Sugar and Sweeteners

Granulated sugar is refined white sugar with medium crystals, the all-purpose sugar for baking and coffee. Icing sugar (powdered or confectioners’ sugar) is granulated sugar ground to a fine powder with a small amount of cornstarch, about 3 percent, to stop caking; it is used for icings and dusting. Brown and golden yellow sugars contain molasses, which adds moisture and a caramel flavour; darker brown sugar has more molasses than golden yellow.

The colour of the packet usually tells you the sweetener. Splenda (yellow) is sucralose. Equal (blue) is aspartame, which is not suitable for people with phenylketonuria (PKU). In Canada, Sugar Twin and Sweet’N Low (pink) are made with cyclamate, which Health Canada allows as a tabletop sweetener. Raw sugar packets such as In The Raw contain turbinado cane sugar. Cafes usually offer white sugar, raw sugar and two sugar substitutes.

Brown sugar hardens when its moisture evaporates. Store it in an airtight container or a tightly sealed bag with the air pressed out. To soften hardened brown sugar, seal it in a container with a slice of bread or a damp terracotta disc for a day, or warm it briefly in the microwave covered with a damp paper towel. White granulated sugar keeps indefinitely if kept dry.

A standard white sugar portion packet holds about 2.8 to 4 g of sugar, roughly 1 teaspoon, and raw sugar packets such as In The Raw hold about 4 to 5 g. A sugar cube is about 4 g. A 1,000-count case of sugar packets therefore contains roughly 3 to 4 kg of sugar. Sweetener packets give the sweetness of about 2 teaspoons of sugar with few or no calories.

Both. Rogers refines sugar from Alberta-grown sugar beets at its plant in Taber, Alberta, and also refines imported raw cane sugar in Vancouver, while Lantic refines cane sugar in Eastern Canada. Refined white sugar from cane and from beets is chemically the same, sucrose, and performs the same in baking and drinks.

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