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Cooking Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [sugar]

Questions about sugar or substitutions for it for culinary purposes.

This tag covers all sorts of sugar (granulated, powdered, brown, cane, beet, etc) and substitutions for it (aspartame, saccharin, honey, etc); basically all kinds of sweeteners that can be used for preparing food.

Questions with this tag could be about the components (what is sugar made of), the chemistry (how does it react with which temperature), the proper usage, or differences between types of sugars and/or sweeteners.

Questions with this tag should not be about health-related issues like nutritional value nor location-related issues (why is brown sugar more expensive in Europe than in the US).

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The difference between beet sugar and cane sugar

My initial guess was that refined sugar has to be the same no matter its provenance, but now I wonder if cane sugar has a different ratio of sucrose/glucose/fructose than beet sugar. Is there any reason why packages of refined sugar advertise 100%…
Neil G
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Super-saturated sugar solution gone wrong

An interesting recipe here provides this as a recipe for making a geode-looking sugar crystal. The finished product looks really great and is basically this: 3 cups sugar 1 cup water food coloring Heat water and sugar until sugar is…
Matt W
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How can I extract palm sugar from a container?

I have a plastic tub with a screwtop lid, full of palm sugar. It's a 500g tub, about 10cm high and about 10cm diameter. Usually I buy the individual cubes of palm sugar and this time I thought I'd cut down on packaging and buy the bigger size, but…
KimbaF
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What is caster/castor sugar?

I've got a Meringue recipe that calls for castor sugar. Is that different than powdered sugar?
yhw42
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difference between glucose syrup and sugar syrup?

I am not talking about the chemical difference (sugar is chemically a molecule formed by two monosaccarides: glucose and fructose). I am wondering about the difference from the cooking point of view in using pure glucose syrup vs. a syrup made of…
Stefano Borini
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What is the difference between granulated cane sugar and granulated sugar?

I see two types of sugar in the baking aisle that I can't differentiate: "granulated sugar" and "granulated cane sugar". The latter is considerably more expensive. So, what is the difference between granulated cane sugar and this (unspecified)…
Austin D
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Does sugar go bad?

The package of sugar cubes I use has an expiry date. Even 2 months after the expiry, I can't taste any difference. Does sugar actually go bad, and should I throw away sugar past its expiry? Also, if it does go bad, are there any indications that…
user87166
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Cooling melted sugar quickly

I need to make cubes of sugar that are 1 inch cubes and cool them down enough to hold their shape and support weight as quickly as possible. What techniques can I use to cool the cubes, and how long will they take to cool down? EDIT: These are…
Nick Larsen
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Is heating rate important with sugar syrups?

I make hot fudge syrup ; heat chocolate , sugar , butter, etc, to 240 F ,then put in half and half . I end up with a spoon-able viscosity at room temperature but warming to 100 F makes it pour-able. Does it make any difference how fast I heat it ?…
blacksmith37
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Caster Sugar Substitute

In India, we use fine sugar known as "bura chini (or bura sugar)". Recently, I read a recipe for scones which required caster sugar. While, I am not quite sure it they are same but both have quick dissolving properties and are superfine. I am…
Akshat Batra
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Demerera sugar vs. brown sugar

Some recipes I have seen call for demerera sugar, rather than what I would normally use, which is brown sugar. Is there a noticeable difference in taste or outcome, or this likely to be somewhat of a marketing influence? Is it related to country of…
long
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Is there any flavor difference in heated sugar (e.g. cotton candy)?

A friend writes: Why do people continue to think that cotton candy is a flavor? It's spun sugar with food coloring. It tastes like... sugar. Now I'm curious. Ignoring for a moment any possible contribution of the food coloring, are there chemical…
leander
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Sugar in canned sweet potatoes. can I remove it simply at home?

I have canned sweet potatoes that have sugar added. Can I boil / bake / soak / ANYTHING to remove the added sugar?
quantumpotato
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British equivalent for Cane sugar

I have an American recipe that calls for Cane Sugar, is this the same as Demerara or is it Light or Dark brown sugar?
Pat Anderson
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How to make sugar coated fennel seeds at home?

Fennel seeds have a great flavor and are good for digestion. I tried sugar coating them at home. But drying them up once the seeds got added to hot sugar syrup became a problem. At the same time seeds became gooey and it got all the more tough to…
user50547
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