@stepan recently asked me which type of sugar he should use to sweeten his morning coffee. After I explained that he probably shouldn’t be drinking coffee every morning, I admitted that I really didn’t know. I have repeatedly mocked and belittled high fructose corn syrup, but what about the different types of “natural” sugar? Which is best?
How raw sugar is made:
- Sugar cane is pressed and mixed with lime
- Liquid is reduced through evaporation, then the crystals are spun in a centrifuge to separate
- Left out to dry
The resulting sugar crystals are somewhat brown, due to the presence of molasses.
How do they get white sugar?
- Same as above, but then Sulphur Dioxide is used to bleach the sugar. (FYI, although commonly used in food processes, Sulphur Dioxide is also produced by volcanoes and various industrial processes, and it’s increasing emission into the atmosphere led the the create of the EPA’s Acid Rain Program.)
- Later, phosphoric acid (used in rust removal) and calcium hydroxide (used in mortar, plaster, sewage treatment, brake pads, pesticides, ….) (or carbon dioxide - which Al Gore would argue will lead to our demise) are used to absorb impurities
- Filtered through a bed of carbon
- Crystalized in a vacuum, several times
- Left out to dry
Okay, so then brown sugar is like white sugar, but without the bleaching? Nope.
- Same as above, but then the molasses (which was painstakingly removed in the previous process) is added back in!
So, while white and brown sugar are less processed than things like corn syrup, they don’t sound that appealing anymore, do they? It’s interesting that brown sugar enjoys a perception that it’s more “natural” than white sugar, even though it isn’t! Thanks Stepan, looks like I will have to switch to raw sugar! (most of this information is based on this article from Green Living Tips)
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After writing this I went to my pantry. I’ve been using 365 Brand Organic Cane Sugar. On the back it says: “produced by “washing” the crystals with steam to remove as much of the natural molasses syrup as possible, with no de-colorizers used in the process”. Seems like a good compromise, right?
But I like molasses, shouldn’t I want the flavor to remain? My guess is that it all has to do with marketing. Consumers expect their sugar to be white.
Well I expect my sugar to be brown and raw! I cringe when I use white sugar. But I suspect I’m being duped by many “brown sugar” products that are non-eco and non-human friendly. It’s best to just avoid it all if possible and go for honey. You get strange looks when you ask for it in cafes for your coffee! I was getting into Agave, but now there is talk of that having fructose in it. I still haven’t figured out if ALL brands of Agave have it or if some are without? That would be a good thing to research!
I didt realise that brown sugar is white sugar with added molasses. Well iv decided to use raw brown sugar for my tea, yes im from Britain and remember people use fair trade sugar.
Honey is terrible, it is bee vomit! It is great for bees but not for humans. It is high calorie, and raises sugar levels higher than table sugar. We got duped into thinking honey was a healthy alternative. And did you know that children under 2 can die if they consume honey from a disease called botchulism (don’t think I spelled that correctly). The disease is brought on by a bacteria that can be found in honey.
Stevia is the best way to go. If you can take the after taste of stevia then your next best choice would be agave or maple syrup. Raw sugar would be last, better than white but still bad for diabetics and other diseases agitated by sugar.
Which sugar is healthy to use brown or white?
Thank you!
Vera, not using sugar at all would be the healthiest!
But if you must, raw sugar is best! (less processed)
Otherwise white and brown are pretty equal, though I suppose there might be subtle differences depending on what you mean by “healthy”.
Raw sugar has all the vitamins and minerals that the sugar cane plant did. And it has about 11 calories per teaspoon. Not a bad choice.
The molasses added back to the white sugar to make brown sugar may add nutrients lost in the the processing to white sugar. Or it may add herbicides, plant toxins, or other contaminants back in. Hard to tell, but I’d say the jury is still out on white vs. brown sugar.
I don’t buy brown sugar anymore. Whenever a recipe calls for brown sugar, I use white sugar and add a dollop of molasses. No more hardened brown sugar in flimsy plastic bags.
By the way, all sugar is essentially still sugar and isn’t any better for you. Fructose, lactose, sucrose, all just sugar.
@mikelinpa If all sugar is the same, why don’t you buy brown sugar? Is it just the hardening factor?
@citybadger Sounds like we should just do what @mikelinpa does and just add a dollop of molasses to our white sugar?
