Sugar.

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boomchakabowwow

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we have discussed pretty much every other condiment/seasoning. Sugar. i made some soup yesterday and my wife insisted that Rock Sugar was the correct sweetener. okay. i dropped in a nugget the size of a small finger. i got lucky and it was perfect.

on the sugar side, i can see white sugar, and brown sugar., cane sugar, rock sugar...various syrups.

but besided the brown sugar, which imparts a carmelly flavor..the rest is just sweet no?
 
Palm sugar can be very nice as well (a little more mouth feel) that and rock sugar is what we use at the Thai spot. At home I’ve really been enjoying a Japanese brown sugar I got from Bernal! I also remember seeing a cool video awhile back where Sean Brock was using some really good looking sorghum syrup. Same with salts, I believe “sweeteners” are on a spectrum of strength so depending on what you’re making, the other flavors may or may not come through.

Billy
 
I just used some maple sugar and it does give a maple flavor.
 
When it comes to your 'basic' sugar you see in the west, generally speaking brown sugar is brown because it has some molasses in it, vs refined sugar that's white because it doesn't. So brown sugar can vary a bit depending on how much molasses is in there... just like white (refined) sugar can have different origins; it can be from beetroot, but it can also come from sugar cane.
Molasses might look brownish like a caramel but it's a different thing... caramel you can make even from refined white sugar just by applying heat.

Personally I prefer to just use brown stuff for pretty much everything because I prefer the taste, except in places where the brownish hue it imparts is a problem, like when making lemon or lime tart.

But then there's a whole other rabbithole. You have your more 'traditional' sugar-ish creations like jaggery, you have weird combinations like we have here in the Netherlands (basterdsuiker) that include invertsugar, there's palm sugar... Then the last couple of years stuff like agave syrup started being pushed as a 'more natural alternative'.... but it really doesn't make one iota of difference for your body. Sugar syrup is sugar syrup, your body metabolizes it the same whether it's honey, agave syrup, cane sugar or beet sugar, and it causes the same problems in excess.
 
Michi said:
Is there such a thing as pineapple sugar? Just asking… 😈
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You could probably make it by boiling down the syrup from canned pineapple. As a kid I used to love that stuff; whenever we had canned pineapple I'd always ask my mom to save the juice so I could drink it straight.
I've also seen pineapple syrup or juice being used as a sweetener on a lot of dried cranberries.
 
Why not just use the juice? First take the unopened can and throw it in the trash and buy a pineapple.....juice reduction till you reach the sweetness you want. Haven't tried but pineapple simple syrup? Thanks for the spark BTW!
 
...and then drizzle that on some pizza...maybe even glaze the crust with it!
 
jjlotti said:
Why not just use the juice? First take the unopened can and throw it in the trash and buy a pineapple.....juice reduction till you reach the sweetness you want. Haven't tried but pineapple simple syrup? Thanks for the spark BTW!
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That thickened juice would work well with a whole range of cocktails, I bet!
 
I got two good ones recommendations if you can find them:

1) wasanbon - used mainly for wagashi and other confections. Both the texture and taste are fairly unique and you can’t easily substitute. It also makes a lovely syrup for beverages.

2) Okinawa kokuto - I grew up eating this stuff. Often just served as rock sugar to go with coffee or tea. The flavor is indispensable for making sata andaagi.
 
boomchakabowwow said:
we have discussed pretty much every other condiment/seasoning. Sugar. i made some soup yesterday and my wife insisted that Rock Sugar was the correct sweetener. okay. i dropped in a nugget the size of a small finger. i got lucky and it was perfect.

on the sugar side, i can see white sugar, and brown sugar., cane sugar, rock sugar...various syrups.

but besided the brown sugar, which imparts a carmelly flavor..the rest is just sweet no?
Click to expand...
Sugar's important to me—my grandmother lived amongst the sugarcane fields on Hawaii's North Shore, went there a lot when younger, clearly remember the smell of the fields burning.

I enjoy exploring sugar produced in different locations—right now I'm using a turbinado sugar from Colombia—each has its own characteristics, whether from Mexico, India, Okinawa, etc. In the cupboard, got some Chinese slab sugar, and Indian jaggery which is fun.
 
DitmasPork said:
I enjoy exploring sugar produced in different locations—right now I'm using a turbinado sugar from Colombia—each has its own characteristics, whether from Mexico, India, Okinawa, etc. In the cupboard, got some Chinese slab sugar, and Indian jaggery which is fun.
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Palm sugar and piloncillo each have a spot in my pantry. There are a few others, Dark brown, turbinado, raw sugar, white sugar, powdered sugar, muscovado, maple sugar, glucose, dextrose, malt sugar, coconut sugar, maple sugar, vanilla sugar. Plus erythritol (not really sugar).

It’s funny how these accumulate over time. I ended up with all these because I tried various recipes that called for a particular sugar. And each time I buy another kind, I end up with more than I need.
 
Michi said:
Palm sugar and piloncillo each have a spot in my pantry. There are a few others, Dark brown, turbinado, raw sugar, white sugar, powdered sugar, muscovado, maple sugar, glucose, dextrose, malt sugar, coconut sugar, maple sugar, vanilla sugar. Plus erythritol (not really sugar).

It’s funny how these accumulate over time. I ended up with all these because I tried various recipes that called for a particular sugar. And each time I buy another kind, I end up with more than I need.
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I've not gotten to beet sugar yet.

Fascinated by the range—it'll take me a long while to get to it all, since I don't bake cakes/pies, and don't have much of a sweet tooth.
 
DitmasPork said:
I've not gotten to beet sugar yet.

Fascinated by the range—it'll take me a long while to get to it all, since I don't bake cakes/pies, and don't have much of a sweet tooth.
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British Sugar Co sugar is extracted from beet. Tate & Lyle uses Cane and some beet
 
labor of love said:
Best sugar for coffee is?
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What kind of coffee do you like?

For me demerara is the go to for coffee and black tea. It compliments dark and medium roasts exceptionally well. Plays nicely with those nutty, chocolate, caramel tasting notes. I still use it light roasts too but I'm not a huge coffee snob and don't obsess over every tasting note with 5k worth of brew gear.
It's like a more concentrated turbinado.
 
SwampDonkey said:
What kind of coffee do you like?

For me demerara is the go to for coffee and black tea. It compliments dark and medium roasts exceptionally well. Plays nicely with those nutty, chocolate, caramel tasting notes. I still use it light roasts too but I'm not a huge coffee snob and don't obsess over every tasting note with 5k worth of brew gear.
It's like a more concentrated turbinado.
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Demerara has a little too much molasses. I prefer Turbinado.
 
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