Daily Dish the Nugget Market blog
Spoonfuls of Sugar
Fine-Tune Your Technique
As baking season begins, it's time to give your pantry a once over and make sure you have all the sweet stuff you'll need for delicious desserts aplenty. Read on to learn about different sorts of sugar and what they can do for your dishes!
As baking season begins, it's time to give your pantry a once over and make sure you have all the sweet stuff you'll need for delicious desserts aplenty. When it comes to sugar, this baking staple is more than one-note—it can help intensify flavors (a bit like salt!), plus it browns, tenderizes, stabilizes, and lightens baked goods. It’s also food for yeast in bread. Read on to learn about different sorts of sugar and what they can do for your dishes!
Granulated Sugar: Also known as white sugar, granulated sugar is an output of beets or sugarcane and is the most common type of sugar out there. Its uniform crystals make it extremely versatile and ubiquitous in baking.
Powdered Sugar: Often called confectioner's or icing sugar, powdered sugar is granulated sugar that’s received the addition of a bit of corn starch and ground very fine but is still fluffy. As it easily dissolves, it’s used in frostings and glazes; it’s also commonly sifted atop goods for a finishing touch.
Brown Sugar: Brown sugar is granulated sugar mixed with molasses; light has less, dark has more. It has a deeper flavor, is slightly acidic, and makes baked goods both moister and softer.
Sanding Sugar: Also called sparkling sugar because of its large, rectangular granules, sanding sugar keeps its crunch and shape when baking, so it’s used almost exclusively for topping things. You can also mix it with a drop of liquid or gel food coloring to make jewel-like sprinkles—just spread it out evenly to dry on some parchment so it doesn’t clump!
Raw Sugar: This coarse sugar is minimally processed and contains molasses like brown sugar. It does not dissolve easily due to its crystal size, so it’s great for topping. Turbinado sugar and Demerara sugar are very similar.
Superfine Sugar: Also called caster or extra-fine sugar, this is finely ground granulated sugar (which isn't fluffy like powdered sugar!) that’s used in places where its fast-dissolving properties and reduced graininess provide a boon, like in meringues or mousses.
Pearl Sugar: Often billed as Belgian or Swedish, pearl sugar is a chip off the ol’ sugar cube. Its chunks are made of compressed sugar crystals that don’t dissolve in baked goods, lending a delightful texture.
Pro Tip: Dry cake? Before you do anything with it, make some simple syrup! It’s a 1:1 ratio of boiled water and sugar mixed together so the sugar dissolves. Brush it onto your cake layers and let it soak in for marvelous moistness!
Drop by our baking aisle to find a plethora of sugars and other sweeteners ideal for any recipe!
Hungry for more? Also check out our Baking Chocolate Basics blog!