white sugar and brown sugar.. the most important differences
white sugar .. When preparing a cup of tea or a cup of coffee, we need something that breaks the bitter taste in the coffee or tea. We may resort to natural sweeteners such as honey, and we may turn to something slightly industrial, which is sugar.
Sugar is as useful as it is in giving a sweet taste, but it is sometimes considered a great curse. Let’s get to know together the types of sugar and the difference between them, its benefits and harms, and many other things.
What are the types of sugar?
Sugar is divided into two main types: white sugar and brown sugar, each of which has its advantages, benefits and harms as well.
white sugar
White sugar is extracted from the sugar cane plant or from the sugar beet, and to be more precise, the largest percentage of sugar is found in the sugar cane stem and sugar beet root.. arises from the process of filtering and refining the juice of cane or beets. After completing the refining process, we get excellent white sugar ready for use in making bread or sweetening tea and coffee early in the morning.
brown sugar
Brown sugar, in short, is white sugar, but the only difference between them is that brown sugar contains molasses, while white sugar does not contain molasses.
Brown sugar is softer than white, in addition to its darker color and slightly caramel-like flavour.
There are two types of brown sugar, the first type is light brown sugar, which we talked about in the previous lines,
As for the second type, it is dark brown sugar, and it has a darker color than the first type and also a deeper flavor, so it is necessary to differentiate between them.
What is better brown or white sugar ?
White and brown sugar originate from the same crops (sugar cane and sugar beet), but the difference here between the two types is a nutritional difference, as brown sugar contains a slightly higher percentage of calcium, potassium and iron than white sugar.
Also, we cannot rely heavily on brown sugar to get these nutrients because it provides them very little.
White sugar is more caloric than brown sugar, as four grams of brown sugar contains 15 calories, while four grams of white sugar contains 16.3 calories.
With all these differences, however, the nutritional benefit is very similar between them, and the real apparent difference is in the taste and color.
The difference between white and brown sugar in the confectionery industry
When cooking and in some recipes, the use of brown instead of white sugar may change the color of foods, making them close to light brown.
Brown sugar also has unique flavor characteristics. It has a deep, caramel-like flavor due to the molasses added to it. Therefore, it is used in desserts that are primarily dark in color, such as cookies or dark chocolate cake.
Does brown sugar make you gain weight?
Brown sugar contains many nutrients as mentioned in the above paragraphs, and also contains antioxidants, which makes it safe and healthy for consumption.
Many doctors advise to reduce sugar consumption because it contains large amounts of calories, but if we want to add sugar, brown sugar is recommended.
Brown sugar contains fewer calories than white , so it is recommended in case of consumption, because brown sugar reduces fat accumulation more than white sugar.
What are the best types of brown sugar?
There are many types of brown sugar, and we will discuss the most common ones
Turbinado: This type of brown sugar is called raw sugar. This type is characterized by being made in the form of coarse granules, and it is less refined than basic brown sugar.
It is an excellent type for making cookies, cakes and many other types because it does not contain a high amount of moisture.
Demerara: It has a large crystalline shape, very similar to the turbinado type, but it has a little more molasses. It is commonly used in decorating sweets and baked goods.
Muscovado: Muscovado sugar has a sand-like consistency, rich in nutrients, moist, and saturated with molasses. Its flavor is stronger than the previous types, bitter, and its color is very dark.
Piloncillo: It is a type of very dark brown sugar. It is commonly used in Latin America and is used in making sweets and sweetening hot drinks. It has a slightly smoky taste.
Jaggery: This type of brown sugar is characterized as unrefined sugar, extracted from the sugar cane plant, then boiled until it becomes a paste with a caramel-like texture and packed in cans.
It is used in the bakery industry mainly in South Asia.
Okinawan sugar: It is made as white is made, but the sweet substance is not purified from the solution, but rather left completely to dry on its own, making it a solid and dense texture.
It is used to sweeten drinks that contain milk, or it is ground and sprinkled over desserts.