On Food And Cooking Part 82

Water

17 17.

Fructose

38 38.

Glucose

31 31.

Sucrose

1.5 1.5.

Other disaccharides

7 7.

Higher sugars

1.5 1.5.

Acids

0.6 0.6.

Minerals

0.2 0.2.

Honey in Cooking Unlike sugar, which is often a hidden ingredient in processed foods, honey is a very visible sweetener; most of it is added to foods by individual consumers. With its syrup-like viscosity, glossiness, and range of brown shades, it makes an attractive topping for pastries and other foods. It is the characteristic sweetener in such pastries as baklava and lebkuchen, such confections as nougat and torrone, halvah and pasteli, and in such liqueurs as Benedictine, Drambuie, and Irish Mist. Although honey wine, or mead, has all but disappeared, honey beer is popular in Africa. Americans use honey in many baked goods for a variety of reasons. It can be subst.i.tuted for sugar - 1 measure of honey is considered the sweetening equivalent of 1.251.5 measures of sugar, although the amount of added liquid must be decreased because honey does contain some water. Because it is more hygroscopic, or water attracting, than table sugar, honey will keep breads and cakes moister than sugar will, losing water to the air more slowly, and even absorbing it on humid days. Thanks to its antioxidant phenolic compounds, it slows the development of stale flavors in baked goods and warmed-over flavors in meats. Bakers can use its acidity to react with baking soda and leaven quickbreads. And its reactive reducing sugars accelerate desirable browning reactions and the development of flavor and color in the crusts of baked goods, in marinades and glazes, and other preparations. Unlike sugar, which is often a hidden ingredient in processed foods, honey is a very visible sweetener; most of it is added to foods by individual consumers. With its syrup-like viscosity, glossiness, and range of brown shades, it makes an attractive topping for pastries and other foods. It is the characteristic sweetener in such pastries as baklava and lebkuchen, such confections as nougat and torrone, halvah and pasteli, and in such liqueurs as Benedictine, Drambuie, and Irish Mist. Although honey wine, or mead, has all but disappeared, honey beer is popular in Africa. Americans use honey in many baked goods for a variety of reasons. It can be subst.i.tuted for sugar - 1 measure of honey is considered the sweetening equivalent of 1.251.5 measures of sugar, although the amount of added liquid must be decreased because honey does contain some water. Because it is more hygroscopic, or water attracting, than table sugar, honey will keep breads and cakes moister than sugar will, losing water to the air more slowly, and even absorbing it on humid days. Thanks to its antioxidant phenolic compounds, it slows the development of stale flavors in baked goods and warmed-over flavors in meats. Bakers can use its acidity to react with baking soda and leaven quickbreads. And its reactive reducing sugars accelerate desirable browning reactions and the development of flavor and color in the crusts of baked goods, in marinades and glazes, and other preparations.

Honey and Health; Infant Botulism Though honey has not been refined the way table sugar is and is chemically complex, it is no wonder food. Its vitamin content is negligible; bees get most of theirs from pollen. Its antibacterial properties, which led early physicians to use it to dress wounds, are due largely to hydrogen peroxide, one of the products of glucose-oxidizing enzyme and a substance well known and long employed in medicine. And honey should not be fed to children less than a year old. It often carries the seed-like dormant spores of the botulism bacterium ( Though honey has not been refined the way table sugar is and is chemically complex, it is no wonder food. Its vitamin content is negligible; bees get most of theirs from pollen. Its antibacterial properties, which led early physicians to use it to dress wounds, are due largely to hydrogen peroxide, one of the products of glucose-oxidizing enzyme and a substance well known and long employed in medicine. And honey should not be fed to children less than a year old. It often carries the seed-like dormant spores of the botulism bacterium (Clostridium botulinum), which are able to germinate in immature digestive systems. Infant botulism can cause difficulty in breathing and paralysis.

Tree Syrups and Sugars: Maple, Birch, Palm When bees make honey, they perform two basic tasks: they remove a very dilute solution of sugar from plants, and then evaporate off most of the water. What the bees evolved to do instinctively and with their own muscles and enzymes, humans have learned to do with the help of tools and fire. We make syrups and sugars by extracting dilute juices from plants, and then boiling off most or all of the water. Of the man-made sweets, tree syrups and sugars are most like honey in that they retain nearly all the original contents of the sap, and are not refined to the extent that cane and beet sugars are.

Food Words: Honey HoneyThough we think of the essence of honey as sweetness, the English word arises from its color. Honey Honey comes from an Indo-European root meaning "yellow." The Indo-Europeans of course enjoyed honey and had a name for it. The modern descendants of that root, comes from an Indo-European root meaning "yellow." The Indo-Europeans of course enjoyed honey and had a name for it. The modern descendants of that root, melit-, melit-, include include mola.s.ses, marmalade, mellifluous, mola.s.ses, marmalade, mellifluous, and and mousse mousse (via the Latin (via the Latin mulsus, mulsus, "honey-sweet"). "honey-sweet").

