White, Brown And Muscovado Sugar: Similarities And Differences
There are several presentations of sugar on the market. That’s why a lot of people think some versions are healthier than others. What are their differences ? What should be taken into account? Find out in this article.
White, brown and muscovado sugar… Who doesn’t appreciate the sweet flavor that comes from tasting these ingredients? It’s okay to admit that we all love it – or almost. Because, when we savor sugar, our brain releases high doses of a neurotransmitter, dopamine, which generates pleasure and relaxation.
Thus, when this substance is absent, a state of depression can appear. But that does not mean that one can consume it excessively. As experts in human nutrition have put it, consuming too much sugar is bad for your health.
It can therefore be included in the diet, but in minimal amounts. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that adults consume 5% of total calories from sugar. This equates to about 25 grams per day.
It should also be taken into account that this ingredient is hidden in processed foods, such as jams, candies, drinks, among others. Moreover, whatever the way it is presented, it is sucrose with some differences in its color and flavor. Let’s study this in more detail.
Process of obtaining sucrose crystals
To be able to understand the differences or similarities between types of sugar, we need to understand the origin of this natural sweetener. The manufacturing process is done from the juice of cane or sugar beet. This clarifies and evaporates until obtaining a syrup or molasses.
Crystals form from this product. Depending on their degree of processing or refining, they can be white, red or muscovados. But are there any differences between these sugars?
What is white sugar?
In general, sugar is known as sucrose because this carbohydrate is present in almost all of this product.
Sucrose is formed from the union of two very simple molecules, glucose and fructose. It is the most widely used natural sweetener worldwide and most important from an economic point of view. When we talk about white sugar, we are referring to obtaining refined sucrose crystals from molasses.
This by-product is purified and subjected to rigorous cleaning to remove all impurities. This is why it is given the term “refined”. The flavor is sweet, it has a neutral odor and has a purity of 99% sucrose.
What is brown sugar?
Brown sugar can be whole or refined. It is obtained by adding molasses to the refined product to provide a different color and flavor. In other words, the only thing that changes between refined sugar and brown sugar is the color. The sucrose content is the same. And, depending on the amount of molasses added, the color will be darker or darker.
However, there is another type of brown sugar: whole brown sugar. It is semi-refined, with yellow crystals and thick grains. It is obtained through a partial separation of water from molasses and impurities, which is called centrifugation. Its sucrose content is 95%.
What is muscovado sugar?
Muscovado or “mascobado” sugar first appeared in the 17th century, and in Portuguese this term was used to refer to sugar with the worst quality. Nevertheless, beyond this denomination, it is considered complete, obtained through traditional methods but without the process of centrifugation or separation of molasses.
Molasses crystallizes very slowly, then granulates and is marketed as is. This sugar contains about 97% sucrose and is made up of slightly more water than refined sugar.
The main differences between white, brown and muscovado sugar
To better understand the differences between the three types of products, we must start from their similarities. Initially, they are obtained from the same raw material, that is to say cane or sugar beet. The main by-product, in all three cases, is molasses.
Depending on the cleaning and crystallization processes that apply to the molasses, this or that variety will be obtained. Paulina Obando, gastronomic technologist, explains that the sucrose content is much the same. It oscillates between 95 and 99%.
Therefore, the amounts of calories they give us are almost the same. A spoonful thus provides approximately 60 calories. So, how do they differ? The answer is very simple. They vary depending on the processing of the molasses and the level of flavor and color.
To obtain the white sugar, the molasses evaporates, crystallizes and is centrifuged before the refining process. It has a very sweet flavor and its crystals reflect light to give it a white color.
For the process of obtaining brown sugar, all that is done is to mix the refined sugar with a little molasses to give it its characteristic brown color. However, when the molasses is semi-refined, and partially extracted from impurities, a brown sugar is obtained with a slightly more intense color and a caramelized flavor.
The amount of molasses that remains with the crystals allows it to be classified as red, light, or dark. Both of these sugars are sweeter than white, and the dark one has a sticky, compact texture with a fairly mild caramelized flavor.
If the molasses is not extracted from the sucrose crystals, the muscovado sugar is obtained. It is evaporated and crystallized before it is granulated. This allows for a greater content of water and natural minerals in the cane, such as iron, magnesium, calcium and potassium.
However, their concentrations are minimal, and it would therefore be counterproductive to ingest more than 100 grams of muscovado sugar to reach the nutritional recommendations. The color of this sugar is much darker and the flavor is more intense than that of brown sugar.
What to remember about these different types of sugar?
The differences between these three types of sugar show us that neither is better than the other. They provide almost the same amount of sucrose and calories, with tiny variations.
The amount of minerals present in brown sugar or muscovado sugar does not provide important nutritional value to the diet. Therefore, we need to regulate their consumption if we want to lead a healthier lifestyle.
