The use of brown sugar is no longer a novelty – the coarse-grained, amber-colored crystals have become an integral part of our cuisine. With its caramel note and appealing look, brown sugar is very popular. It is often said that brown sugar is healthier than the white version and is therefore preferable to conventional table sugar. But is that really true? We clarify about the brown sugar.
Table of Contents
Brown Sugar – The Production
Both brown and white sugar are derived from sugar beets or sugar cane. So that the granular sweetener can be produced from the sugar beets, the beets are washed, chopped and boiled after harvesting. This process creates a thin juice, which is further heated to a thick juice and then boiled down to a syrup. This syrup is further processed and dried until it becomes a granular, brown sugar. In order to turn the brown sugar into white table sugar, the sugar mass is cleaned again. The characteristic light color of the white sugar develops. So brown sugar is a kind of precursor to white sugar. Because brown sugar isn’t as fine as regular sugar, it also doesn’t dissolve as well in water.
Brown Sugar: Varieties
In addition to cane sugar, there are also other types of brown sugar:
- Whole sugar (fully purified, thickened and dried sugar juice from which the molasses has not been separated)
- Brown sugar candy (coarse sugar crystals)
- Candisfarin (crystals coated in caramel syrup obtained from a pure sugar solution)
Does brown sugar taste different?
The taste of brown sugar (cane sugar) differs greatly from conventional household sugar (refined sugar). When you taste test it, you will notice that brown sugar has a hint of caramel and malt. Because of this caramel taste, brown sugar is often used in baking or as an addition to drinks.
Facts in numbers
glycemic index: medium
Calories: 397 kcal
The healthier alternative?!
Brown sugar has a medium glycemic index – just like white sugar. It also causes an increased blood sugar level and an increased release of insulin. At least it contains more minerals and trace elements, since the white sugar is cleaned much more. Nevertheless – brown sugar is not healthier and should therefore be consumed in moderation, just as we know it from normal sugar.