Maple Syrup and Sugar Long before Europeans introduced the honeybee, the natives of North America had developed their own delicious concentrated sweets. Several Indian tribes, notably the Algonquins, Iroquois, and Ojibways, had well-established myths about and terminologies for maple sugaring by the time that European explorers encountered them. Thanks to a remarkable doc.u.ment, we have some idea of how ingenious they were at extracting and concentrating the tree sap (see box below). All they needed was a tomahawk to cut into the tree, a wood chip to keep the wound open, sheets of elm bark for containers, and cold nights to freeze the water into pure ice crystals that could then be removed from the ever more concentrated sap. Long before Europeans introduced the honeybee, the natives of North America had developed their own delicious concentrated sweets. Several Indian tribes, notably the Algonquins, Iroquois, and Ojibways, had well-established myths about and terminologies for maple sugaring by the time that European explorers encountered them. Thanks to a remarkable doc.u.ment, we have some idea of how ingenious they were at extracting and concentrating the tree sap (see box below). All they needed was a tomahawk to cut into the tree, a wood chip to keep the wound open, sheets of elm bark for containers, and cold nights to freeze the water into pure ice crystals that could then be removed from the ever more concentrated sap.

Maple sugar was an important part of the native Americans' diet, worked into bear fat, or mixed with corn meal to make a light, compact provision for journeys. For the colonists, maple sugar was cheaper and more available than the heavily taxed cane sugar from the West Indies. Even after the Revolution, many Americans found a moral reason for preferring maple sugar to cane; cane sugar was produced largely with slave labor. Toward the end of the nineteenth century, cane and beet sugar became so cheap that the demand for maple sugar declined steeply. Today the production of maple syrup is a cottage industry concentrated in the eastern Canadian provinces, especially Quebec, and in the American Northeast.

The Sap Run The maple family originated in China or j.a.pan and numbers some 100 species throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Of the four North American species good for sugaring, the hard or rock maple, The maple family originated in China or j.a.pan and numbers some 100 species throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Of the four North American species good for sugaring, the hard or rock maple, Acer saccharum, Acer saccharum, produces sap of greater quality and in greater quant.i.ty than the others, and accounts for most of the syrup produced today. In the spring, sap is collected from the first major thaw until the leaf buds burst, at which point the tree fluids begin to carry substances that give the syrup a harsh flavor. The sap run is improved by four conditions: a severe winter that freezes the roots, snow cover that keeps the roots cold in the spring, extreme variations in temperatures from day to night, and good exposure to the sun. The northeastern states and eastern Canadian provinces meet these needs most consistently. produces sap of greater quality and in greater quant.i.ty than the others, and accounts for most of the syrup produced today. In the spring, sap is collected from the first major thaw until the leaf buds burst, at which point the tree fluids begin to carry substances that give the syrup a harsh flavor. The sap run is improved by four conditions: a severe winter that freezes the roots, snow cover that keeps the roots cold in the spring, extreme variations in temperatures from day to night, and good exposure to the sun. The northeastern states and eastern Canadian provinces meet these needs most consistently.

Sap does run in other trees in early spring, and some of them - birch, hickory, and elm, for example - have been tapped for sugar. But maples produce more and sweeter sap than any other tree, thanks to an intricate physical mechanism by which the tree forces sugars from the previous growing season out of storage in the trunk and into the outer, actively growing zone, the cambium.

Maple Sugaring Without Metal or FireIn 1755, a young colonist was captured and "adopted" by a small group of natives in the region that is now Ohio. In 1799 he published his story in An Account of the Remarkable Occurrences in the Life and Travels of Col. James Smith, An Account of the Remarkable Occurrences in the Life and Travels of Col. James Smith, which includes several descriptions of how the Indians made maple sugar. Here's the most ingenious method. which includes several descriptions of how the Indians made maple sugar. Here's the most ingenious method.We had no large kettles with us this year, and the squaws made the frost, in some measure, supply the place of fire, in making sugar. Their large bark vessels, for holding the stock-water, they made broad and shallow; and as the weather is very cold here, it frequently freezes at night in sugar time; and the ice they break and cast out of the vessels. I asked them if they were not throwing away the sugar? they said no; it was water they were casting away, sugar did not freeze and there was scarcely any in that ice.... I observed that after several times freezing, the water that remained in the vessel, changed its colour and became brown and very sweet.