@laneen… umm honey actually has antibaccterial properties which is why it often suggested to drink with tea when you are suffering from throat and chest infections.
and on this topic, how informative, i was under the impression that brown tea WAS raw tea! im glad i know otherwise
If the label on the sugar just says brown sugar, then it is white sugar with added molassis. I use muskovado sugars, which are slightly more refined than raw sugars but nothing is added back in. You can get light or dark muskovado, depending on the degree of refinement. I use light muskovado in all cake making.
Honey is fine. http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/honey-vs-sugar.html
We live to die and eat to shit.. So, who cares? Eat what tastes good!
Just don’t over do it.
“calcium hydroxide (used in mortar, plaster, sewage treatment, brake pads, pesticides, ….) ”
Guess what, water (hydrogen oxide makes it sound terrible, doesn’t it?) is used in all of the above too. Should we quit eating anything containing water too? Calcium hydroxide has been used in cooking for hundreds of years by Native Americans and Norwegians too. Just because it sounds scary doesn’t mean it is harmful.
I grew up eating nothing but raw sugar, raw milk, no pesticide produce, carob (blech), lecithin added to everything, whole wheat flour this, and raw wheat germ that (my mom was WAY ahead of her time!) and still practice some of these things myself, but trying to guilt people into changing what they eat by implying it’s harming the evironment (via your carbon dioxide statement) is misleading.
The carbon dioxide statement is so wrong, it makes everything else you said questionable. A little non-biased study would be helpful. Thank you.
@hannah For your own unbiased research, try googling “carbon dioxide sugar processing”. Most of the first page is descriptions of how carbon dioxide is used in sugar processing.
Since you were obviously too lazy to do the research yourself before making that accusation, I’ll save you the trouble: the first result is from the American Crystal Sugar Company, which describes their own sugar processing methods - including the use of carbon dioxide.
No need to be nasty. I am referring to your own quote “….carbon dioxide - which we all now know will be the demise of our natural environment - thanks Al Gore!…”
The rest of your article was admittedly very informative and an interesting read. I just CRINGE when I see carbon dioxide given such a bad rap when it’s necessary for survival. It causes red flags for me.
I apologize for offending you. I probably could have worded things better in my original post.
On second thought, there’s no “probably” about it. I definitely could have been nicer in my original post. I am sorry! Honest! Keep up the good work. I appreciate articles like this.
Sorry Hannah…I was snippy because I’ve been getting a lot of “you don’t know what you’re talking about you idiot” type comments lately from people who get offended from posts that touch a nerve regarding the products they use.
Anyway, I will reword the Al Gore sentence to make sure I emphasize that those are his words! Regardless of whether or not it’s necessary for the planet, it still seems gross that it’s used to process sugar, doesn’t it?
Totally gross!
of course carbon dioxide is used in the production of sugar. I beleive all products derived from plants use CO2 in them. You see in the process of photosynthesis, plants take in carbon dioxide and produce oxygen, nothing “gross” about it. When you breathe out, you know what that is? Carbon Dioxide. loved the article but carbon dioxide is not “gross”.
It’s SUGAR. White, brown, raw, it is all sugar. It’s simply bad for you, Now you have to decide what level of sugar you are going to intake. But don’t kid yourself, it is 18 calories per teaspoon.
A friend told me recently that animal products were used in the processing of white sugar. Do you know anything about that? I was just searching to find out this info myself and came across your blog. Very interesting. Great pictures!
Having been an indusrial Chemist in a previous life I’m bewlidered by the plethora of uninfomred comment.
RAW SUGAR (of the three options) is best for you. BROWN SUGAR is simply WHITE PROCESSED SUGAR with Molasses mixed back in.
As for the comment on Honey being bad for you because it can cause Botulism due to bacterial contamination, well DOH!!!! ANYTHING with high enough concentrations of the correct bacteria will do that.
The secret (as with MOST things) is moderation and appropriate use.
Iam confused what to eat and what not. Each one give different opinion
I love the taste of brown sugar. Maybe I should use raw sugar and add some molasses in my food and drink.
I think the bottom line is to be as educated as possible about the things you put in your body. People in general have their own weaknesses regarding what they eat…just depends on where your weakness lies. Here, it’s sugar. OBVIOUSLY, raw sugar is the best choice for sugar. Is sugar in general a good choice? No, but in moderation it’s ultimately better than forcing yourself to NOT have any sugar and then it making you crazy so you go buy (and EAT) a candy bar b/c you are missing your craving for sugar. Just be smart and informed!