Is "brown sugar" really brown or is it a gimmick?!


Question: Is "brown sugar" really brown or is it a gimmick!?
The brown sugar, which I had purchased a while ago, became hard in the container!. I used a dinner knife to break it and noticed that the portion where it broke off had turned white! It looked to me like the manufacturer had just mixed some molasses to the refined white sugar - perhaps to keep the manufaturing cost low (otherwise a step in the manufacturing would have to be added to remove partially refined sugar as brown sugar)!. I have seen this happen with two manufacturers and I am wondering if we are duped into believing that we are eating brown sugar but in fact we are eating white sugar mixed with molasses!. I hope I am wrong!.Www@FoodAQ@Com


Answers:
Yes it is simply bleached white sugar sprayed with a little molasses!. It is not better for you than the other refined sugars!.

Look instead for raw sugar, turbinado sugar, whole cane sugar (the best) -also called SucanatWww@FoodAQ@Com

brown sugar is white cane sugar with molasses!.!.!.!.unrefined sugar (demeara) is the only kind of sugar that comes out golden!.!.!.Www@FoodAQ@Com

There is molasses in brown sugar!. They make a product that you place in your brown sugar to keep it from getting hard!. The link is below!.Www@FoodAQ@Com

Commercial brown sugar is usually white sugar with molasses added!.

Natural brown sugar, or raw sugar, is unrefined and minimally processed, produced from the first crystallization of sugar cane juice!. It gets its color and flavor from the sugar cane itself, rather than from any additional ingredients!.Www@FoodAQ@Com

In case you weren't aware, brown sugar IS white sugar with molasses, which is what gives it the brown color!. You probably got a package that wasn't properly manufactured, so if you have the receipt, get a refund!. If not, just go buy a new bag!.Www@FoodAQ@Com

Well, if that were the case it would cost them more!.
Because to get to the white sugar stage all this processing of removing the molasses has to be done!.
Now to add it back in would be another process which doesn't make sense!.
Brown sugars are less refined!. The darker it is the closer to pure cane it is!. It will solidify easily because of the molasses content!.( sounds like you already know all this)!.

I would venture a guess that it's a lighter brown( somewhat refined sugar) that went slightly awry in the processing causing some whitening!. It's safe!. That's all I can think of, unless moisture got into the package somehow!.Www@FoodAQ@Com

There are two ways to get brown sugar - you've described one!. The other way is the tail end of the sugar refining process!.!.!.

Raw sugar is "melted" by adding water to make a sugar liquor!. The liquor is filtered and clarified before going to the pans!. The pans are boiled under vacuum and seed crystals are added!. Once 50% of the mix is crystalized and the crystals are the right size, the pan is dumped into a centrifuge which spins off the uncrystalized liquor to go to the next pan!. There are several pans, and each one yields darker sugar than the previous!. This is because the crystals are pure (minus an inclusion or two) - with each pan, there is a higher concentration of impurities!.

The last pans give brown sugar from light to dark!.!.!. eventually there is very little sugar left in the liquor being flung off by the centrifuge - this is molasses!.Www@FoodAQ@Com

Brown sugar available at every market is often refined white sugar mixed with molasses, making it moist and sticky with the rich flavor we all know and love!. No one is being 'tricked' here!. Brown sugar is sugar with some molasses left in it!.

And if you want to soften up a hard package of brown sugar, put in a slice of nice fresh bread or apple and seal the bag!. It will be soft by the next day!.Www@FoodAQ@Com





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