Syrup Production From colonial times to the 20th century, sugar producers collected the sap by punching a small hole in the maple tree, inserting a wooden or metal spout into the cambium, and hanging a bucket into which the sap dripped. This picturesque collection method has mostly given way to systems of plastic taps and tubing, which carry the sap from many trees to a central holding tank. Over a six-week season, the taps remove around 10% of a tree's sugar stores, in an average of 5 to 15 gallons/2060 liters per tree (some give as much as 80 gallons). It takes around 40 parts of sap to make 1 part syrup. The sap contains around 3% sucrose at the beginning of the season, half that at the end; so late-season sap must be boiled longer and is therefore darker and stronger-flavored. Today, many producers use energy-efficient reverse osmosis devices to remove about 75% of the sap water without heat, then boil the concentrated sap to develop its flavor and obtain the desired sugar concentration. They aim for a temperature around 7F/4C above the boiling point of water, the equivalent of a syrup that's around 65% sugars. From colonial times to the 20th century, sugar producers collected the sap by punching a small hole in the maple tree, inserting a wooden or metal spout into the cambium, and hanging a bucket into which the sap dripped. This picturesque collection method has mostly given way to systems of plastic taps and tubing, which carry the sap from many trees to a central holding tank. Over a six-week season, the taps remove around 10% of a tree's sugar stores, in an average of 5 to 15 gallons/2060 liters per tree (some give as much as 80 gallons). It takes around 40 parts of sap to make 1 part syrup. The sap contains around 3% sucrose at the beginning of the season, half that at the end; so late-season sap must be boiled longer and is therefore darker and stronger-flavored. Today, many producers use energy-efficient reverse osmosis devices to remove about 75% of the sap water without heat, then boil the concentrated sap to develop its flavor and obtain the desired sugar concentration. They aim for a temperature around 7F/4C above the boiling point of water, the equivalent of a syrup that's around 65% sugars.

The Flavors of Maple Syrups The final composition of maple syrup is approximately 62% sucrose, 34% water, 3% glucose and fructose, and 0.5% malic and other acids, and traces of amino acids. The characteristic flavor of the syrup includes sweetness from the sugars, a slight tartness from the acids, and a range of aroma notes, including vanilla from vanillin (a common wood by-product) and various products of sugar caramelization and browning reactions between the sugars and amino acids. The longer and hotter the syrup is boiled, the darker the color and the heavier the taste. Maple syrups are graded according to color, flavor, and sugar content, with grade A a.s.signed to the lighter, more delicately flavored, sometimes less concentrated syrups that are poured directly onto foods. Grades B and C are stronger in caramel flavor and are more often used for cooking, for example in baked goods and meat glazes. Because true maple syrup is expensive, many supermarket syrups contain little or none, and are artificially flavored. The final composition of maple syrup is approximately 62% sucrose, 34% water, 3% glucose and fructose, and 0.5% malic and other acids, and traces of amino acids. The characteristic flavor of the syrup includes sweetness from the sugars, a slight tartness from the acids, and a range of aroma notes, including vanilla from vanillin (a common wood by-product) and various products of sugar caramelization and browning reactions between the sugars and amino acids. The longer and hotter the syrup is boiled, the darker the color and the heavier the taste. Maple syrups are graded according to color, flavor, and sugar content, with grade A a.s.signed to the lighter, more delicately flavored, sometimes less concentrated syrups that are poured directly onto foods. Grades B and C are stronger in caramel flavor and are more often used for cooking, for example in baked goods and meat glazes. Because true maple syrup is expensive, many supermarket syrups contain little or none, and are artificially flavored.

Maple Sugar Maple sugar is made by concentrating the syrup's sucrose to the point that it will crystallize when the syrup cools. This point is marked by a boiling temperature of 2540F/1425C above the boiling point of water, or 237250F/114125C at sea level. Left to itself, the syrup will form coa.r.s.e crystals thinly coated with the remainder of the brown, flavorful syrup. Maple cream, a malleable mixture of very fine crystals in a small amount of dispersed syrup, is made by cooling the syrup very rapidly to about 70F/21C by immersing the pan in baths of iced water, and then beating it continuously until it becomes very stiff. This ma.s.s is then gently rewarmed until it becomes smooth and semisoft. Maple sugar is made by concentrating the syrup's sucrose to the point that it will crystallize when the syrup cools. This point is marked by a boiling temperature of 2540F/1425C above the boiling point of water, or 237250F/114125C at sea level. Left to itself, the syrup will form coa.r.s.e crystals thinly coated with the remainder of the brown, flavorful syrup. Maple cream, a malleable mixture of very fine crystals in a small amount of dispersed syrup, is made by cooling the syrup very rapidly to about 70F/21C by immersing the pan in baths of iced water, and then beating it continuously until it becomes very stiff. This ma.s.s is then gently rewarmed until it becomes smooth and semisoft.

