What is the difference between cane sugar and brown sugar

When you add sweetness to your morning cup of coffee, most likely you choose white, granulated sugar. You could also use sugar in the raw or brown sugar, both products of sugar cane purification. Sugar in the raw, or raw sugar, is a light, golden brown crystal that has a mild, caramel taste. Brown sugar is darker in color and stickier in texture, and has a definite caramel taste.

Table of Contents Show

Nutritional Comparison
White Sugar
Brown Sugar
They have different flavor profiles and coloring
Which is better cane sugar or brown sugar?
Is brown sugar the same as sugar cane?
Which is healthier sugar or cane sugar?

Nutritional Comparison

It’s a common misconception that raw sugar is more natural, and therefore more nutritious, than brown sugar. While it’s true that raw sugar is slightly less refined than brown sugar, both provide about 15 calories per teaspoon, all of which comes from simple carbohydrates. Even though their nutritional profile is exactly the same, however, brown sugar and sugar in the raw have aesthetic differences that give them unique flavor profiles.

Raw Sugar

When sugar cane arrives from the fields, sugar millers grind and press it to extract the sweet juices. Crystals that form in the liquid are granules called raw sugar. After going through filtration and hot water washes, the sugar contains 96 percent sucrose and 4 percent of plant materials contained in the mother liquid. Vacuum-drying this product leaves a golden brown color and sweet taste but very little nutritional value, except for calories from the carbohydrate content. The raw sugar can either go to the consumer or to the refinery for further processing.

Molasses

After filtering out plant trash and raw sugar crystals, millers slowly evaporate the liquid, resulting in a rich, brown mixture called molasses. Molasses contains 46 percent dissolved sucrose and other sugars; 3 percent protein; small amounts of minerals like calcium, phosphorous, magnesium and sulfur; trace elements such as copper, iron, manganese and zinc; and B-vitamins. Molasses is used for both human and animal consumption. Producers may also mix it with raw sugar to facilitate transport to a refinery, or with white sugar to yield brown sugar.

White Sugar

At the refinery, the raw sugar and molasses mixture undergoes further washing with hot water and separation through centrifugation and filtration. The naturally white crystals that remain are 99.9 percent sucrose. This sugar can go to grinding machines that produce different sizes of granules -- everything from crystals to powders -- for use in household and commercial cooking and flavoring.

Brown Sugar

Mixing white sugar crystals with various amounts of molasses results in a soft, lumpy product called brown sugar. The amount of molasses added depends on the producer, but you could expect light brown sugar to contain 3.5 percent molasses, while dark brown sugar might contain 6.5 percent molasses.Brown sugar imparts the taste of molasses to recipes and adds moisture to make a softer texture.

Sugar is a natural ingredient that has been part of the human diet for thousands of years.

While there are many types, brown and white sugar are among the most popular varieties.

This article compares brown and white sugar to help you decide which to choose.

Given that white and brown sugar originate from the same crops — either the sugarcane or sugar beet plant — they are quite similar (1).

In fact, most brown sugar is a mixture of white sugar and molasses, which is a type of sugar-derived syrup. Molasses is responsible for its darker color and slightly increases its nutritional value.

The most notable nutritional difference between the two is that brown sugar has slightly higher calcium, iron, and potassium contents.

That said, the amounts of these minerals in brown sugar are insignificant, so it’s not a good source of any vitamins or minerals (2, 3).

Brown sugar also contains slightly fewer calories than white sugar, yet the difference is minimal. One teaspoon (4 grams) of brown sugar provides 15 calories, while the same amount of white sugar has 16.3 calories (2, 3).

Aside from these minor differences, they are nutritionally similar. Their main differences are their taste and color.

Summary
Brown sugar contains slightly more minerals and marginally fewer calories than white sugar. However, the nutritional differences between the two are insignificant.

Sugar is produced in tropical climates where sugarcane or sugar beet plants grow.

Both plants undergo a similar process to produce sugar. However, the methods used to make it into brown and white sugar differ.

First, the sugary juice from both crops is extracted, purified, and heated to form a brown, concentrated syrup called molasses (4, 5, 6).

Next, the crystallized sugar is centrifuged to produce sugar crystals. A centrifuge is a machine that spins extremely fast to separate sugar crystals from molasses (7).

