Sugar

Sugar is the generic name for sweet soluble carbohydrates many of which are used in food. The table sugar’ granulated sugar most customarily used as food is sucrose a disaccharide of glucose and fructose. Sugar is used in prepared foods cookies and cakes and it are added to some foods and beverages coffee and tea. In the body sucrose is hydrolysed into the simple sugars fructose and glucose. Other disaccharides include maltose from malted grain and lactose from milk. Longer chains of sugars are called oligosaccharides or polysaccharides. Some other chemical substances such as glycerol may also have a sweet taste but are not classified as sugars. Low calorie food substitutes for sugar described as artificial sweeteners’ include aspartame and sucralose a chlorinated derivative of sucrose. White granulated sugar is one of the world's purest foods. It's 99.8 % sucrose refined from the natural sugars that occur in the sugar cane but with all impurities such as mineral ash and polyphenols completely removed. Caster sugar has the same composition as granulated sugar but the crystals are smaller so it dissolves quickly. It's best for baking especially light sponges and meringues. Icing sugar is white sugar ground to a fine powder so it dissolves quickly and makes smooth icing. All three sugars have the same moderate Glycemic Index or GI of 66% which is much lower than pure glucose at 100. Raw sugar and coffee sugar crystals are made from cane juice and are golden in colour. They are virtually identical to white sugar at 99 % sucrose. They have a few minerals but not enough to give a great health advantage over white sugar. Brown sugar contains 99 % sucrose and 5 per cent molasses which add a lovely toffee flavor and moistness but no great nutritional benefits over white sugar. The same applies to muscovado’ demerara’ rapadura and black sugars which are often preferred for baking. There's a little potassium, calcium, magnesium and other minerals but they're not present in great quantities.  Not enough to make me sit up and take notice when I'm only consuming a teaspoon here and there. Brown sugar contains molasses which may change the texture and flavor your baked goods but the sweetness level will be the same. Checking doneness will be the same but the color may be darker. Some people believe that brown sugar is healthier than white sugar but this is not true both are equally harmful in large quantities. With its subtle sweetness white sugar lets other flavours shine through. It’s also colourless so it won’t change the look of your food. With its even crystal size’ white sugar is perfect for cakes and fruit crumbles’ tea and coffee and sprinkled on cereal. It also makes delicious sugar syrup for cocktails and cordials. Raw sugar is granulated sugar that has a syrup coating on each crystal giving it a beautiful golden colour and rich flavour. It’s made by dissolving’ filtering and recrystallizing the raw sugar sent from sugar mills. Raw sugar is delicious in hot drinks and baking. Used as a topping it also gives a golden crunch to cereals’ muffins and fruit loaves. When you’re creating delicate or tricky baked treats’ caster is the sugar to use. It’s fine’ regular crystals dissolve quickly and caramelise evenly so you can trust it to give a light finish to Pavlova light sponge cakes and dressings. Powder fine icing sugar is perfect for dusting cakes and sweets creating smooth icing and glazes and sweetening cream fillings. Chelsea Icing Sugar is ground in a mill and mixed with a small amount of gluten free tapioca to keep it free flowing it’s been approved by the Coeliac Society of NZ as Gluten Free. Brown sugar is a blend of the dark sugar syrups from the refining process and caster sugar. Its dark caramel colour and unique rich flavour makes it great in savoury and sweet recipes’ particularly caramels’ toppings sauces and fudge. The crystals also dissolve quickly perfect on porridge and other types of cereals. dark sugar has a rich molasses flavor making it perfect for sweetening fruits’ winter puddings, gingerbread’ chocolate cakes and brownies. Its deep flavor can also stand up to and balance spicy hot and sour Indian or Asian dishes. Caramelise roast vegetables and fruits with a sprinkle of Chelsea Dark Cane Sugar or deepen barbecue sauces’ marinades’ chili and chutneys. Sugar is bad for you a because it has calories and because if you have diabetes or a diabetes related condition lets say high blood fat levels then having sugar will increase your blood sugar and your triglycerides which is a risk factor for heart disease.