Birch Syrup The inhabitants of far northern parts of the globe, including Alaska and Scandinavia, have long made a sweet syrup from the sap of birch trees, various species of The inhabitants of far northern parts of the globe, including Alaska and Scandinavia, have long made a sweet syrup from the sap of birch trees, various species of Betula Betula that are the dominant forest trees in northern lat.i.tudes. Birch sap runs for two to three weeks in early spring. It is much more dilute than maple sap, around 1% sugars, mainly an even mixture of glucose and fructose. It takes around 100 parts of sap to make 1 of syrup, both because there's less sugar to begin with, and because a mixture of glucose and fructose is thinner than the equivalent amount of sucrose; producers therefore aim for a final sugar concentration of 7075%. Thanks to the different sugars and their reactions, the syrup is reddish brown and has a more caramel-like flavor than maple syrup; the level of vanillin is lower, too. that are the dominant forest trees in northern lat.i.tudes. Birch sap runs for two to three weeks in early spring. It is much more dilute than maple sap, around 1% sugars, mainly an even mixture of glucose and fructose. It takes around 100 parts of sap to make 1 of syrup, both because there's less sugar to begin with, and because a mixture of glucose and fructose is thinner than the equivalent amount of sucrose; producers therefore aim for a final sugar concentration of 7075%. Thanks to the different sugars and their reactions, the syrup is reddish brown and has a more caramel-like flavor than maple syrup; the level of vanillin is lower, too.

Palm Syrup and Sugar; Agave Syrup Among sugar-giving trees, certain tropical palms are by far the most generous. The Asian sugar palm Among sugar-giving trees, certain tropical palms are by far the most generous. The Asian sugar palm (Bora.s.sus flabellifer (Bora.s.sus flabellifer) can be tapped for up to half the year, and yields 1525 quarts/liters per day of a sap that may be 12% sucrose! Individual trees can give 1080 pounds of raw sugar every year. Coconut, date, sago, and oil palms are less productive, but still far more so than maples and birches. The sap is collected either from the flowering stalks at the top of the tree, or from taps in the trunk, and then is boiled down either to a syrup called palm honey, or to a crystallized ma.s.s, which in India is known as gur gur (Hindi) or (Hindi) or jaggery jaggery(English, via Portuguese from the Sanskrit sharkara sharkara). These same words are also used for unrefined cane sugars. Unrefined palm sugar has a distinctive, winey aroma that contributes to the flavor of Indian, Thai, Burmese, and other South Asian and African cuisines. Some palm sugar is refined to make more neutral white sugar.

Agave syrup is produced from the sap of various species of agave, desert plants native to the New World that are related to the cactus family. The sugars in agave syrup are about 70% fructose and 20% glucose, so this syrup tastes sweeter than most.

Table Sugar: Cane and Beet sugars and Syrups The processing of cane and beet sugar is much more complicated than the production of honey and maple and palm sugars, and for one basic reason. Bees and tree tappers begin with an isolated plant fluid that contains little else besides water and sugar. But the raw material for table sugar is the crushed whole stem of the cane, or the whole root of the beet. Cane and beet juices include many substances - proteins, complex carbohydrates, tannins, pigments - that not only interfere with the sweet taste themselves, but decompose into even less palatable chemicals at the high temperatures necessary for the concentration process. Cane and beet sugar must therefore be separated from these impurities.

Preindustrial Sugar Refining From the late Middle Ages until the 19th century, when machinery changed nearly every sort of manufacturing, the treatment of sugar followed the same basic procedure. There were four separate stages: From the late Middle Ages until the 19th century, when machinery changed nearly every sort of manufacturing, the treatment of sugar followed the same basic procedure. There were four separate stages: clarifying the cane juice boiling it down into a thick syrup to concentrate and crystallize the sucrose draining the impurity-laden syrup from the solid crystals was.h.i.+ng the remaining syrup from the crystals The cane stalks were first crushed and pressed, and the resulting juice was cleared of many organic impurities by heating it with lime and a substance such as egg white or animal blood, which would coagulate and trap the coa.r.s.e impurities in a sc.u.m that could be skimmed off. The remaining liquid was then boiled down in a series of shallow pans until it had lost nearly all of its water, and poured into cone-shaped clay molds a foot or two long with a capacity of 5 to 30 lb/214 kg. There it was cooled, stirred, and allowed to crystallize into "raw sugar," a dense ma.s.s of sucrose crystals coated with a thin layer of syrup containing other sugars, minerals, and various dissolved impurities. The clay cones were left to stand inverted for a few days, during which time the syrup film, or mola.s.ses, mola.s.ses, would run off through a small hole in the tip. In the final phase, a fine wet clay was packed over the wide end of the cone, and its moisture was allowed to percolate through the solid block of sugar crystals for eight to ten days. This was.h.i.+ng, which could be repeated several times, would remove most of the remaining mola.s.ses, though the resulting sugar was generally yellowish. would run off through a small hole in the tip. In the final phase, a fine wet clay was packed over the wide end of the cone, and its moisture was allowed to percolate through the solid block of sugar crystals for eight to ten days. This was.h.i.+ng, which could be repeated several times, would remove most of the remaining mola.s.ses, though the resulting sugar was generally yellowish.