White sugar is then further processed to remove any excess molasses and create smaller crystals. Subsequently, it’s run through a filtration system that’s often made with bone char, or crushed animal bones, to form white sugar (4, 5, 6).

Refined brown sugar is simply white sugar that has had molasses added back into it. Meanwhile, whole, unrefined brown sugar undergoes less processing than white sugar, allowing it to retain some of its molasses content and natural brown color (7).

Summary
White sugar is produced through a purifying process that removes a brown syrup called molasses. On the other hand, brown sugar either undergoes less processing to retain its molasses content or is produced by mixing white sugar with molasses.

White and brown sugar can be used in different ways in baking and cooking.

While they can sometimes be used interchangeably, doing so may affect the color, flavor, or texture of your final product.

The molasses in brown sugar retains moisture, so using it will result in baked goods that are softer yet denser.

For example, cookies made with brown sugar will be more moist and dense, whereas cookies made with white sugar will rise to a greater extent, allowing more air into the dough and resulting in an airier texture.

For this reason, white sugar is used in a number of baked goods that require adequate rising, such as meringues, mousses, soufflés, and fluffy baked goods. In contrast, brown sugar is used for dense baked goods, such as zucchini bread and rich cookies.

Other uses for brown sugar may include rich glazes and sauces, such as barbecue sauce.

They have different flavor profiles and coloring

The main differences between white and brown sugar are their taste and color.

Swapping white sugar for brown sugar in recipes will affect the color of foods, giving a light-caramel or brown hue.

Contrarily, baking with white sugar will result in a lighter-colored product. Thus, whichever you choose will depend on your desired end result.

Brown and white sugar also have unique flavor profiles. Brown sugar has a deep, caramel or toffee-like flavor due to the added molasses. For this reason, it works well in chocolate cakes and cookies, as well as rich fruit cakes.

On the other hand, white sugar is sweeter, so you can use less of it to attain your desired taste. Its neutral flavor makes it a versatile ingredient in baking, working well in fruit sponges and sweet pastries.

Summary
White and brown sugar are used similarly in cooking. However, brown sugar contains molasses, which will affect the taste and color of food.

Whether you choose white or brown sugar comes down to personal preference, as taste and color are the main differences between the two.

Although brown sugar contains more minerals than white sugar, the quantities of these minerals are so minuscule that they won’t provide any health benefits.

Importantly, sugar is thought to be a contributing factor to the obesity epidemic and major cause of diseases, including type 2 diabetes and heart disease (8, 9, 10).

For this reason, it’s recommended to consume no more than 5–10% of your daily calories from added sugar. However, this should be limited even further for optimal health (11, 12).

While it’s fine to enjoy a sugary treat now and then, all types of sugar should be limited in a healthy diet.

When choosing between brown or white sugar, let your personal preference guide you, as they will have equal effects on your health.

Summary
Choosing between white or brown sugar comes down to personal preference. They are nutritionally similar, resulting in similar health effects. Keep in mind that it’s recommended to limit your intake of sugar, as eating too much may harm your health.

Brown and white sugar are the two most common varieties of sugar.

While they are produced differently, resulting in distinct tastes, colors, and culinary uses, brown sugar is often simply processed white sugar with molasses.

Contrary to common belief, they are nutritionally similar.

Brown sugar contains slightly more minerals than white sugar but will not provide any health benefits.

In fact, your intake of all types of sugar should be limited for optimal health.

Which is better cane sugar or brown sugar?

Many people believe that alternative sweeteners like honey, brown sugar, or molasses are healthier than cane sugar. However, that's not necessarily true. Sugar is a type of simple carbohydrate that your body uses for energy. Honey, brown sugar, and other sugars have no nutritional advantages over cane sugar.

Is brown sugar the same as sugar cane?

While sugar beets and sugar cane are used to make white granulated sugar, only molasses from sugar cane is used in the production of brown sugar. Molasses from sugar cane is what gives brown sugar its color, with less needed to make light brown sugar and more for dark brown sugar.

Which is healthier sugar or cane sugar?

However, though raw cane sugar is often marketed as a healthy alternative to regular sugar, there's no real difference between them. In fact, both are identical in terms of chemical composition and made up of sucrose, a molecule formed by units of simple sugars, such as glucose and fructose (3).