Tuesday, November 22, 2011

5 Types of Sugar You Need to Know

Aside from giving candy its sweet taste, sugar also provides grain and crunchy texture for candy. Candies are largely comprised of sugar and sweeteners (well duh!). Therefore, it is detrimental for you to get familiar with the types of sugars that will be used in making candies, since each of them fits perfectly to certain recipes.

1.Granulated Sugar

The most common sugar, you use this every day to make almost everything in the kitchen. Guess what, candy-making isn’t that demanding, the same sugar is used in this profession. It is the backbone of many candies and act as a primary sweetener. Since it is very common, I don’t think I should write much about it.

2.Brown Sugar

The second most often you’ll stumble upon. Yes, it is brown. However it comes in two colors, one is lighter brown and the other one is darker. Dark brown sugar is more often used in making candies since it gives a more expensive-looking color and it shines more. Do take note that brown sugar has a lot of air space in between the particle. Therefore, when you’re measuring them, make sure to give them a nice press into the cup!

3.Powdered Sugar

Also known as confectioner’s sugar. They contain a small percentage of cornstarch, and they’re very fine. This explain why they dissolved faster and better even at room temperature. Powdered sugar is an essential ingredient used in noncooked or microwaved confection.

Another interesting thing about this sugar is that it is also often used when handling candies to prevent stickiness. If you don’t have powdered sugar to dust your hand, you can always use cornstarch as a substitute.

4.Fondant Sugar

Similar to powdered sugar except that it doesn’t contain any cornstarch and it is less sweet. Keep in mind that fondant sugar usually clumps up together when it is poured out of the package. It is a good idea to sift first before you use it. Fondant sugar is widely used in making creams.

5.Invert Sugar

The substitute for corn syrup if you don’t prefer liquid sweetener. It is sweeter by a little and it produces a darker color once cooked. This sugar is the least common, however it is widely used in the candy industry. It is a combination of glucose and fructose, and you don’t need to know a lot about it except that it makes a good ingredient when making divinity.

2 comments:

  1. Great explainations!
    As I was baking my way through Rose's Heavenly Cakes, I realized that I had accumulated 7 different sugars in the pantry.

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  2. Great overview! You can never have too many sugars :o)
    Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting on my Raisin Bread. Do give it a try sometime. The sponge was way less scary than I though :o)

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