Modern Sugar Refining Today, sugar is produced by somewhat different means. Because most sugarcane has been grown in colonies or developing countries, and sugar refining requires expensive machinery, cane sugar production came to be divided into two stages: the crystallization of raw, unrefined sugar in factories near the plantations; and refining into white sugar in industrial countries that are the major consumers. Sugar beets, on the other hand, are a temperate crop, grown mainly in Europe and North America, so they are processed all the way to refined sugar in a single factory. Harvested sugarcane is very perishable and must be processed immediately; sugar beets may be stored for weeks to months before they are processed into sugar. Today, sugar is produced by somewhat different means. Because most sugarcane has been grown in colonies or developing countries, and sugar refining requires expensive machinery, cane sugar production came to be divided into two stages: the crystallization of raw, unrefined sugar in factories near the plantations; and refining into white sugar in industrial countries that are the major consumers. Sugar beets, on the other hand, are a temperate crop, grown mainly in Europe and North America, so they are processed all the way to refined sugar in a single factory. Harvested sugarcane is very perishable and must be processed immediately; sugar beets may be stored for weeks to months before they are processed into sugar.

Sugar production requires two basic kinds of work: crus.h.i.+ng the cane to collect the juice, and then boiling off the juice's water. The crus.h.i.+ng is hard physical labor, and the boiling requires large amounts of heat. In the Caribbean, these needs were filled by slave labor and deforestation. Three 19th-century innovations helped make sugar a less costly pleasure: the application of steam power to the crus.h.i.+ng; the vacuum pan, which boils the syrup at reduced pressure and so at a lower, gentler temperature; and the multiple evaporator, which recycles the heat of one evaporation stage to heat the next.

The initial clarification of cane and beet juice is now accomplished without eggs or blood; heat and lime are generally used to coagulate and remove proteins and other impurities. Rather than waiting for gravity to draw off mola.s.ses, refiners use centrifuges, which spin the raw sugar as a salad spinner spins greens, forcing the liquid off the crystals in minutes rather than weeks. The sucrose is whitened by the technique of decolorization, in which granular carbon - a material like activated charcoal that can absorb undesirable molecules on its large surface area - is added to the centrifuged, redissolved sugar. After it absorbs the last remaining impurities, the charcoal is filtered out. The final crystallization process is carefully controlled to give individual sugar crystals of uniform size. Our table sugar is an astonis.h.i.+ngly pure 99.85% sucrose.

From Sugarloaf to Sugar CubeUntil the late 19th century, sugar was sold in the conical ma.s.ses formed by the draining molds. These ma.s.ses were called loaves loaves: hence the name "Sugarloaf" that has been given to various hills and mountains for their supposed resemblance. In 1872, a onetime grocer's a.s.sistant named Henry Tate, who had worked his way to the top of a Liverpool sugar refinery, was shown an invention that cut up sugarloaves into small pieces for household use. Tate patented the device, went into production, and in a short time made a fortune with "Tate's Sugar Cube." He became a philanthropist and built the National Gallery of British Art, better known as the Tate Gallery, which he filled with his own collection.Making Sugar Impurities in White Sugar It turns out that the tiny fraction of impurities in table sugar can make a noticeable difference in its color and flavor. Make a concentrated syrup from just water and sugar and it will have a yellow, sometimes hazy cast, thanks to large carbohydrate and pigment molecules that either get trapped between sucrose molecules as they crystallize, or remain stuck to the crystal surface. Beet sugar in particular sometimes carries earthy, rancid off-odors. Where sugarcane grows above the ground and is so perishable that it is processed immediately after harvest, the beet grows underground and may be stored for weeks or months between harvest and processing, during which time it can be tainted by soil bacteria and molds that remain on its surface. In addition, beet sugar sometimes carries traces of defensive chemicals called saponins, which resemble soaps. These are known to cause the development of a sc.u.m in syrups, and may also be responsible for the poor baking performance sometimes attributed to beet sugar. (This reputation may be an undeserved legacy of the early 20th century, when refining techniques weren't as effective and the quality of beet sugar often didn't measure up to that of cane sugar.) It turns out that the tiny fraction of impurities in table sugar can make a noticeable difference in its color and flavor. Make a concentrated syrup from just water and sugar and it will have a yellow, sometimes hazy cast, thanks to large carbohydrate and pigment molecules that either get trapped between sucrose molecules as they crystallize, or remain stuck to the crystal surface. Beet sugar in particular sometimes carries earthy, rancid off-odors. Where sugarcane grows above the ground and is so perishable that it is processed immediately after harvest, the beet grows underground and may be stored for weeks or months between harvest and processing, during which time it can be tainted by soil bacteria and molds that remain on its surface. In addition, beet sugar sometimes carries traces of defensive chemicals called saponins, which resemble soaps. These are known to cause the development of a sc.u.m in syrups, and may also be responsible for the poor baking performance sometimes attributed to beet sugar. (This reputation may be an undeserved legacy of the early 20th century, when refining techniques weren't as effective and the quality of beet sugar often didn't measure up to that of cane sugar.) Kinds of White Sugar White sugar comes in a number of different forms, which differ mainly in the size of the crystals. They go by many different names. Ordinary table sugar, used for general cooking and dissolving in drinks, is midsized. Coa.r.s.er crystals are mainly used for decorating baked goods and confections, and for that reason are specially treated to produce a sparkling, crystal-clear appearance. They are made from exceptionally pure batches of sucrose, with the least possible residue of the impurities that give ordinary sugar solutions a yellowish look. They're even washed with alcohol to remove sucrose dust on their surfaces. When a cook wants to make the whitest possible fondant, or the clearest possible syrup, it's best to use these coa.r.s.e or "sanding" sugars. White sugar comes in a number of different forms, which differ mainly in the size of the crystals. They go by many different names. Ordinary table sugar, used for general cooking and dissolving in drinks, is midsized. Coa.r.s.er crystals are mainly used for decorating baked goods and confections, and for that reason are specially treated to produce a sparkling, crystal-clear appearance. They are made from exceptionally pure batches of sucrose, with the least possible residue of the impurities that give ordinary sugar solutions a yellowish look. They're even washed with alcohol to remove sucrose dust on their surfaces. When a cook wants to make the whitest possible fondant, or the clearest possible syrup, it's best to use these coa.r.s.e or "sanding" sugars.

