The best brown sugar for cooking – and lumpy discharges – East Bay Times

For the occasional and not so serious baker, any old piece of brown sugar can make: light brown, dark brown or even white mixed with a little molasses. But for those who strive to cook perfection – ethereal shortbread, cakes worthy of fainting and pies worthy of Insta – the only brown sugar to use is the best.

For decades, “The Best” was dominated by a brand – C&H, California and Hawaiian SUGAR REFINING COMPANY which began to refine sugar in 1906 in the small town of Crockett. It is the sugar that my mother and mother and mother’s mother used. And for a very long time, this emblematic brand had little competition apart from a store brand or two – so far.

A quick analysis of the cooking driveway shows a new sweet selection of brown sugar options, including biological, sustainable, fair trade, non-GMO and regeneration. Curious, we put a pile of brown off with a simple recipe for brown sugar. Note that, although Turbinado is technically a brown sugar, we have not included it, because the large dry granules are not designed for cooking.

One of the key facts to know on brown sugar is that the differences between brands have a lot to do with treatment. Certain brown sugars are not very refined, allowing the natural molasses of sugar to stay. Others are completely refined and get their brown color and flavor by adding molasses.

For this reason, some light sweets have huge notes of molasses flavor. Others have so little, it’s difficult to detect. The other big difference between “light” brown sugar marks is the size of the crystals. Some are so big, they are crunchy. Others offer ultra-fine granules that base on the language.

The big question is how these sugars work in pastries. Do they change texture and flavor? They do it. The best light brown sugar has a note of fresh melasse caramel and is so fine that it incorporates well into any dough. In cookies, it stimulates moisture, which gives delicately crisp and tender interior edges. The bad brown sugar feels strange and has such large crystals, it does not incorporate completely into the dough. The result: hard and crunchy cookies that are as attractive as hockey washers.

Here is the scoop on the brown sugar that will raise your cooking and the sad and rude options likely to sink even the best baker. Nutrition information is not listed because all these sugars have around 30 calories per 2 inch portion.

365 organic light brown sugar

The texture of the kinetic sand, this carefully made sugar strikes all the good notes. He has a big molasses and crystals which are small enough to play well in tender bakery products. It is an excellent choice for those who want organic sugar but do not want to compromise quality. $ 4.69 for 1.5 pounds at Whole Foods. (4 stars)

C&H Light brown sugar

It is difficult to blame a must from the pantry. This finely ground sugar proves to be tender humid cookies that have a touch of brown sugar. A little more molasses would be welcome, but it’s quite perfect as is. $ 5.49 for 2 pounds in Safeway. (4 stars)

Good and bring together a light brown sugar organic

This molasses sugar before the molasses is super grainy but quite humid to integrate well into the dough, which allows fairly tender cookies. It may not be a Go-To for a fine pastry, but the flavor would increase less difficult cooking. $ 3.69 for 1.5 pounds in Target. (3 stars)

Trader Joe’s Organic Brown Suchon

The aroma of black melasse in fat emanates from this bag of sparkling and medium-coatian crystals. Consider this as a cross between light brown sugar and dark brown sugar. This sugar adds a brown note which is similar to C&H when it is cooked, but the more rustic texture is a crunchy rather than crisp cookie. $ 3.99 for 1.5 pounds. (3 stars)

Unrefined organic non -refined costco

As dry and light as this sugar seems, it works quite well. The flavor is similar to standard brown sugar and granules are small enough to integrate into more delicate cookies. Record this for recipes that do not rely on a rich brown sugar flavor. $ 8.99 for 7.5 pounds. (2½ stars)