Brown Sugar vs White Sugar
The difference between Brown Sugar and White Sugar is not limited to their colors only. Sugar is one of the most commonly used items in our kitchens. Whether first cup of coffee in the morning or any other drink like chocolate, plain milk or any shake, we use sugar generously. Then there are cakes, biscuits, and cookies that cannot be made without sugar. Though white sugar crystals are more common, there is also brown sugar available in the market, and many people prefer to use it over white sugar. Brown sugar is better in the baking process. However, white sugar is sweeter than brown sugar. There are other differences between brown sugar and white sugar too. Let us find out what they are.
To begin with, and to bust the myth that brown sugar is healthier than white sugar, here is a fact. US department of Agriculture has stated that brown sugar contains 17kcal per teaspoon whereas white sugar contains 16kcal per teaspoon. This settles the issue once and for all as there is nothing to choose from as far as white and brown sugars are concerned.
What is White Sugar?
In the production of white sugar from sugarcane plants, molasses is separated and removed, to give sugar its white color. Let us see more details about the production process of white sugar. First of all, sugarcane is pressed and mixed with lime. The liquid so obtained is then reduced through simple evaporation, allowing them to crystallize. These crystals, light brown in color, are then spun in a centrifuge to allow them to separate. Finally, these crystals are left to dry on their own. This is raw sugar. Once raw sugar is produced this raw sugar undergoes more washing with hot water. Then, it is passed through more centrifugation and filtration. The product is white sugar. These white sugar crystals are crushed to different sizes to produced different types of white sugar. White sugar is free flowing and dry.
What is Brown Sugar?
Brown sugar is sometimes also referred to as raw sugar. But, do not be misled by such nomenclature as brown sugar is simply ordinary white sugar that is made brown by re-introducing molasses to it.
Some manufacturers reintroduce molasses to white sugar, making it a mixture containing 3.5% to 6.5% of molasses by volume. Addition of molasses turns sugar brown and also gives manufacturers better control to shape the sugar crystals. It is true that because of molasses, brown sugar does have some minerals such as calcium, iron, potassium and magnesium, but these are in very small amounts to make any difference when it comes to health benefits. So, while white sugar is simply sucrose that is refined, brown sugar is sucrose plus molasses.
Brown sugar is moist and sticky. But, if left open, it dries out quickly. As brown sugar is unrefined, or raw, as some manufacturers tend to label their brands, it contains more minerals than white sugar.
Because of their physical properties being different, brown sugar is more suitable to add to recipes that makes cakes and biscuits moist and allows them to have a distinct flavor. However, brown sugar does not taste that well when added to tea or coffee because of its flavor and it is better to stick to white sugar when consuming these drinks.
What is the difference between Brown Sugar and White Sugar?
• While white sugar is made from sugarcane plants and beets, brown sugar is made from white sugar by reintroducing molasses.
• White sugar is refined and free flowing while brown sugar is unrefined and moist.
• White sugar is rich in sweetness. However, brown sugar is not that sweet.
• Brown sugar gives a rich flavor to baked recipes than white sugar. However, for coffee, tea, etc. white sugar is the better from the two as it is sweeter.
• Brown sugar’s moisture gets lost when left open as it becomes dry while white sugar has no such problems.
• White sugar has not gone through as much of a production process as brown sugar.
Images Courtesy:
- White sugar cubes via Pixabay (Public Domain)
- Brown Sugar by DO’Neil (CC BY-SA 3.0)