At the finer end of the scale, there are a number of sugars with smaller particles than table sugar. Extra-fine, baker's special, and English caster sugars all offer more crystalline surfaces that can introduce air into fat during the creaming stage of making cakes (p. 556). "Powdered" sugars have been ground into even smaller particles, some small enough that they offer no roughness to the tongue, and can be made directly into very smooth icings, frostings, and fillings. Powdered sugars contain around 3% starch by weight to absorb moisture and prevent caking, and therefore have a slightly floury taste and feeling on the tongue.

Forms of White Sugar: Names and Dimensions The lengths listed below are the approximate largest dimension of the whole or powdered crystals. Our tongues sense particles larger than about 0.02 mm as gritty. The lengths listed below are the approximate largest dimension of the whole or powdered crystals. Our tongues sense particles larger than about 0.02 mm as gritty.Large-grain sugars: 12 mmCoa.r.s.eSandingPearlStandard granulated table sugar: 0.30.5 mmFine granulated sugars: 0.10.3 mmFruitBaker's specialCasterSuperfine, ultrafinePowdered sugars: 0.010.1 mmConfectioner'sPowderedFondantIcing OPPOSITE: Making cane sugar. The initial processing of sugar cane into raw sugar is carried out in tropical and sub-tropical cane-growing countries; most of the subsequent refining of raw sugar into white sugar in consuming countries. Beet sugar is made in essentially the same way, except that most sugar beets are grown in temperate industrialized countries and processed there, and beet mola.s.ses and syrups are not palatable. Making cane sugar. The initial processing of sugar cane into raw sugar is carried out in tropical and sub-tropical cane-growing countries; most of the subsequent refining of raw sugar into white sugar in consuming countries. Beet sugar is made in essentially the same way, except that most sugar beets are grown in temperate industrialized countries and processed there, and beet mola.s.ses and syrups are not palatable.

Brown Sugars Brown sugars are sucrose crystals that are coated with a layer of dark syrup from one or another stage of sugar refining, and therefore have a more complex flavor than pure sucrose. There are several basic kinds of brown sugars. Brown sugars are sucrose crystals that are coated with a layer of dark syrup from one or another stage of sugar refining, and therefore have a more complex flavor than pure sucrose. There are several basic kinds of brown sugars.

Factory Brown Sugars "Factory" brown sugars were originally produced during the initial processing of the cane juice into unrefined sugar. These include "Factory" brown sugars were originally produced during the initial processing of the cane juice into unrefined sugar. These include demerara, turbinado, demerara, turbinado, and and muscovado muscovado sugars. Demerara (named after a region in Guyana) came from the first crystallization stage of light cane juice, and took the form of sticky, large, yellow-gold crystals. Turbinado was raw sugar partly washed of its mola.s.ses coat during the centrifugation, also yellow-gold and large but not as sticky as demerara. Muscovado was the product of the final crystallization from the dark mother liquor (p. 675); it was brown, small-grained, sticky, and strong-flavored. sugars. Demerara (named after a region in Guyana) came from the first crystallization stage of light cane juice, and took the form of sticky, large, yellow-gold crystals. Turbinado was raw sugar partly washed of its mola.s.ses coat during the centrifugation, also yellow-gold and large but not as sticky as demerara. Muscovado was the product of the final crystallization from the dark mother liquor (p. 675); it was brown, small-grained, sticky, and strong-flavored.

