Are you at your wit’s end choosing between turbinado and brown sugar for baking goods?
Well, you are not alone. What’s more? Some people think brown sugar and turbinado sugar may look alike. But in reality, they have distinct attributes.
Turbinado sugar is refined sugar having molasses that give it a caramel-ish flavor. Manufacturers draw this sugar by boiling sugarcane (crops). Moreover, one tablespoon of turbinado sugar contains 4g of carbohydrates and 16 g of calories.
On the other hand, producers prepare brown sugar by merging crystalline sucrose(sugar) with molasses. Candy, hot cereals, hot sauces, and baked sweets use brown sugar for taste.
So, what exactly separates turbinado sugar from brown one? You will know the answer in this blog about Turbinado Sugar vs Brown Sugar. Let’s begin.
Turbinado vs Brown Sugar: How Are They Different?
Color and flavor are two primary properties that might make people believe that brown and turbinado sugar are the same. However, five distinct factors separate both sugars. Let’s have a look at those factors!
1) Manufacturing Process
Factory workers draw juice from a sugar cane and boil it to form brown syrup-like molasses. Then, these molasses go through centrifugation, a process to separate crystalized sugar.
After that, workers add molasses back to the sugar crystals and wash the mixture in the canopy of bone ash. Interestingly, the molasses quantity gives brown color to the sugar. That’s how brown sugar gets manufactured.
On the flip side, manufacturers of turbinado sugar extract juice from sugar cane and boil it numerous times until molasses and brown hue fade away.
This boiling process produces sugar crystals, which workers spin in a centrifuge to diminish unwanted moisture.
2) Molasses Quantity
Since the brown sugar manufacturing process requires more molasses added to the brown sugar before exposure to bone ash, this sugar tends to have more molasses relative to turbinado sugar.
3) Texture and Color
Turbinado sugar happens to have massive and bristly granules.
Brown sugars have tiny and soft crystals and are suitable for marinades, cream blends, and sauces. Furthermore, turbinado sugar has golden-hued crystals, and brown sugar has dark brown.
4) Moisture
Chefs use brown sugar in pies, pastries, tarts, and cakes to make them chewy and sweet. Thanks to its high moisture content. Contrarily, turbinado sugar is dry and makes baked products crispy, crumbly, and crackly.
5) Nutritional Value and Uses
Turbinado sugar contains calcium, iron, carbohydrates, and antioxidants, whereas brown sugar has sodium and carbs per serving.
However, doctors and nutritionists recommend not exceeding a sugar intake of more than 10-12 tablespoons, depending on the calories required.
Furthermore, turbinado sugar caters to hot cereals’, desserts’, and baked items’ topping requirements.
Contrarily, brown sugar sweetens sauces, baked items, syrup, beverages, and marinades. Interestingly, brown sugar is a prominent constituent in body or face washes.
Now, a question might pop into your head: can I use turbinado sugar instead of brown sugar? Keep reading further to know whether both sugars are interchangeable or not.
Can You Replace Brown Sugar With Turbinado Sugar?
If the recipe requires turbinado sugar instead of brown sugar, make it workable by grinding it into easily-dissolvable tiny crystals.
Alternatively, if the chef doesn’t want to use one of both sugars, he (or she) can use maple syrup, coconut sugar, castor sugar, muscovado sugar, or demerara sugar.
However, remember that brown sugar has a strong flavor than turbinado.
Furthermore, follow the below-mentioned tips for using any sugar as a substitute.
- Those looking for a Turbinado Sugar Substitute should mix 1/2 white sugar and 1/2 brown sugar for dishes.
- If the chef wants to use turbinado instead of muscovado, they must add molasses to turbinado sugar to mirror muscovado sugar’s moisture quantity and taste. (Muscovado sugar: an unrefined sugar with natural molasses that gives caramel flavor to baked goods.)
- Using turbinado instead of brown sugar requires adding moisture-inducing applesauce or honey to the baked edibles to avoid dryness.
- Last but not least, demerara and turbinado are similar in texture and taste. Both of them act as each other’s natural substitutes. (Demerara sugar has massive grains and is suitable for rendering a crispy texture to baked goods.)
Additionally, white sugar is not less usual. Households use white sugar due to its low GI index, simplifying Blood Sugar Management. But how is it different from turbinado?
The answers lies in the hands of the upcoming section.
What’s The Difference Between Turbinado And White Sugar?
Manufacturers produce white sugar from sugar cane or beet sugar by utilizing bone char by refiners. Let’s see Turbinado Sugar vs White Sugar facts!
1) Appearance and Flavor
White sugar doesn’t have any color due to null molasses, whereas turbinado is golden-brown-hued. One gets a slight butterscotch flavor from turbinado and none from white sugar.
2) Nutritional Value and Uses
Turbinado contains more minerals and white sugar none.
Furthermore, to increase the consistency of baked goods like bread, use turbinado sugar because of its moisture-holding capacity. It’s better to sprinkle turbinado sugar on sugary treats than white.
3) Flavors of Molasses
Turbinado sugar has molasses (even though less), whose flavor may mess with citrus fruits in pies, and chefs may not like that. In that case, using white sugar will be beneficial.
4) Melting Point
The melting point implies the temperature at which something starts melting. The high melting point means more heat is essential to melt the substance.
Furthermore, the melting point of table sugar is 186 degrees Celsius, whereas turbinado sugar is 160 degrees Celsius. That means white sugar doesn’t melt quickly.
Turbinado sugar has fewer molasses, massive and coarse granules, high nutritional value, and less moisture than brown sugar, which makes it the best choice for making baked edibles crispy and crumbly.
Furthermore, if you don’t want to use turbinado, use demerara or a blend of white and brown sugar while baking.
To end, turbinado sugar is a good health option over brown or white sugar. Rest, it depends on what kind of baked item one wants to prepare.
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