Have you ever ask yourself : what if I reduce the amount of sugar in my cake, does it change something ? The answer is YES ! But depending of the sugar you use, taste can also change. Let me show you what are the different sugars you need to know about and how to master it as an amateur baker. This article is part of my "Technical basis you should know in pastry" articles serie. Enjoy it !
DEFINITION
The scientific name for sugar is saccharose, which consists of two combined molecules:
a glucose molecule: glucose is a “simple sugar” found naturally in grapes, starch and honey;
a fructose molecule: fructose is a “simple sugar” found naturally in fruit and honey.
The sugar used in baking comes mainly from sugar cane, sugar beet or sugar palm. All three must be pressed to extract the nectar, which is then filtered, evaporated and crystallized. The more the sugar is freed of residue (named molasses), the more refined it is called "refined".
White sugar (crystal or semolina) is 98%sucrose, which is the most commonly used sugar.
Unfortunately, refined sugar has no special nutritional advantage, as it does not contain any minerals. It has a very high sweetening value and is therefore perfect for making fine pastries.
There are two or even three main sources of sugar: sugar beet, sugar cane and sugar palm.
Sugars classification
Sugar is a carbohydrates. Those molecules provide rapid energy to cells. There are two main families of carbohydrates.
Most simple carbohydrates have a sweet taste (except for lactose) and these molecules are generally referred to "sugar". For example, lactose, glucose, fructose and sucrose (table sugar) are all simple sugars.
Complex carbohydrates are a succession of simple sugars. They are mainly found in cereal products such as bread, rice or pasta.
Also, there is slow sugars and fast sugars :
So-called "fast sugars" can be both simple and complex carbohydrates. These sugars are called "fast" because they are digested very quickly and therefore raise blood sugar levels very quickly. "Slow sugars" spread more slowly through the body.
The Glycemic Index (GI) is used to measure a food's ability to raise blood sugar levels. This index ranges from 0 to 100 and is based on glucose.
For example, white bread, which has a GI of 90, is considered a fast sugar, while raspberries or blueberries, which have a GI of 25, tend to be slow sugars. Their consumption should be limited to 25 grams per day.
Data sheet
If you want to master sugar, that’s what you should understand and keep in mind :
Sugar is a solid, white, shiny body; most of the time, it comes in crystals form.
It is odourless, has a sweet taste and does not absorb odours.
It is very soluble in water, and insoluble in pure alcohol. Diluted in water and boiled in the presence of an acid (citric acid, tartaric acid, etc...), saccharose splits into its original components. This mixture is called inverted sugar.
Its solubility increases with temperature. It melts at 160°C and burns at 190°C. Its hydration capacity affects the water activity of the solution or product in which saccharose is present. The appearance and texture of the product, the mouth feel of the product and the shelf life of the product is thus affected.
But what is sugar used for?
Apart from its sweetening power, sugar has an important colouring power, for example when you want to make a caramel.
It also gives texture to dough: a dough that is too sweet will become elastic and difficult to spread and will shrink much more when baked. A less sweet dough will therefore require less resting time in the fridge.
A pinch of sugar in yeast will speed up its fermentation by feeding it.
Sugar is of course a great flavour enhancer and preservative, but it should not be abused.
Try to sweeten your pastries less by adding natural sugar such as fruit sugar or reduced fruit juice.
If you want to make a low-sugar pastry or cake, add vanilla in overdosage in your preparations. Vanilla gives a sweet sensation in addition to its taste.
HOW DO WE OBTAIN SUGAR ?
The sugar is the result of an extraction process
The extraction process consists of collecting the sweet juice which is filtered and evaporated before crystallization. At the end of these operations, the sugar will have been successively extracted, purified, concentrated and crystallized without any alteration or chemical transformation.
The sugar plants, cane and beet, must be processed quickly to preserve all their richness. This is why sugar factories are located close to the growing areas.
STEP 1. HARVESTING
The storage time of the beets is reduced to a strict minimum in order to preserve their sugar content.
STEP 2. WASHING
The beets are stirred in a wash house where they are circulated against a stream of water to separate them from the soil, grass and stones.