Refinery Brown Sugars Today, these evocative names of factory sugars are often applied to a different product, brown sugars produced at the refinery using raw sugar as the starting material, not the cane juice. All ordinary brown sugar is also made in this way. There are two ways to make refinery brown sugars: redissolving the raw sugar in a syrup of some kind and then recrystallizing it, so that it retains some of the syrup on its crystal surfaces; or refining the raw sugar all the way to pure white sugar, and then coating or "painting" its surfaces with a thin film of syrup or mola.s.ses. Today, these evocative names of factory sugars are often applied to a different product, brown sugars produced at the refinery using raw sugar as the starting material, not the cane juice. All ordinary brown sugar is also made in this way. There are two ways to make refinery brown sugars: redissolving the raw sugar in a syrup of some kind and then recrystallizing it, so that it retains some of the syrup on its crystal surfaces; or refining the raw sugar all the way to pure white sugar, and then coating or "painting" its surfaces with a thin film of syrup or mola.s.ses.

The basic difference between factory and refinery brown sugars is that true factory sugars retain more of the flavor of the original cane juice, including green, fresh, and vegetable-ocean aromas (from hexanol, acetaldehyde, and dimethyl sulfide). Both kinds have an important vinegar aroma (from acetic acid), as well as caramel and b.u.t.tery notes (the b.u.t.tery one from diacetyl, indeed found in b.u.t.ter), and salty and bitter tastes (from minerals). Refinery brown sugars also develop what's described as a licorice aroma from the long, slow heating of the syrups.

The Compositions of White and Brown Sugars"Soft" brown sugars retain a coating of the syrup from which they were crystallized; "coated" sugars are white sugars that have had a thin film of brown syrup added after they've been crystallized and washed.

Sugar White Sugar Sucrose Sucrose 99.85 99.85.

White Sugar Glucose + Fructose Glucose + Fructose 0.05 0.05.

White Sugar Other Organic Material Other Organic Material 0.02 0.02.

White Sugar Minerals Minerals 0.03 0.03.

White Sugar Water Water 0.05 0.05.

Sugar Brown Sugars

Sucrose Soft Soft 8593 8593

Sucrose Coated Coated 9096 9096

Glucose + Fructose Soft Soft 1.54.5 1.54.5

Glucose + Fructose Coated Coated 25 25

Other Organic Material Soft Soft 24.5 24.5

Other Organic Material Coated Coated 13 13

Minerals Soft Soft 12 12

Minerals Coated Coated 0.31 0.31

Water Soft Soft 23.5 23.5

Water Coated Coated 12.5 12.5

Whole Sugars It's still possible to taste what might be called whole sugar, crystalline sugar still enveloped in the cooked cane juice from which it formed. This is the sugar sold in Indian groceries as It's still possible to taste what might be called whole sugar, crystalline sugar still enveloped in the cooked cane juice from which it formed. This is the sugar sold in Indian groceries as jaggery jaggery or or gur, gur, and in Latin American shops as and in Latin American shops as piloncillo, papelon, piloncillo, papelon, or or panela. panela. The flavor is highly variable, and ranges from mild caramel to strong mola.s.ses. The flavor is highly variable, and ranges from mild caramel to strong mola.s.ses.

Using Brown Sugars Brown sugar is soft and clingy because its mola.s.ses film - whose glucose and fructose are more hygroscopic than sucrose - contains a significant amount of water. Of course, if brown sugar is left exposed to dry air, it will lose its moisture through evaporation and become hard and lumpy. It can be kept moist by storing it in an airtight container, and resoftened by closing it up with a damp towel or piece of apple from which it can absorb moisture. Because brown sugar tends to trap air pockets between groups of adhering crystals, it should be packed down before its volume is measured. Brown sugar is soft and clingy because its mola.s.ses film - whose glucose and fructose are more hygroscopic than sucrose - contains a significant amount of water. Of course, if brown sugar is left exposed to dry air, it will lose its moisture through evaporation and become hard and lumpy. It can be kept moist by storing it in an airtight container, and resoftened by closing it up with a damp towel or piece of apple from which it can absorb moisture. Because brown sugar tends to trap air pockets between groups of adhering crystals, it should be packed down before its volume is measured.

