Author Topic: Brown Sugar Substitute  (Read 6233 times)

Ben

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Brown Sugar Substitute
« on: January 09, 2018, 01:22:45 PM »
It's raining cats and dogs today, so I decided to make some oatmeal blueberry cookies. The recipe calls for 1/3 cup granulated sugar and 1/3 cup brown sugar. I was out of brown sugar.

I ended up using 2/3 cup of raw sugar and 3 tablespoons of maple syrup. It's one of my best batches from this recipe. I'm going to start substituting that in other stuff as well just to see what happens.
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zxcvbob

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Re: Brown Sugar Substitute
« Reply #1 on: January 09, 2018, 01:33:21 PM »
Glad it worked.  I would probably use a slightly rounded 1/2 cup of plain white sugar and a tablespoon (maybe two) of molasses.
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Ben

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Re: Brown Sugar Substitute
« Reply #2 on: January 09, 2018, 02:08:47 PM »
Glad it worked.  I would probably use a slightly rounded 1/2 cup of plain white sugar and a tablespoon (maybe two) of molasses.

Yeah, when I looked it up, the recommendation was for molasses, but I didn't have any of that either.  :laugh:

The molasses substitute was maple syrup, with the caveat that it would impart a different flavor. It just happened to be a flavor that I ended up liking. Though my understanding is that raw sugar has some molasses still in it.
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K Frame

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Re: Brown Sugar Substitute
« Reply #3 on: January 10, 2018, 06:43:18 AM »
Many times I've run short of brown sugar and used white sugar and molasses. Interesting take on the maple syrup, though. I'm going to have to give that a try.
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Scout26

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Re: Brown Sugar Substitute
« Reply #4 on: January 10, 2018, 01:13:19 PM »
I always thought Brown sugar is simply white sugar still with molasses.


Maple syrup is molasses with sugar (and other "stuff")  still in it. 
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K Frame

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Re: Brown Sugar Substitute
« Reply #5 on: January 10, 2018, 01:31:45 PM »
I used to make apple molasses for holiday cooking.

Strain and boil apple cider until you got a molasses like product.

Was absolutely fantastic when substituted for cane molasses in molasses cookies, is a great glaze for pork roasts, and makes a killer BBQ sauce.
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Ben

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Re: Brown Sugar Substitute
« Reply #6 on: January 10, 2018, 02:43:34 PM »
I always thought Brown sugar is simply white sugar still with molasses.


Maple syrup is molasses with sugar (and other "stuff")  still in it. 

Huh? I thought molasses came from sugar cane.
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Marnoot

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Re: Brown Sugar Substitute
« Reply #7 on: January 10, 2018, 03:41:06 PM »
Huh? I thought molasses came from sugar cane.

It do: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molasses. Raw sugar = unrefined cane/beet sugar. White sugar = raw sugar - molasses. Brown sugar = either raw sugar, or (white sugar + molasses). Maple syrup is boiled-down maple sap, not sure what Amy's getting at  :P.


Ben

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Re: Brown Sugar Substitute
« Reply #8 on: January 10, 2018, 04:22:08 PM »
not sure what Amy's getting at  :P.

He's probably drunk again.  =D

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K Frame

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Re: Brown Sugar Substitute
« Reply #9 on: January 10, 2018, 08:36:28 PM »
No he's actually correct. Molasses is really a generic term for any concentrated sugar syrup. Maple syrup is a form of molasses, just as sorghum syrup is a molasses. It's just come to be associated primarily with sugar cane syrup.

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Scout26

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Re: Brown Sugar Substitute
« Reply #10 on: January 11, 2018, 01:21:24 AM »
No he's actually correct. Molasses is really a generic term for any concentrated sugar syrup. Maple syrup is a form of molasses, just as sorghum syrup is a molasses. It's just come to be associated primarily with sugar cane syrup.

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Some days even my lucky rocketship underpants won't help.


Bring me my Broadsword and a clear understanding.
Get up to the roundhouse on the cliff-top standing.
Take women and children and bed them down.
Bless with a hard heart those that stand with me.
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Put our backs to the north wind.
Hold fast by the river.
Sweet memories to drive us on,
for the motherland.

Brad Johnson

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Re: Brown Sugar Substitute
« Reply #11 on: January 19, 2018, 09:33:53 AM »
In Ye Olden Days when sugar cane was about the only viable source for bulk sugar, cane was pressed for juice and the juice was reduced down to syrup. The syrup was crystallized and the crystalline product spun in a centrifuge to remove remaining liquid (molasses). The leftover crystals can be dried and ground into raw (brown) sugar or rinsed to wash out the remaining impurities to produce white sugar. Current production methods are still basically the same steps but the process has been streamlined and automated significantly.

Back in the 80's I had a chance to see the process demonstrated in a vintage Hawaiian sugar factory. The factories were hot, humid hellholes for workers in the day but the process was way interesting to watch.

Also interesting to note that people willingly pay a premium for raw sugar, once considered an inferior product.

Back to the OP... my grandmother would use a dollop of sorghum syrup or molasses combined with plain table sugar. Easier to keep than a bag of brown sugar (which, unless used up quickly, turns into a sweet-smelling brown brick).

Brad
« Last Edit: January 19, 2018, 10:13:09 AM by Brad Johnson »
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K Frame

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Re: Brown Sugar Substitute
« Reply #12 on: January 22, 2018, 08:09:10 AM »
"which, unless used up quickly, turns into a sweet-smelling brown brick)."

Couple of tricks for dealing with hardened brown sugar.

1. Stick a slice of bread in the container. In a couple of hours it will soften. You can do the same thing with a slice of apple.

2. Put a couple of drops of water on the block and microwave it in 10 to 15 second pulses. As it softens, break it up with a fork.

3. Skip that crap and break out the box grater and grate the amount that you need.
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Brad Johnson

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Re: Brown Sugar Substitute
« Reply #13 on: January 22, 2018, 09:27:17 AM »

3. Skip that crap and break out the box grater and grate the amount that you need.

DA sander and some 80-grit?

Brad
It's all about the pancakes, people.
"And he thought cops wouldn't chase... a STOLEN DONUT TRUCK???? That would be like Willie Nelson ignoring a pickup full of weed."
-HankB

BobR

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Re: Brown Sugar Substitute
« Reply #14 on: January 22, 2018, 03:38:00 PM »
Just don't keep at lot of molasses around, you know just in case you run out of brown sugar, you could create a disaster. ;)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Molasses_Flood


bob