives it a high melting point and thus is why it is used for decorating.
Granulated sugar/Table sugar- Scientifically known as sucrose….and that should be the first thing that rings the warning bells, it is more commonly known as table sugar or white sugar. It is from cane and beet sugar, which is processed, allowed to crystallize and then dried out so that it doesn’t clump together
Icing sugar/powdered sugar/confectioners sugar-Fine powdered sugar that usually has anti-caking agents in it. Used to make confectionary and frostings.
Light brown soft sugar- Sugar that retains some of the surface molasses syrup. Dark brown sugar has a deeper color and stronger molasses flavor than light brown sugar. Lighter types are generally used in baking and making butterscotch, condiments and glazes. The rich, full flavor of dark brown sugar makes it good for gingerbread, mincemeat, baked beans, and richly flavored foods.
Superfine/Caster sugar- Table sugar with a finer grain. Because of this when measuring in cups it has a higher density so cannot be swapped 1:1 with granulated sugar or you’ll end up with a product that’s way too sweet.
Lesser-known “raw” sugars
Demerara sugar- A coarse-grained light brown-colored sugar, extracted mainly from sugar cane. It is unrefined and has a hint of molasses flavor to it. Great for using in crumble toppings and tea//coffee (but don’t get into that habit) but cannot be used to replace brown sugar in recipes.
Muscovado/Barbados Sugar- A minimally refined brown cane sugar, which is dark in color, soft in texture and has a rich molasses flavor. I like to sprinkle it over Greek yogurt and allow it to melt in the fridge as a healthy desert and in chocolate cakes where in enriches the flavor and keeps the cake extra moist.
Natural cane sugar- There are a number natural cane sugars available but there is no standardization when it comes to labeling and not all naturally-labeled cane sugars are of equal quality. Supposedly contain more nutrients and minerals due to less processing.
Palm sugar- Extracted from palm trees, palm sugar has in the past been used mostly in Asian cooking. In the West it is light brown, and has the look of instant coffee granules but in the East it is more often found in blocks. It has a lower glycemic index than Agave nectar and a number of nutrients, making it a good option for those watching their sugar intake. It can be found in health food shops.
Turbinado- Similar to Demerara sugar, this sugar is coarse grained, unrefined brown sugar but more similar to honey than molasses. It is often sold as “sugar in the raw” and is great for using on tops of crumbles for texture.
Others
Date sugar – Made by reducing dried zahidi dates to a cooked paste, dehydrating the paste, and then breaking it into granules. It is high in fiber and burns easily. It is used more as a garnishing or seasoning sugar than a volume-increasing sweetener.
Fruit Sugar – Fruit sugar is slightly finer than “regular” sugar and is used in dry mixes such as gelatin and pudding desserts, and powdered drinks.
Liquid sugars
Agave nectar- a natural sweetener made from various Mexican cactus varieties. It is liquid sold as light, dark, amber and raw and is much sweeter tasting than honey. It claims to have a lower glycemic index than honey and sugar, which means it won’t make your blood sugar go crazy and is good for diabetics. It has more minerals, (especially the dark amber) than refined sugars but is more or less sugar and has been claimed to be worse than HFCS due to the high concentration of fructose.
Barley malt- A sweetener produced from sprouted barley that is mostly maltose. It is used in combination with other sweeteners and for cooking and baking.
Brown rice syrup- made by cooking sprouted brown rice in water that is then evaporated it is commercially produced by cooking brown rice flour or syrup brown rice starch with enzymes and is sometimes combined with fruit concentrates. It is half the sweetness of sugar and retains some of its antioxidant properties.
Corn Syrup/Glucose syrup- A manufactured syrup of cornstarch that contains varying proportions of glucose, maltose, and dextrose. It softens textures, adds volume and prevents crystallization in sugar.
Golden syrup- is a pale version of molasses/treacle. It’s amber-colored and a form of inverted sugar syrup, made in the process of refining sugar cane juice into sugar. Easier to find in the UK in its signature green tin can this syrup is great in English flapjacks on on oatmeal.
Honey- A concentrated solution of fructose and glucose, plus some sucrose that’s produced by bees from the nectar of flowers. Honey actually has a higher caloric content per tablespoon than sugar but because of its higher fructose content it tastes sweeter than table sugar, so the theory goes that you need less. It goes through a single refinement process to prevent crystallization- unless it is raw honey. Look for raw, unfiltered, unprocessed honey and be aware that darker honeys contain higher levels of antioxidants
Karo Syrup- A brand of corn syrup that is made from a concentrated solution of dextrose and has a mild molasses flavor. It’s used to make pecan pies.
Maple syrup- A concentrated sap from maple trees, which is predominantly fructose. Pure maple syrup is rich in important minerals like zinc and manganese comes in different grades depending on when the sap was harvested from the tree. Syrup produced from tapping early in the season yields a lighter, finer syrup designated grade A. Buy pure and organic syrup.
Molasses/Treacle- is a thick syrup that’s a bi-product of processing sugar cane and sugar beets into sugar. Sulphured molasses is made from young sugar cane to which it requires sulphur as a preservative. Unsulphured molasses is made from mature sugar cane and no preservative is necessary. There are three grades of molasses: mild, dark and blackstrap. It is a thick dark syrup with a robust bittersweet flavor that makes it ideal for gingerbreads.
Pomegranate molasses- A ruby-colored syrup with a sour-sweet flavor that is made from the concentrated juice of pomegranates. It is common in Middle Eastern food and is widely available at ethnic food shops
Sucanat- unrefined cane sugar that retains all of its molasses content.
Scientific sounding sugars & sweeteners
Crystalline fructose- A sweetener made from HFCS that is almost entirely all fructose. It is used in dry mix beverages, low-calorie products, enhanced or flavored water, still and carbonated beverages, sports and energy drinks, chocolate milk, breakfast cereals, baked goods, yogurt, fruit packs, and confections.
Dextrose. Another name for glucose. A simple sugar that is less sweet than fructose or sucrose. It is used in cake mixes and frostings, cookies, crackers, pretzels and custards.
Evaporated cane juice- The name sort of misleading because it’s not a liquid but a sugar based ingredient. However, it’s not processed as much as refined sugar, which arguably makes it a tad more nutritious and because it has a stronger flavor, you shouldn’t need to use as much.
Fructose- A sugar found naturally in fruit; also a simple sugar refined from fruit.
High fructose corn syrup- made from corn syrup HFCS is made sweeter by corn syrup from turning dextrose into fructose. It has a bad reputation due to the high levels of fructose it contains. It is cheap, incredibly sweet so is used in many low-sugar items and helps to extend the shelf-life of packaged goods. You can read about it in more detail here. http://www.madehow.com/Volume-4/Corn-Syrup.html
Lactose- A simple sugar in milk.
Maltodextrin- A sugar made from maltose and dextrose in corn. It is used in a wide array of foods, from canned fruits to snacks.
Maltose- A simple sugar made from starch.
Mannitol, sorbitol, xylitol- These are sugar alcohols derived from fruit or produced from dextrose. They are referred to as sweeteners are used in many dietetic products.
You can read more details with the links below
IVillage, sugars by other names
Wallstreet Journal on Agave Syrup
Consumer Reports on Effects of Corn Syrup
Accidental Heddonist on High Fructose Corn Syrup
Tragedy of the Commons, on Evaporated Cane Juice
Corn Board commercial for HFSC
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