STEP 3. SPREADING
The sweet juice is extracted from beet cut into strips: this is the diffusion stage. This operation, based on the principle of osmosis, aims at passing the sugar contained in the slices through water. Diffusion is carried out in a long cylinder: the slices penetrate into it at one end, and the warm water that circulates slowly in the opposite direction is gradually enriched with their sugar. The sweet juice is collected.
The extraction process for cane sugar is identical to beet sugar, except for the first phase where the cane juice is extracted by grinding, while the beet juice is extracted by diffusion.
STEP 4. FILTRING
The juice obtained contains all the sugar present in the beet, but also impurities that must be removed (mineral salts, organic compounds, etc.). The mixture is then sent to filters which retain the impurities and release the clear sweet juice.
STEP 5. EVAPORATING
At this stage, the filtered juice contains about 15% sugar and 85% water. Boiled in pipes in contact with steam, the juice passes through multiple boilers where the temperature and pressure gradually decrease from one to the other. At the end of the circuit, the juice is transformed into syrup containing approximately 70% saccharose.
STEP 6. CRYSTALLIZING
The syrup keeps concentrating in cooking boilers working under vacuum to avoid caramelization. Very fine crystals (icing sugar) are introduced to seed the syrup. Crystallization is generalized and we obtain a final mixture, formed of multiple small crystals in suspension in a syrup colored by residual impurities.
In the case of cane sugar, the second-string syrup, still rich in sugar, is reintroduced into the cycle to give a third-string sugar, brown and full of impurities (brown sugar), and a last viscous and highly coloured syrup: this is called "molasses".
STEP 7. DRYING
The final mixture is poured to turbines, or spinners. Under the action of centrifugal force, the syrup is evacuated while the white granulated sugar is deposited on the walls of the tank.
Still hot and moist, the white granulated sugar is sent to hot-air drying units. Then it is cooled and stored in a silo where it finishes to stabilize.
STEP 8. PACKAGING
Once dried, the sugar is either packed in different packages, or directly in powder form, or in pieces after moistening and moulding, or shipped in bulk.
TYPES OF SUGARS
What kind of sugar pastry chefs use ?
Superfine sugar or so-called caster sugar with fine granulation is well suited to baking thanks to its quick dissolving propriety.
Granulated sugar has a much coarser granulation. Pastry chefs use it for brioche, chouquettes …
Icing sugar is granulated sugar reduced to a very fine powder to which 3% starch has been added. The absorbent property of starch means that it can be used to pump fruit juices to avoid soaking pie bottoms, for example. There is also icing sugar for decorating cakes called "codineige" which remains intact on your preparations, even with humidity.
Coloured and flavoured sugar can be used to flavour cake doughs and creams, as well as to colour desserts and cocktails.
Candyfloss sugar can be used to make cotton candy, dessert creams, meringues, cupcake frostings or macaroons.
Sparkling sugar will make all your pastries and sweets sparkle and will decorate cupcakes, ice-cream biscuits...
Unrefined sugars: blond or brown vergeoise, brown sugar, brown sugar, candy sugar, icing sugar or snow decorating sugar. Raw sugar (unrefined sugar) has a mineral content fifty times higher than that of refined sugar and five times higher than whole sugar. It contains potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphate, iron, selenium and fluorine, 1% protein, and many vitamins ... which allows it to fortify our nervous system
Brown sugar is a crystallised brown cane sugar that is suitable for caramelising fruit in a pan or caramelising the top of a crème brûlée or fruit gratin. It is often refined sugar coloured by caramelization. Just read the packaging to find out. As it is, it is not very different from ordinary white sugar.
Vergeoise sugar is the solid residue from the refining of beet sugar. It is an annealed white sugar syrup, so it is very similar to white sugar again. It is used like brown sugar and has a stronger taste.
Muscovado sugar, is a whole cane sugar with a very pronounced taste. It is mainly found in organic grocery stores.
Inverted sugar has the property of not recrystallizing after melting and therefore brings a lot of softness to cakes.
