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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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Is the mixing order important when substituting white sugar + molasses for brown sugar?

I bake cookies at a relatively large scale (16 qt batches) My recipe calls for both white & light brown sugars. In an effort to make production more efficient I would like to substitute the brown sugar with a combination of cane sugar and…
J Day
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What are the advantages of vanilla sugar?

When/why would one use "vanilla sugar" instead of just plain sugar along with vanilla extract and/or beans/pods, particularly in recipes and baking? Is it just a matter of convenience? I understand that some people might actually like to have…
Athanasius
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Tips for making caramel with palm sugar

The other day I was making flan and decided to try palm sugar instead of white sugar to make the caramel. Although palm sugar is better than white in a lot of ways, the melting point of the sugar seems to be a lot closer to the burning point.…
Andres
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Home-make yogurt: add sugar / something else with the starter?

I've read some recipes in the internet and this question about how to make my own yogurt. Some recipes say to add a little sugar with the starter, so that "bacteria would have something to eat". So, I've tried adding some sugar, in variable amounts,…
woliveirajr
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Best method to determine temperature while heating sugar

I regularly making Panforte which involves heating an equal parts mix of honey and sugar to 115c. Due to the quantity of sugar a jam thermometer doesn't normally reach the mix in the bottom of the pan to work effectively. My technique at the moment…
Joe
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why does doughnut powdered sugar seem cool?

Why does the powdered sugar which coats the outside of powdered sugar doughnuts give that amazing cool sensation on your tongue, when the powdered sugar in the box I buy from the supermarket does not? I am pretty sure this effect is not just…
Lorel C.
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Gloves for newbies pulling sugar?

I have an upcoming project which is going to involve pulled sugar. Everything I've read on the project suggests that I'm going to end up blisters or at the very least first degree burns (similar to sunburn) until I've built up some callouses. Are…
Joe
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Melting sugar on creme brulee with blow torch

Whenever I try to melt the sugar on top of a creme brulee with my kitchen blow torch, I find that the sugar takes forever to discolour even slightly, let alone melt. Eventually isolated patches of sugar start to burn. At this point I usually stop as…
Nicholas
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Sugar in Indian curries?

I've seen that sugar is used to balance out other flavors in a dish. I was just wondering if I could add a little sugar to a spicy curry(chicken curry, for example). Would that take away the authentic flavor? If no, then how much can be safely added…
Uday Kanth
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How can I mill / press sweet sorghum with household equipment?

I grew sweet sorghum this year as it looked like the easiest way to grow "sugar" in New England. Now I've harvested it, but I'm hard pressed (ha ha) to find a way to mill it with generally available household equipement. Any suggestions or ideas of…
Mark Zeren
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What is liquid glucose?

Two days ago, I was making ganache as a topping for cupcakes. I needed, as expected, cream and chocolate. But '1 teaspoon of liquid glucose' was also on the list of ingredients (for 12 cupcakes). I didn't think I had that, so I used 'fondant sugar'…
Mien
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converting pure chocolate to "bittersweet" chocolate

A chocolate cookie recipe I'm looking at calls for melting down a cup of bittersweet chocolate chips. However, I happen to have a brick of completely unsweetened cooking chocolate in the fridge. Can I convert that to "bittersweet" by simply melting…
SuperElectric
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Can I substitute Glucose Syrup for Sugar in cake recipes?

I need to bake a cake without fructose, so all forms of granulated sugar and most syrups (including honey, agave & maple syrup) are out. I've heard of granulated dextrose but can't find it. I'd like to use Glucose Syrup instead of sugar but need to…
user4450
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How to adjust for making candy from corn syrup instead of sugar?

I've recently started to experiment with making hard candy from straight corn syrup rather than conventional sugar, and so far it has worked remarkably well. Aside from increased sweetness and improved mouthfeel in the final product, the process is…
AJMansfield
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Where to get or how to make hollow sugar balls?

I'm trying to create a set of liqueur and cream filled chocolates by hand. My current idea is, having created the chocolate for the outsides, to build up layers of it on a "sugar scaffold". I can then inject the filling into the centre and melt…
Adam Wright
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