Mola.s.ses and Cane Syrups Mola.s.ses Mola.s.ses, which is called Mola.s.ses, which is called treacle treacle in the United Kingdom, is generally defined as the syrup left over in cane sugar processing after the readily crystallizable sucrose has been removed from the boiled juice. (There is such a thing as beet mola.s.ses, but it has a strong, unpleasant odor, and so is used to feed animals and industrial fermentation microbes.) In order to extract as much sucrose as possible from cane juices, crystallization is performed in several different steps, each of which results in a different grade of mola.s.ses. "First" mola.s.ses is the product of centrifuging off the raw sugar crystals, and still contains some sucrose. It is then mixed with some uncrystallized sugar syrup, recrystallized, and recentrifuged. The resulting "second" mola.s.ses is even more concentrated in impurities than the first. Repeating this process once more yields "third," or final, or "blackstrap" mola.s.ses (from the Dutch in the United Kingdom, is generally defined as the syrup left over in cane sugar processing after the readily crystallizable sucrose has been removed from the boiled juice. (There is such a thing as beet mola.s.ses, but it has a strong, unpleasant odor, and so is used to feed animals and industrial fermentation microbes.) In order to extract as much sucrose as possible from cane juices, crystallization is performed in several different steps, each of which results in a different grade of mola.s.ses. "First" mola.s.ses is the product of centrifuging off the raw sugar crystals, and still contains some sucrose. It is then mixed with some uncrystallized sugar syrup, recrystallized, and recentrifuged. The resulting "second" mola.s.ses is even more concentrated in impurities than the first. Repeating this process once more yields "third," or final, or "blackstrap" mola.s.ses (from the Dutch stroop stroop for "syrup"). The brown-black color of final mola.s.ses is due to the extreme caramelization of the remaining sugars and to chemical reactions induced by the high temperatures reached during the repeated boilings. These reactions, together with the high concentration of minerals, give final mola.s.ses a harsh flavor that makes it generally unfit for direct human consumption, although it's sometimes sold blended with corn syrup. A small amount is also used in tobacco curing. for "syrup"). The brown-black color of final mola.s.ses is due to the extreme caramelization of the remaining sugars and to chemical reactions induced by the high temperatures reached during the repeated boilings. These reactions, together with the high concentration of minerals, give final mola.s.ses a harsh flavor that makes it generally unfit for direct human consumption, although it's sometimes sold blended with corn syrup. A small amount is also used in tobacco curing.

Food Words: Mola.s.ses, Treacle Mola.s.ses, TreacleMola.s.ses comes from the late Latin word comes from the late Latin word mellaceus, mellaceus, which meant "like honey." The English term which meant "like honey." The English term treacle treacle comes via the French comes via the French triacle triacle from the Latin from the Latin theriaca, theriaca, meaning antidotes against poison. Medieval pharmacists used sugar syrups to compound their drugs, and came to refer to the syrups by a term for the remedies. Today, meaning antidotes against poison. Medieval pharmacists used sugar syrups to compound their drugs, and came to refer to the syrups by a term for the remedies. Today, treacle treacle can mean both dark, strong mola.s.ses or the lighter, more delicate refiner's syrups. can mean both dark, strong mola.s.ses or the lighter, more delicate refiner's syrups.

Kinds of Mola.s.ses First and second mola.s.ses have been used in foods for many years, and for a long time were the only form of sugar available to slaves and the poor of the rural South, usually bleached with sulfur dioxide and strongly sulfurous to the taste. Today, most mola.s.ses available to consumers are actually blends of mola.s.ses and syrups from various stages throughout the sugar-making process. They range from mild to pungent and bitter, from golden brown to brown-black. The darker the mola.s.ses, the more its sugars have been transformed by caramelization and browning reactions, and so the less sweet and more bitter it is. Light mola.s.ses may be 35% sucrose and 35% invert sugars, and 2% minerals; blackstrap mola.s.ses may be 35% sucrose, 20% invert sugars, and 10% minerals. First and second mola.s.ses have been used in foods for many years, and for a long time were the only form of sugar available to slaves and the poor of the rural South, usually bleached with sulfur dioxide and strongly sulfurous to the taste. Today, most mola.s.ses available to consumers are actually blends of mola.s.ses and syrups from various stages throughout the sugar-making process. They range from mild to pungent and bitter, from golden brown to brown-black. The darker the mola.s.ses, the more its sugars have been transformed by caramelization and browning reactions, and so the less sweet and more bitter it is. Light mola.s.ses may be 35% sucrose and 35% invert sugars, and 2% minerals; blackstrap mola.s.ses may be 35% sucrose, 20% invert sugars, and 10% minerals.

Mola.s.ses in Cooking The flavor of cane mola.s.ses is complex, with woody and green notes as well as sweet, caramel, b.u.t.tery ones. Its complexity has made it a popular background flavor in many foods; popcorn b.a.l.l.s, gingerbread, licorice, barbeque sauces, and baked beans are examples. Cane mola.s.ses is usually but unpredictably acidic; its pH varies between 5 and neutral 7, so it can sometimes react with baking soda and produce leavening carbon dioxide in baked goods. Thanks to its invert sugars, it helps retain moisture in foods. And a variety of components contribute to a general antioxidant capacity, which helps slow the development of off-flavors. The flavor of cane mola.s.ses is complex, with woody and green notes as well as sweet, caramel, b.u.t.tery ones. Its complexity has made it a popular background flavor in many foods; popcorn b.a.l.l.s, gingerbread, licorice, barbeque sauces, and baked beans are examples. Cane mola.s.ses is usually but unpredictably acidic; its pH varies between 5 and neutral 7, so it can sometimes react with baking soda and produce leavening carbon dioxide in baked goods. Thanks to its invert sugars, it helps retain moisture in foods. And a variety of components contribute to a general antioxidant capacity, which helps slow the development of off-flavors.