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Sugar, Part 1 (Dry)

© Lindsay W. McSweeney

I think of AT&T and sugar in the same context. Life was simpler when there was just one telephone company and just the ordinary five pound sack of sugar. But like telephone companies, there's been a proliferation of sugar types that need differentiation. This article will deal with dry sugars. Follow up articles will deal with liquid sugars as well as artificial sweeteners.

Sugar is a carbohydrate that occurs naturally in every fruit and vegetable in the plant kingdom. In the U.S. most dry sugar comes from sugar cane; in Europe from sugar beets. The taste and intensity is indistinguishable between the two.

The characteristic taste in all sugars comes from crystalline components that vary in type and intensity of sweetness. In packaging, any ingredient that ends "ose" or "tol" is a form of sugar. The source of sweetness in the white or brown sugar you buy at the store is sucrose, a combination of two simpler sugars -- glucose and fructose. The very high fructose content in honey accounts for its characteristic intense sweetness. Other sugars include lactose (milk sugar) and maltose (malt sugar).

Regardless of type, all sugar has 50 calories/tablespoon.

Most of the sugar you'll cook with is sucrose. Beet and cane sugars are largely interchangeable in cooking, though some bakers insist that beet sugar can be unpredictable and shouldn't be used in baked goods.

Here are the most common types of dry sugar:

Granulated Sugar is the category for totally refined dry sugar - all residues including molasses removed. It comes in a variety of crystal sizes:

Fine Crystals (Small Crystal):

• Regular sugar is considered a fine crystal, but there are finer sizes.
• Fruit and Baker sugars are the next two smaller crystal sizes; largely available to commercial companies.
• Superfine or Caster sugar (as it is called in England) is a very fine crystal used in drinks, sugar syrups or to make meringues. If you can't find it, grind regular sugar in a blender or food processor.
• Confectioner's or Icing sugar (again as it is called in England) is sugar crushed to a powder with a little cornstarch mixed in it to prevent lumping - though you should still sift before using.

Larger Crystals:

• Coarse sugar has a larger crystal than regular sugar - it is most often used in candy.
• Sanding sugar is the sugar - sometimes colored - that you find sprinkled and sparkling on top of baked goods. Due to its large crystals, sanding sugar won't dissolve in heat so it can be applied before baking.

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