Glucose is a transparent sweet paste. It gives a soft texture to cakes and fondant to homemade sorbets and ice creams.
Isomalt is used for sugar sculptures
Jam or jelly sugar is a granulated sugar to which 0.45 to 1% pectin has been added.
Lace sugar for decorating cakes, biscuits, macaroons.
Brown cane sugar: richer in molasses than blond sugar, it has both a more pronounced taste and colour and is wonderful in cakes, yoghurts and homemade compotes. If you want to use it, put a little less than the weight of white sugar indicated in the recipe, because its sweetness is higher.
Raw cane sugar: this is pure cane juice, dried and reduced to powder. When it is not crystallized, it is called Rapadura. Since it preserves all the molasses, it is very rich in mineral salts, protects against cavities and fortifies the body. Its vanilla and liquorice taste makes it a food in its own right, more than just traditional "sugar" . Customize it by adding...- dried citrus zests: orange, lemon, lime… or add powdered ginger, grated coconut, cinnamon sticks
Palm sugar: it is rarely found in our country, as it is mainly used in Asia. It is found in the form of "sugar loaf" or spreadable dough.
Sugars flavored with blond sugar : its flavor is sweet and rather vanilla. Mix it with a vanilla bean to intensify its taste. You can also add dried flower petals (rose, violet, lavender, hibiscus, blueberry ...) or very small cubes of dried fruit (apple, pineapple, pear, strawberry ...).
Alternatives to sugar:
- “natural / raw” sugars (coconut ...)
- agave syrup
- honey, a natural invert sugar, can therefore replace part of the superfine sugar in recipes.
- spices (cinnamon, star anise, nutmeg ...)
- fresh fruit (in compote or coulis, beware of citrus and red fruits not always sweet)
However, there are a number of healthier alternatives available on the market to replace it.
Coconut blossom sugar: Coconut blossom sugar comes from the crystallized sap of the coconut blossom. Rich in fructose, it has a low glycemic index.
Stevia: it is a natural sweetener made from the leaves of Stevia Rebaudiana, a South American fat plant. Possessing a very strong sweetening power, the main advantages of Stevia are that it contains no calories and, unlike other natural sweeteners, it has no side effects. Its taste, which is sometimes close to liquorice, may nevertheless displease some people, but depending on the process used to obtain the Stevia powder, its flavour may be more or less pronounced.
Xylitol or birch sugar:
Extracted from birch bark, xylitol has the same sweetening properties as superfine sugar and has the advantage of being less caloric and having a relatively low glycemic index. On the other hand, consumed in too large quantities, xylitol can have laxative effects.
Agave syrup:
Agave syrup comes from the sap of a fatty plant native to Mexico: Agava tequilana. With a low glycemic index, agave syrup is also interesting because it is rich in minerals (magnesium, potassium, calcium and iron).
Maple syrup:
Maple syrup is made by boiling the sap of the maple tree. With a sweetening power 1.4 times higher than that of white sugar, it puts less sugar in food. Beyond its highly appreciated taste, the nutritional advantage of maple syrup is its richness in vitamin B and minerals such as zinc, calcium and potassium.
Yacon syrup:
Unknown, yacon syrup is extracted from the plant of the same name, a perennial herb native from South America. Although these components have a strong sweetening power, Yacon syrup does not induce an insulin peak and has a very low glycemic index. Yacon syrup is therefore one of the best alternatives to refined sugar.
Cooking sugar:
Cooking sugar is essential in confectionery. The final consistency of the sugar after baking depends solely on the temperature reached during baking. The table below gives the different characteristics of sugar when you cook it. I suggest you to always having a cooking thermometer when you use sugar.
Now that you got it, I suggest you to use raw sugar and alternatives if you're used to bake at least 2 times a week. Caster sugar can be devastating for your liver. Try to reduce the sugar in your pastries as much as possible and pay attention to the origin of your products. I will do my best to share with you my best recipes with less sugar in it !
Hope that you enjoyed this article. Stay safe and see you soon on TPB !
Lea from The Paris-Best.
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