SugarWeb - Sugar - Types of Sugar

A-Z of Sugar
Sugars	Description	Alternatives & Uses
barbados	Rich moist brown sugar	Substitute: Muscavado Uses: good for toffee & gingerbread. Not suitable for cooking with fruit.
barley sugar	Melt granulated sugar to 185C and it forms barley sugar, continue heating to 200C and it caramelizes.
brown sugar	See light brown sugar or dark brown sugar
cane juice	A slightly milky liquid which is crushed sugar cane. Lightly chilled makes a very refreshing drink.
candy sugar	Large white crystals from very pure sugar.
castor sugar	Chinese rock sugar or small white refined crystals.	Substitutes: crushed loaf sugar.
Chinese sugar	Finely crystallized refined sugar.	Substitutes: granulated sugar (sweeter; substitute 1 tablespoon for each Chinese sugar crystal)
cinnamon sugar	Lightly coloured granulated sugar with added flavouring.	Substitutes: 7 parts granulated sugar + 1 part cinnamon
coarse sugar	Large crystals of granulated sugar.
coconut sugar
coffee sugar	Large brown crystals with characteristic flavour (England).
confectioner's sugar
corn sugar	glucose, dextrose
cube sugar	White granulated sugar pressed into cubes and held with sugar liquor.
custard powder		Substitutes: instant vanilla pudding mix
dark brown sugar (1 C = 6 ounces)		Substitutes: 1 C light brown sugar + 1 tablespoon molasses OR 1 C granulated sugar + 2 tablespoons molasses
date sugar	Sugar from the sap of the date palm.	Substitutes: granulated sugar (not as nutritious)
decorator's sugar = coarse sugar		Substitutes: crushed rock sugar
dehydrated sugar cane juice	Usually light brown in colour and comes in liquid, solid and powder form.	Substitutes: panela or jaggery
demerara sugar	Golden brown crystal sugar.	Substitutes: turbinado sugar OR granulated sugar OR light brown sugar. Uses: cake making.
foots sugar	Moist syrupy dark brown sugar.	Uses: good for toffee.
fructose = granulated fructose = fruit sugar = levulose Shopping hints: Look for this among the dietary foods or among the sugars in your supermarket.	Sugar found in honey and certain fruits.	Substitutes: honey (not as sweet) OR granulated sugar (sugar isn't as sweet as fructose--use 3 parts sugar to replace 2 parts fructose; sugar makes product drier and lighter)
fruit sugar	Glucose, fructose
genuine maltose
glucose	A white crystalline sugar obtained from grapes and various fruits. Much less sweet than cane sugar.
granulated fructose
granulated sugar = sugar = white sugar = sucrose = refined sugar = table sugar	The commonest form of refined sugar. Granulated crystals graded as extra coarse, coarse, standard, fine and extra fine.	Substitutes: all-purpose.
turbinado sugar OR date sugar OR Sucanat (more nutritious) OR light brown sugar	Sugar from the sap of the date palm.
granulated sugar cane juice
grape sugar = glucose = starch sugar	Similar to cane sugar, but less sweet and tends to attract and absorb moisture.
icing sugar	White granulated sugar crushed to a fine powder, with added cornstarch to prevent caking.
jaggery	Unrefined non-centrifugal cane sugar.	Substitutes: panela
Java sugar
jus de canne	A slightly milky liquid which is crushed sugar cane. Lightly chilled makes a very refreshing drink.
lactose = milk sugar	Fine white powder much less sweet than cane sugar, made from milk extract.	Readily digestible by infants, but has a slight diuretic and laxative effect.
laevulose = levulose	Fruit sugar, so called because it turns the plane of polarised light to the left.
light brown sugar (1C = 6 ounces)		Substitutes: 2/3 C dark brown sugar + 1/3 C granulated sugar OR turbinado sugar
lump sugar = loaf sugar	Fine crystalline white sugar in block form.	Substitutes: castor sugar Uses: good for jam making.
maltose	A sugar produced by the action of malt on starch.
malt sugar = maltose = genuine maltose	Fine white powder obtained by treating starch with diastase.	Substitutes: honey (much sweeter)
maple sugar = maple sprinkles		Substitutes: date sugar = granulated sugar OR sucanat
milk sugar = lactose	Fine white powder much less sweet than cane sugar, made from milk extract.	Readily digestible by infants, but has a slight diuretic and laxative effect.
molasses	Dark coloured syrup.	Substitute: treacle
muscovado sugar	Dark brown unrefined sugar obtained by evaporation of cane sugar and draining off molasses.	Substitutes: dark brown sugar
palm sugar = coconut sugar = Java sugar = jaggery	Sugar comes from many plants including beet, cane, palm, maple etc. Refined sugars mostly appear and taste very similar.	Substitutes: mix 1 C dark brown sugar + 2 teaspoons molasses OR piloncillo OR brown sugar OR maple sugar OR date sugar
organic sugar	Ensure that sugar is certified by a recognized body.	Organic products are grown without the use of artificial fertilisers or pesticides.
panela	Unrefined non-centrifugal cane sugar. Whole sugar retaining all vitamins, does not damage teeth.	Substitutes: all dark sugars. Use about 1 ½ times the normal amount of refined sugar.
panocha	Unrefined non-centrifugal cane sugar. Whole sugar retaining all vitamins, does not damage teeth.
piloncillo = panela = penuche Shopping hints: Look for cones of this in specialist markets.)	Unrefined non-centrifugal cane sugar. Whole sugar retaining all vitamins.	Substitutes: Combine 1 C dark brown sugar with 2 tablespoons molasses (very close substitute).
powdered sugar = confectioner's sugar = icing sugar	Refined white sugar crystals which have been crushed to a fine powder.	Substitutes: Mix 1 cup granulated sugar + 1 tablespoon corn starch in blender until powdery, stirring often OR (to sweeten whipped cream) artificial sweeteners (add after cream is completely whipped)
raspadura	Unrefined non-centrifugal cane sugar. Whole sugar retaining all vitamins.	Substitutes: panela or jaggery
raw sugar	Natural sugar is refined to produce pure sucrose.	Substitutes: turbinado sugar
refined sugar	White crystals of either sugar beet or sugar cane.
rock sugar = yellow rock sugar = yellow lump sugar		Substitutes: granulated sugar
sucanat = unrefined natural sugar = granulated sugar cane juice = dehydrated sugar cane juice		Substitutes: granulated sugar (fewer nutrients) OR brown sugar OR turbinado sugar
succade	Candied or crystallised fruit.
sucrose	A sweetener which is extracted from plants producing natural sugar.
sugar	A sweetener which is extracted from plants producing natural sugar.	Substitutes: artificial sweeteners including saccharin.
sugar beet	A variety of garden beet extensively cultivated for the sugar which can be extracted from the roots.	Substitutes: cane sugar
sugar candy	Large crystals formed from high quality refined sugar and eaten as a sweet or used in baking.
sugar cane	A tall grass whose sap yields sugar. Perhaps the oldest source of sugar known.
sugar loaf	A cone shaped mass of hard refined sugar.
sugar maple	An North American tree from whose sap maple sugar is made.
sugar plum	A sweetmeat, usually of boiled sugar formed into a plum shaped ball.
superfine sugar = castor sugar = caster sugar	Chinese rock sugar or small white refined crystals.	Substitutes: mix granulated sugar in the blender for several minutes OR powdered sugar
table sugar	Granulated refined white sugar.
turbinado sugar	Light brown granulated sugar.	Substitutes: demerara sugar OR light brown sugar OR raw sugar
unrefined natural sugar	Natural sugars tend to vary in colour look out for certified organic varieties.	Whole unrefined non-centrifugal sugar is much healthier than refined sugars and retains all the vitamins from the plant. Examples include panela, jaggery, raspadura
vanilla sugar		To make your own: Put a vanilla bean in a pound of granulated sugar for a week.
white sugar	The commonest form of refined sugar. Usually granulated powder or in cube form.